We show that spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is due partly to agency problems. Using the 2003 Dividend Tax Cut, which increased after-tax insider ownership, we find that firms with moderate levels of insider ownership cut CSR by more than firms with low levels (where the tax...

We examine the relative accuracy of management and analyst forecasts of annual EPS. We predict and find that analysts' information advantage resides at the macroeconomic level. They provide more accurate earnings forecasts than management when a firm's fortunes move in concert with macroeconomic...

The investment cycle literature suggests that older CEOs with short investment horizon may be myopic and as result incur agency costs as they try to extract rents by under-investing. Acharya, Myers and Rajan (2011) theorize that internal governance may mitigate the CEO horizon problem. We find...

This paper examines the impact of internal governance on a CEO's investment cycle. Extant literature defines internal governance as the mechanism by which senior executives help discipline the CEO to maximize shareholder value. Weisbach (1995) finds that a year or two before the CEO retires, the...

This paper examines the effect of accounting conservatism on firm-level investment during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. Using a differences-in-differences design, we find that firms with less conservative financial reporting experienced a sharper decline in investment activity following...

We consider forecast guidance as a mechanism that managers use to avoid negative earnings surprises. Modeling forecast guidance using methods by Matsumoto, [Accounting Review 77 (3) (2002) 483-514] and Bartov et al. [Journal of Accounting and Economics 33 (2) (2002) 173-204], we show that...

We examine the association between societal trust and the levels of CEO compensation and the proportion of equity-based compensation of 897 firm-years from 18 countries over the 2007- 2013 period. We find both the levels of CEO compensation as well as the proportion of equity based compensation...

We examine how compensation of chief executive officer (CEO) and corporate governance practices affect earnings management behavior in an emerging economy, Pakistan. Using 1836 firm-year observations from 260 firms listed in KSE for period 2005 to 2012, we do not find that CEO compensation has...

Using the transition of US firms from annual reporting to semi-annual reporting and then to quarterly reporting over the period 1950-1970, we provide evidence on the effects of increased reporting frequency on firms' investment decisions. Estimates from difference-in-differences specifications...