000014458 001__ 14458 000014458 005__ 20250225102354.0 000014458 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.6082/uchicago.14458 000014458 037__ $$aTHESIS 000014458 037__ $$bDissertation 000014458 041__ $$aeng 000014458 245__ $$aDisrupting Consistency in Accounting 000014458 260__ $$bUniversity of Chicago 000014458 269__ $$a2025-03 000014458 336__ $$aDissertation 000014458 502__ $$bPh.D. 000014458 520__ $$aI show that the issuance of a new accounting standard disrupts the cycle of consistency within accounting organizations, leading to improved accounting information. For the recent FASB Revenue Recognition and Leases standards, I show they lead to more error disclosures and more updates to legacy policies within the standards’ topic areas before the accounting standard change is implemented. I do not find a difference in the effects between firms more or less affected by a standard, consistent with the standards being broadly disruptive for all firms. However, I do find stronger effects for more decentralized firms following the Leases standard, implying a mechanism of the disruption: a centralized standard implementation effort that unifies historically dispersed accounting practices. I further demonstrate that the policy updates identified following the disruption result in improvements to accounting information. My results show that accounting standard-setting activity affects financial reporting processes and outcomes even prior to the adoption of the standard in a way that is distinct from the effects of the actual changes in accounting guidance. 000014458 540__ $$a© 2025 Maria Alexandra Khrakovsky 000014458 6531_ $$aGAAP 000014458 6531_ $$afinancial reporting 000014458 6531_ $$aaccounting standards 000014458 6531_ $$aorganizational inertia 000014458 690__ $$aBooth School of Business 000014458 691__ $$aBooth School of Business Dissertations 000014458 7001_ $$1https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9908-867X$$2ORCID$$aKhrakovsky, Maria$$uUniversity of Chicago 000014458 72012 $$aPhilip Berger 000014458 72014 $$aHans Christensen 000014458 72014 $$aMichael Minnis 000014458 72014 $$aCharles McClure 000014458 8564_ $$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/14458/files/Khrakovsky%20Chicago%20Dissertation%20OFFICIAL.pdf$$yDissertation$$968e5915a-3ed8-4625-b2ac-98169825bdc2$$s538098$$ePublic 000014458 8564_ $$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/14458/files/MK_ApprovalForm_Wint25.pdf$$yApproval Form$$989da8950-50f3-4a07-b09b-7284aba81b12$$s186513$$erestricted_admin 000014458 908__ $$aI agree 000014458 909CO $$ooai:uchicago.tind.io:14458$$pDissertations$$pGLOBAL_SET 000014458 983__ $$aDissertation