We propose that the product life cycle is important in understanding firm disclosure policies and test this hypothesis using a 4-dimensional text-based life cycle model. Mature-stage firms disclose more, consistent with lowering search costs for an outward-focused investment strategy seeking...

Using text-based analysis of 10-K MD&A disclosures, we find that fraudulent firms produce verbal disclosure that is abnormal relative to strong counterfactuals. This abnormal text predicts fraud out of sample, has a verbal factor structure, and can be interpreted to reveal likely mechanisms that...

We use highly granular computational linguistics to assess the MD&A section of the 10-K as a whole. Our results show that the content of MD&A can be systematically used to explain the valuation of firms, particularly those undergoing business change, where the value relevance of financial...