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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsA study of multinational companies headquartered in Europe found that group-level audit disclosures about uncertain tax positions were associated with less international income shifting. The finding concerns corporate tax planning—not consumer money transfers—and applies to the study’s 2012–2021 European sample, not automatically to every company or country.
What the study means by “international money moves”
Here, the phrase refers to multinational income shifting: how a company allocates income among countries, including in ways that may reduce its tax burden. It does not refer to individuals sending money abroad.
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The study examines tax-related key audit matters, or KAMs. These are expanded audit-report disclosures about issues auditors considered important, complex, or challenging in reviewing a company’s financial statements. The specific disclosures in question concern uncertain tax positions (UTPs)—tax positions for which a company holds a reserve in case an audit determines that more tax is due than the company anticipated. North Carolina State University’s October 9, 2026 release describes the paper and its findings.
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The paper’s abstract reports that group-level KAM disclosures were associated with a decline in multinational income shifting when the disclosures related to UTPs. It does not say that every kind of KAM had the same relationship. The abstract also provides no percentage reduction, confidence interval, or other numerical estimate of the effect, so the result cannot be translated into a specific amount of income or tax saved.
The reported relationship was stronger in three circumstances:
- When firms were financially unconstrained.
- When tax enforcement was strong.
- When KAMs identified specific risk statements and auditors provided explicit assurance.
These findings distinguish simply having a disclosure from the disclosure’s specificity and the assurance accompanying it. The release does not give numerical estimates for these differences, so it does not establish how much stronger any one condition was than another. The study abstract is available through the paper’s DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2024-0168.
Which companies and years were covered?
The sample comprised Europe-headquartered multinational groups operating in multiple countries, with positive pre-tax income and publicly available financial statements. It covered 25 European nations from 2012 through 2021.
| Measure | Study sample |
|---|---|
| Affiliate-year observations | 207,792 |
| Companies | 8,389 |
| Affiliates | 45,909 |
| Countries and period | 25 European nations; 2012–2021 |
These counts are reported by North Carolina State University in its 2026 release. They describe the study’s sample, not the number of companies affected by the rules or the scale of income shifting.
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Why the researchers treated rule changes as an opportunity to study the issue
European countries adopted expanded audit reports in different years. The study uses this staggered adoption to examine changes around the introduction of the disclosures. Co-author Nathan Goldman described the timing as a “natural experiment.” That design helps explain how the researchers approached the question, but the public summary reports an association; it does not establish that the disclosure alone caused every observed change.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the finding does—and does not—show
- It supports a focused conclusion: In the studied sample, group-level disclosures about uncertain tax positions were associated with a decline in multinational income shifting.
- It does not provide an effect size: The accessible abstract and university release do not state a percentage decline or a monetary amount.
- It is not a finding about every audit disclosure: The reported association concerns KAMs related to UTPs, with stronger relationships under the specified conditions.
- It is not universal evidence: The companies were Europe-headquartered multinationals meeting the study’s eligibility criteria, and the period ended in 2021. The result cannot, on this evidence alone, be extended to all companies, jurisdictions, or later years.
The paper, “Tax-related Key Audit Matters and Changes in Multinational Income Shifting,” was reported as published in The Accounting Review on October 7, 2026. Its authors are Christof Beuselinck, Nathan Goldman, Jochen Pierk, and Cinthia Valle Ruiz. The university release says the analysis draws on Amadeus financial-reporting data, the IMF World Economic Outlook Database, and Tax Foundation data.
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