We examine the “confirmation” hypothesis, that audited, backward-looking financial outcomes and disclosure of managers' private forward-looking information are complements, because independent audit disciplines and hence enhances disclosure credibility. Committing to higher audit fees (a...

We examine the relation between mark-to-market (MTM) accounting for securities and information asymmetry among bank investors. Relative to historical cost, MTM incorporates more timely information in financial statements. The primary effect of more timely disclosure most likely is to reduce...

We examine the 'confirmation' hypothesis that audited financial reporting and disclosure of managers' private information are complements, because independent verification of outcomes disciplines and hence enhances disclosure credibility. Committing to higher audit fees (a measure of financial...

Financial reporting around the time of IPOs is consistent with listed firms reporting more conservatively than previously as private firms, consistent with the results in Ball and Shivakumar (2005). We hypothesize that IPO firms supply the higher quality financial reports demanded by public...

We investigate the role of accrual accounting in the asymmetrically timely recognition of unrealized gains and losses (i.e., prior to the actual realization of those losses in cash). This role of accrual accounting has not been directly recognized in the literature. We show that non-linear...

UK private and public companies face substantially equivalent regulation on auditing, accounting standards and taxes. We hypothesize that private-company financial reporting nevertheless is lower quality due to different market demand, regulation notwithstanding. A large UK sample supports this...

We quantify the relative importance of earnings announcements in providing new information to the share market, using the r-squared in a regression of securities' calendar year returns on their four quarterly earnings announcement window returns. The r-squared, which averages approximately five...

Financial reporting around the time of IPOs is consistent with listed firms reporting more conservatively than previously as private firms, consistent with the results in Ball and Shivakumar (2005). We hypothesize that IPO firms supply the higher quality financial reports demanded by public...

A significant reduction in accounting-based debt covenants follows mandatory IFRS adoption, consistent with reduced contractibility of accounting information. We describe several properties of IFRS that could reduce contractibility, including increased flexibility given managers when selecting...

A significant reduction in accounting-based debt covenants follows mandatory IFRS adoption, consistent with reduced contractibility of accounting information. We describe several properties of IFRS that could reduce contractibility, including increased flexibility given managers when selecting...