In 2008 Clayton Christensen, Stephen Kaufman and Willy Shih pointed the accusatory finger of wrong investment decisions to: ill documented cost information, incorrect application of financial decision making tools and short termism. Given that we have little literature systematically documenting...

Prior research documents large, persistent productivity dispersion even within narrowly defined industries, suggesting the presence of frictions that impede the efficient allocation of resources. In this paper we consider the role of information frictions. We posit that high-quality financial...

For much of its life, a tangible capital good is irreversibly committed to an investment projects. The paper examines what it means for capital to be sunk, or to be semi-permanently invested. Value sunk is measured using the options available to managers of a project. External prices may or may...

Studies of intangible and of environmental assets have become key vehicles for the advancement of economists' understanding of capital. Each has features that diverge from those of the 'produced means of production' studied in capital theory. The present paper addresses issues in capital theory...

Trend productivity growth is a crucial determinant of future living standards as well as fiscal balances. In this article, Benoit Robidoux and Bing-Sun Wong from Finance Canada examine the issue of whether trend productivity growth has increased in Canada and conclude that in fact it has. If...

We propose an empirical measure of firms' metering problems. We build on the notion that metering problems are reflected in the intensity with which firms apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to map economic transactions onto financial statements. We develop an algorithm to...

Several studies indicate that stock option plans are becoming more and more a substantial part of compensation schemes in U.S. companies. This paper shows the tax implications and accounting rules for stock option plans. By comparison of the tax and accounting rules for different compensation...

This chapter analyzes the role of financial accounting in the German financial system. It starts from the common perception that German accounting is rather 'uninformative'. This characterization is appropriate from the perspective of an arm's length or outside investor and when confined to the...

The objective of the IFRS for SMEs is to provide SMEs an attractive accounting alternative according to international standards. The paper analyses the differences compared to the German-GAAP and highlights the consequences for medium-sized entities in Germany.

The Czech Republic has recently introduced and implemented public sector accounting reform. The aim of the reform was to make the Czech public finance system more transparent, efficient and realistic. The authors of this reform, in fact, intended to bring public sector accounting and public...