Similarity between a firm and a potential peer firm with respect to important economic characteristics is a first-order criterion to select peer firms. As economic characteristics are often captured through information disclosed in publicly available financial reports, financial reporting quality (FRQ) of a potential peer firm could influence peer group selection. We hypothesize that potential peer firms with higher FRQ are more likely to be included in the peer group of another firm because the reduced information asymmetry and lower reputation costs connected to higher FRQ of potential peer firms can influence the board of directors’ evaluation of similarity between the firm and a potential peer firm. Analyzing the peer groups used by S&P 900 firms for benchmarking executive compensation packages, we find support for our hypothesis and the channels we specify in our theory. Our results are robust across several measures for FRQ, albeit they are somewhat weaker when FRQ is measured by means of internal control deficiencies, fraud, and AAERs. Using alternative specifications to define the potential peer group and controlling for corporate governance strength does not change our inferences and our results also hold when we control for the presence of the potential peer firm in the peer group of the previous year. This study contributes to previous research on peer groups by examining the accounting information environment around peer group composition.

在重要经济特征方面，公司与潜在同业公司之间的相似性是选择同业公司的首要条件。由于通常通过可公开获取的财务报告中披露的信息来捕捉经济特征，因此潜在同业公司的财务报告质量（FRQ）可能会影响同业组的选择。我们假设具有较高FRQ的潜在同业公司更有可能被包括在另一家公司的同业集团中，因为与潜在的同业公司的较高FRQ相关的信息不对称性降低和声誉成本降低，可能会影响董事会之间的相似性评估。该公司和潜在的同行公司。分析标准普尔900家公司用来为高管薪酬待遇设定基准的同业群体，我们发现支持我们的假设以及理论中指定的渠道。尽管通过内部控制缺陷，欺诈和AAER来衡量FRQ，我们的结果在FRQ的多种衡量指标上均很可靠，尽管它们在某种程度上较弱。使用替代规范来定义潜在的同行组并控制公司治理实力不会改变我们的推论，并且当我们控制上一年的同行组中潜在的同行公司的存在时，我们的结果也将成立。通过研究围绕同龄人组组成的会计信息环境，本研究有助于对同龄人组的先前研究。和AAER。使用替代规范来定义潜在的同行组并控制公司治理实力不会改变我们的推论，并且当我们控制上一年的同行组中潜在的同行公司的存在时，我们的结果也将成立。通过研究围绕同龄人组组成的会计信息环境，本研究有助于对同龄人组的先前研究。和AAER。使用替代规范来定义潜在的同行组并控制公司治理实力不会改变我们的推论，并且当我们控制上一年的同行组中潜在的同行公司的存在时，我们的结果也将成立。通过研究围绕同龄人组组成的会计信息环境，本研究有助于对同龄人组的先前研究。