confounding, but there are several issues which need to be accounted for. The distribution of costs is often skewed and there can … be a considerable proportion of observations of zero costs, which cannot be well handled using simple linear models …. Associations between costs and effectiveness cannot usually be explained using observed background information alone, which also …

inaccuracy irrespective of the valence of the earnings news. Further, in line with expectation violation theory, the negative … disclosures are not always beneficial, and add to the growing literature concerning the costs and benefits of accounting …