This study proposes and validates “other information” in analysts' forecasts as a legitimate proxy for future cash flows, and examines its incremental role in explaining stock return volatility. We suggest that “other information” contains information about fundamentals beyond that...

We investigate the informativeness of dividends and franking credits with respect to earnings persistence. We find strong evidence that dividend paying firms have more persistent earnings than non-dividend paying firms. Firms that pay franked dividends have significantly more persistent earnings...

We argue that audit quality has direct and indirect effects on the cost of equity capital. Direct effects are consistent with auditor reputation effects reflecting insurance and/or assurance roles. However, if audit quality is at least in part a reflection of expected assurance levels, then we...

Previous evidence of conservatism in Australian financial reporting, as in other countries, is constrained by the absence of a reliable firm-year specific measure. This paper calibrates such a measure using the procedure outlined by Khan and Watts (2007). We show that the C_Score they propose...

We measure the power of some simple financial statement analysis techniques for identifying instances of significant earnings overstatements, and then contrast the results with those from several measures of unexpected accruals. Our results suggest that relative to a group of matched control...

We investigate whether auditor independence is compromised by either the mix of audit and non audit services (NAS), or simply unusually large NAS or audit fees. The results help reconcile apparently conflicting evidence in prior studies linking NAS and indicators of earnings management, as well...

We provide evidence of an association between audit partner rotation and the quality of earnings. It is a requirement for Australian firms that the engagement partner be identified by name in the annual report. Using a sample of 3,621 firm-years between 1998 and 2003, we show that audit partner...

We provide further evidence on the role of dual class stock and insider control in public firms. Earlier studies examine characteristics of dual class recapitalizers and/or firms which have long utilized dual class stock. In contrast, we focus on the use of dual class stock in a sample of...

We examine the effect of statutory civil and criminal sanctions on voluntary corporate disclosures by firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Apart from direct investigation of the quantity of voluntary disclosure, we also investigate several possible consequences of altered...

Using a large sample of earnings press releases by Australian firms, we compare multiple attributes of non-GAAP earnings measures with their closest GAAP equivalent. We find that, on average, non-GAAP earnings are more persistent, smoother, more value-relevant, and have higher predictive power...