In this paper we study the development of the most successful futures market in China, the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE). The lack of an active cash market forced ZCE to first establish a cash market prior to the trading of the first successful futures contract; the mungbean futures....

The main objectives of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosure. Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the external auditor has to report an assessment of the firm's internal controls and attest to management's assessment of those...

We examine the effects of credit ratings on IPO pricing. The evidence from U.S. common share IPOs during 1986-2004 shows that when firms go public, those with credit ratings are underpriced significantly less than firms without credit ratings. Credit rating levels, however, do not have a...

Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires firms to report on the effectiveness of their internal control over financial reporting. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires foreign large accelerated filers to provide both management and auditor Section 404 reports starting for fiscal...

In order to outperform his peers, a mutual fund manager may decide to invest in stocks that are considerably different from his competitors. By investing in a unique portfolio, the fund manager has a greater chance of either outperforming or underperforming his peers than those managers who...

Over the past two decades, economic reforms have significantly changed the economy and accountancy in China. As the planned centralized economy is gradually replaced by a market-driven economy, the the profession of accountancy is emerging and playing an increasingly important role. This paper...

We examine the publications by Central Banks (CB) and International Monetary Organizations (IMO) in renowned finance journals over the past two decades. Unsurprisingly, the most productive CB in financial research are the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the World...

Many accounting and finance studies investigate the time-series properties of historical accounting records from corporate financial statements. Some of them have recognized the potential benefits of using disaggregated monthly accounting records. Disaggregated data are beneficial because one...