We survey 401 financial executives, and conduct in-depth interviews with an additional 20, to determine the key factors that drive decisions related to performance measurement and voluntary disclosure. The majority of firms view earnings, especially EPS, as the key metric for an external...

We study stock holdings and trading behavior of more than 60,000 households and find evidence consistent with dividend clienteles. Retail investor stock holdings indicate a preference for dividend yield that increases with age and decreases with income, consistent with age and tax clienteles,...

We compare changes in information flow and liquidity around anticipated and unanticipated dividend announcements. When the timing of the news announcement can be anticipated in advance, traditional market microstructure models predict that liquidity will deteriorate before the announcement and...

We study dividend announcements, conditioning on whether the timing of the announcement is anticipated. We find that liquidity deteriorates before (after) anticipated (unanticipated) announcements. We identify both timing and content effects, and also contrast trading volume, price volatility,...

We recently conducted a comprehensive survey that analyzes how senior financial executives make decisions related to performance measurement and voluntary disclosure. In particular, we ask CFOs what earnings benchmarks they care about and which factors motivate executives to exercise discretion,...

We examine whether the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 increased the information provided in accounting disclosures. Prior research examining the effects of the Act generally relies on long- window tests and yields mixed results. We improve upon prior designs by examining return, return...

We examine whether the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 increased the information content of corporate earnings disclosures. Prior research questions whether the Act improved disclosure quality but generally relies on long-window tests and yields mixed results. We focus on whether the Act...

This article is based on the keynote address from the Eastern Finance Association meeting in South Beach in April 2010. In this keynote address, I discuss how to engage and motivate students by using the results from surveys of corporate finance professionals. Specific examples are given to...

We use a unique dataset of more than 1,000 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers around the world to investigate the degree to which executives delegate financial decisions and the circumstances that drive variation in delegation. Delegation does not appear to be...

We survey 401 financial executives, and conduct in-depth interviews with an additional 20, to determine the key factors that drive decisions related to performance measurements and voluntary disclosure. The majority of firms view earnings, especially EPS, as the key metric for an external...