We examine the impact of mandatory environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure on firms’ default risk. Using a comprehensive sample of 17 emerging countries, we empirically show that firms subject to the mandatory ESG regulation have decreased default risk subsequent to the mandate....

This paper examines the impact of earnings transparency on corporate cash holdings. Motivated by Barth et al. (2013), who show that firms with less earnings transparency tend to have higher cost of equity, this paper shows that the cross-section differences in earnings transparency cause...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms to disclose and discuss trends concerning their liquidity, capital resources, and operations. However, there is an ongoing debate on the value of these textual narratives. This study investigates the relation between a firm's...

In this study, we examine whether managers rank risk factors and list them in order of their importance in Item 1A of the 10-K. We focus on firms' credit risk disclosures and where they are positioned in Item 1A. Firms that place the credit risk factor closer to the beginning have lower credit...

Financial misrepresentation has usually been analysed by large-scale empirical research. However the generality gained from such an approach is at the cost of understanding the rich and complex nature of financial misrepresentation in real organizations. We adopt a case study approach to gain...

The bankruptcy system plays an important role in resolving financial distress and reallocating resources in the economy. While many believe that transparency is central to an efficient bankruptcy system, the Bankruptcy Code lacks clear standards for disclosure and financial reporting. In this...