In recent years, reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) became mandatory in many countries. The capital-market effects around this change have been extensively studied, but their sources are not yet well understood. This study aims to distinguish between several...

In recent years, reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) became mandatory in many countries. The capital-market effects around this change have been extensively studied, but their sources are not yet well understood. This study aims to distinguish between several...

In this paper we present an index designed to capture differences between countries in relation to the institutional setting for financial reporting, specifically the auditing of financial statements and the enforcement of compliance with each country's accounting standards. The adoption of...

Differences in countries' institutional settings are believed to impact on the extent to which benefits can be achieved from the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We investigate seven proxies that have been used to distinguish between institutional settings,...

This note presents my position regarding the hidden ownership schemes currently employed by the Schaeffler group to build up stakes in Continental AG in preparation for an unsolicited surprise cash-bid for Continental's shares. It summarizes the information publicly available on the Schaeffler /...

According to well-established case-law of the European Court of Justice, in the European Union, parent companies can be fined for antitrust infringements by their subsidiaries. Furthermore, under a new EU Directive, signed into law on 26 November 2014, parent company liability is likely to be...

Though now possible, no European state is competing for incorporations, and this is unlikely to happen in a general fashion. In this paper I argue, however, that the possibility of one state competing for one specific segment of the market for incorporations should not be ruled out altogether....

Within the past decade, the EU has made significant steps in strengthening and harmonising the legal framework of capital markets. Despite passing and amending secondary legislation on this topic, it only partially addressed the issue of enforcement, leaving private enforcement an issue for its...

Most accounting studies use only public enforcement actions (SEC cases) to measure accounting fraud. However, private cases (securities class actions) also play an important enforcement role. We discuss the legal standards and processes for both public and private enforcement regimes, emphasize...