Timing of Cash Flows and Economic Events: A Model for Classifying Accruals

Cash flow forecasting and its changes have long been considered an economic event because appropriate cash flow forecasts address a significant portion of the cash flow information needs. According to the first mission of financial reporting is to provide information to assist investors in evaluating the amount, timing and predicting of cash flows and the role of accrual accounting as the basis for reporting, accruals play a key role in this forecast. With a different look at previous accrual models and classifications, in this study based on the models of Feltham and Ohlson (1995), Ohlson (1995) and the extended model of Dechow and Dchev (2002), information on cash flows reflected in items The accrual was modeled on the basis of the timing between cash flows and economic events, then justified by the role that accruals play in financial reporting (including the growth of corporate operations, reduced timing, and conservatism). In this regard, 129 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange for the period 1387-1388 were selected and evaluated. The results show that the components of the proposed model have a significant relationship with the role of accruals in financial reporting and in other words, these models have reasonable justification. The results also indicated that the explanatory power of the model has significantly increased after separating the total accruals into its components.