Drawing on financial reporting, institutional, and social psychology theories, we consider whether awareness of SEC scrutiny affects the extent to which managers exercise financial reporting discretion. Because there is a higher probability that the SEC will detect misconduct and impose...

We examine how SEC comment letters asking firms to remove full non-GAAP income statements affect those firms' information environments. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find that the informativeness of non-GAAP earnings and earnings announcements decreases, information asymmetry...

This study examines the effect of SEC regulations on firm valuations and corporate policies over the past 50 years. I build a time-varying and industry-specific measure of SEC regulatory restrictions, based on the universe of effective SEC rules and machine-learning relevance of the regulations...

In an attempt to address a lack of diversity on corporate boards, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed a rule in 2010, requiring firms to disclose whether they consider diversity in the director nomination process, and if so, how the policy's effectiveness is assessed. The rule...

We examine how Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement varies at fiscal year- end. Using a sample of over 12,000 SEC enforcement actions, we find that the number of case filings in September, the final month of the SEC’s fiscal year, is approximately double the average of other...

This study uses equal-weighted portfolios of financial and non-financial SEC registrants to examine the market reaction to proposed SEC short-term borrowing disclosure regulation. Using event study methodology and two event dates -- that is, announcement and voting dates -- we find that the...

This study examines the impact of Regulation G in 2003 and the issuance of Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) in 2010 – on the reporting of non-GAAP earnings. The study finds that (i) both Regulation G and C&DIs are associated with an increase in the quality of non-GAAP earnings...

This study investigates how regulatory oversight affects the price formation of initial public offerings (IPOs). We provide evidence on the oversight role of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by examining the effects of comment letters issued by the SEC in the process through which...

Timely disclosure of financial statement information is a critical requirement for firms and well-functioning capital markets. Yet, every quarter or year, a non-trivial number of firms are late in filing their financial statements. This paper identifies and probes various capital market...

We find evidence consistent with the notion that the broad non-exclusionary disclosure requirement of Reg-FD inhibits the adoption of new disclosure technologies. Our analyses exploit unanticipated SEC guidance (“Reg-SocMedia”) that outlined how social media channels could be used in...