The Usefulness of Financial Accounting Information: Evidence from the Field

ABSTRACT We examine how investment professionals assess the usefulness of financial accounting information depending on their acquisition objectives and preparers' earnings management incentives. conduct a survey experiment based face-to-face interviews with document two main results. First, we find that, compared assigned firm valuation objective, those managerial performance evaluation objective as significantly less useful. Second, no systematic evidence that incentives negatively affect professionals' assessments usefulness. To elucidate this second finding, large-scale follow-up online experiment. Our results continue to offer support for effect usefulness, irrespective corporate governance quality. Instead, poor governance, by itself, reduces professionals. JEL Classifications: G15; G18; G38; M41; M48.