I investigated whether implementing SOP 97-2, the revenue-recognition standardfor the software industry, reduces earnings informativeness. This standard is particularlyimportant for two reasons: First, its provisions coincide with provisions of SAB 101, thecurrent general revenue-recognition...

Prior research shows that companies repurchase stock during quarters with low returns, presumably because the stock is undervalued. We focus on repurchase increases and investigate another motive: Are repurchases increased to provide price support for a stock that, despite recent low returns,...

Motivated by the significant capital allocated to repurchasing stock and its potential affect on price discovery, we develop an empirical model of changes in corporate stock repurchases. We find that share price, capital availability, dividend policy, firm size, and operating profitability...

We find that shorts establish significant positions more than a year before the average restatement announcement, those positions increase as the announcement month approaches, and the largest positions are held in companies that will announce an accounting irregularity that attracts class...

We provide large sample evidence in response to anecdotal accounts that some managers increase corporate share repurchases in response to an increase in short selling. We discover a robust positive association exists between changes in quarterly share repurchases and contemporaneous changes in...

Fails-to-deliver (FTDs) place non-existent shares in circulation, and the SEC is concerned that FTDs, especially those by short sellers, are used to create a crisis of confidence “without a fundamental underlying basis.” To minimize FTDs, the SEC passed close-out rules during the financial...

Fail-to-deliver (FTD) short sales occur when shares sold on trade day t are not delivered on settlement day t+3. FTDs can occur for a variety of reasons but generally indicate that short seller demand for shares exceeds the supply of shares available for loan. This study investigates whether the...

The allegation that activist investors demand changes that increase short-term stock prices at the expense of long-term shareholder value (“short-termism”) has led to extensive research on interventions by hedge funds. Few studies include other private (non-hedge fund) activists, even though...

Managers exercise considerable discretion over how they announce an accounting restatement in a press release. Some firms issue a press release that discloses the restatement in the headline (high prominence). Others provide a press release with a headline on a different subject (for example,...

Publication in top-tier journals is the primary criterion for promotion at many business schools and a strong influence on salary, teaching load, and research support. Business schools evaluate publication records by comparing the quality and quantity of top-tier research articles to those of...