Previous evidence of conservatism in Australian financial reporting, as in other countries, is constrained by the absence of a reliable firm-year specific measure. This paper calibrates such a measure using the procedure outlined by Khan and Watts (2007). We show that the C_Score they propose...

We measure the power of some simple financial statement analysis techniques for identifying instances of significant earnings overstatements, and then contrast the results with those from several measures of unexpected accruals. Our results suggest that relative to a group of matched control...

We provide evidence of an association between audit partner rotation and the quality of earnings. It is a requirement for Australian firms that the engagement partner be identified by name in the annual report. Using a sample of 3,621 firm-years between 1998 and 2003, we show that audit partner...

We provide further evidence on the role of dual class stock and insider control in public firms. Earlier studies examine characteristics of dual class recapitalizers and/or firms which have long utilized dual class stock. In contrast, we focus on the use of dual class stock in a sample of...

We examine the effect of statutory civil and criminal sanctions on voluntary corporate disclosures by firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Apart from direct investigation of the quantity of voluntary disclosure, we also investigate several possible consequences of altered...

Uncertainty about firms' future payoffs is the dominant factor in explaining stock return volatility at the firm level. However, summary financial statement numbers such as earnings only provide a limited measure of expected payoffs, as they do not reflect firms' fundamentals on a timely basis....

This study proposes and validates ldquo;other informationrdquo; in analysts' forecasts as a legitimate proxy for future cash flows, and examines its incremental role in explaining stock return volatility. We suggest that ldquo;other informationrdquo; contains information about fundamentals...