Internal Accounting Hiring and Operational Efficiency: Evidence from the Implementation of ASC 842

ABSTRACT ASC 842 requires firms to collect and analyze lease contracts for accounting classification, measurement, and recognition purposes. Leveraging the implementation of ASC 842, I examine firms’ internal accounting hiring and its impact on the efficiency of lease management. I find that the standard prompts lease-intensive firms to significantly increase their internal accounting hiring, which enhances lease-related financial reporting quality. Moreover, firms that increased accounting hiring achieve greater efficiency in managing leases than those that implemented the standard without such hiring. This efficiency gain is incremental to improvements from concurrent information system upgrades and is more pronounced in firms with greater cost-saving opportunities and those that hire more experienced accountants. These results highlight that the benefits of internal accounting hiring extend beyond financial reporting, improving firms’ operational decisions.