This paper provides evidence that firms issuing new shares at higher discounts and hence with larger expected dividend increases, use their opportunities for earnings management in such a way that, by the year of a share issue, they report larger earnings in excess of current dividends than...

Using a sample from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, this paper analyses the information content of dual disclosures of IAS (International Accounting Standards) and LAS (Local Accounting Standards) earnings. Their information content to foreign and domestic shareholders can be distinguished from...

Little empirical research has been focused on analysing the information content of consolidated versus parent-only earnings numbers. In most European countries corporate annual reports include parent company statements, whereas in the USA only consolidated financial statements are available to...

In bank-dominated capital markets with blocked ownership firms are expected to pay out a smooth stream of dividends for the large institutional equity holders. This forces companies to report earnings high enough to pay out the dividends. On the other hand taxation may create an economic motive...