Crash risk and conservatism: Evidence from Borsa Istanbul

Abstract

This study assesses the relationship between the likelihood of future stock price crashes and conservatism-an accounting characteristic that leads to the undervaluation of accounting net assets relative to economic net assets. This undervaluation is achieved by less stringent verification criteria in acknowledging losses compared with gains, resulting in more timely recognition of economic losses. Utilizing a sample of firms traded on Borsa Istanbul from 2009 to 2019, this study reveals that firms with a greater degree of conservatism witness a significant reduction in crash risk after accounting for firm-specific determinants of crash risk along with firm and year fixed effects. This result corroborates the findings in the literature on conservatism, revealing that conservatism diminishes the ability of managers to withhold unfavorable information. In addition, the results are economically meaningful and hold after a set of tests to assess robustness. The findings are particularly relevant for underperforming firms, indicating that an increase in adverse information enhances the motivation for firms to obscure and delay sharing the information. Further analysis demonstrates that accounting conservatism offers advantages by mitigating future crash risk, especially for firms with high intangible intensity.