01522nas a2200169   4500008004100000245010600041210006900147260000900216300001200225490000700237520091000244653001501154100001801169700001701187700002001204856012801224       2018                        eng d00aThe Effect of Aggregation of Accounting Information via Segment Reporting on Accounting Conservatism"0 aEffect of Aggregation of Accounting Information via Segment Repo  c2018  a237-2620 v273 aIn a sample of US multiple-segment firms, we document a negative association between aggregation via segment reporting and timely loss recognition. A higher level of aggregation, as reflected in a firm’s reported organizational structure (the definition and characteristics of its segments), causes a multiple-segment firm to exhibit less cross-segment variation in profitability than a matched control portfolio of single-segment firms. We find that firms that engage in more aggregation report accounting numbers that provide less timely information about economic losses. We also observe that firms that provide more disaggregated segment data subsequent to adopting SFAS 131 experienced an increase in timely loss recognition. This result implies that higher quality segment reporting leads to an increase in timely loss recognition, which, per extant research, is associated with better governance.10aAccounting1 aSteele, Logan1 aBens, Daniel1 aMonahan, Steven  u/biblio/effect-aggregation-accounting-information-segment-reporting-accounting-conservatism