I argue that external financial reporting quality has at best a 2nd order effect on firm value of U.S. publicly traded … companies and that attempts to improve a firm's external reporting quality has a 3rd order effect on these firms' value …. Recognizing that external financial reporting quality is at best a 2nd order effect on firm value imposes an important external …

We examine the costs and benefits of proactive financial reporting enforcement by the UK Financial Reporting Review …, and in particular those Main companies with stronger incentives for higher financial reporting quality. Overall, our study … indicates that financial reporting enforcement generates costs and benefits, but not always for the same companies …