The efficient market hypothesis states that an efficient market incorporates all available information to provide an accurate valuation of an asset. Presently investors and researchers attempt to forecast future returns (profit/loss if the asset is held for a certain period) and volatility...

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reality of financial and management accounting in a small group of small firms. Specifically, from the owner's perspective, an exploration is undertaken to see what financial information is collected, how it is used (or not) to make...

Individuals' decisions and subsequent actions flow from their understanding of the surroundings in which they operate. In order to facilitate economic and financial sustainability, individuals need the cognitive ability to understand financial information in the context of these surroundings....

The internet is a powerful communication device. It is no surprise then that companies are moving towards using the internet as a communication device for the distribution of financial information. Thus, making the internet a new voluntary disclosure medium. This paper explores this new...

The financial crisis that was triggered in July 2007 has had serious repercussions and negative consequences on the global economy, with severe effects that are still visible more than four years later and mainly consist in the inability of most countries to overcome this distressing situation....

This paper examines how one firm’s commitment to provide more public disclosure affects other firms’ disclosure practices in subsequent periods. I develop an investor demand-driven explanation for why and when firms adopt the disclosure innovation of a first-mover firm. I test the hypothesis...

Although U.S. restaurant firms face high risks in diversifying their operations internationally, there are no previous studies that motivate international diversification. If international diversification is risky then why do restaurant firms go abroad? This study focuses on one potential...

This study is an empirical examination of a new theory that links dividends to institutional ownership in a framework of both information signaling and agency costs. Under this theory put forth by Allen, Bernardo and Welch in 2000, dividends are paid out to attract tax-favored institutional...

In the first essay, I examine the association between auditor industry specialization and earnings management choices. Prior research suggests that industry specialist auditors constrain accounting-based earnings management. But such actions may cause client companies to seek alternative means...

The first chapter analyzes both the disposition effect and trading performance at the individual level to determine whether and how investors learn from their trading experience. The study finds that performance improves and the disposition effect declines as investors become more experienced,...