The Role of Accounting Quality in the M&A Market

We examine the role of target firms' accounting quality in the merger and acquisition process. We predict that target firm accounting quality will be positively associated with 1 the likelihood that the deal will be structured as a negotiation rather than as an auction, 2 the speed with which the deal reaches final resolution, and 3 the likelihood that the proposed deal is ultimately completed. Our empirical evidence is consistent with these predictions. These results complement and extend existing findings on target firm accounting quality and provide new evidence that financial accounting quality relates positively to the efficient allocation of the economy's capital resources. This paper was accepted by Mary Barth, accounting.