We examine whether firms respond to settlements of their uncertain tax benefits (UTBs) by adjusting the related UTB reserve. A reported UTB settlement indicates that the tax authority challenged at least one of the firm’s uncertain tax positions, thereby providing information to managers regarding the sustainability of similar tax strategies and outstanding UTBs. Consistent with expectations, our results suggest that UTB settlements are negatively related to the accrual for new uncertain tax positions. Further, we demonstrate that managers make less downward adjustments to the UTB reserve related to existing uncertain tax positions following settlements with tax authorities. Finally, additional analysis suggests that the valuation of UTBs is lower in the year subsequent to a UTB settlement. Collectively, our results suggest that the information gathered from tax audit outcomes influences firms to be more conservative in their tax reporting, and possibly their future tax planning as well.

While financial inclusion is typically addressed by improving the financial infrastructure, we show that a higher degree of financial literacy also has a clear beneficial effect. We study this effect at the cross-country level, which allows us to consider institutional variation. Regarding “access to finance”, financial infrastructure and financial are mainly substitutes. However, regarding the “use of financial services”, the effect of higher financial strengthens the effect of more financial depth. The causal interpretation of these results is supported by IV-regressions. Moreover, the positive impact of financial holds across income levels and several subgroups within countries.