Regulators claim that increased mandated disclosure frequency should lead to more efficient price formation. However, analytical models suggest that mandating disclosure may actually impede the price formation process, and prior empirical studies have been unable to document a relation between...

This study examines the extent to which managerial talent plays a role in shaping the clarity of regulated financial disclosures and a firm's information environment. Consistent with the notion that clear thinking leads to clear writing, we find more able management teams produce clearer and...

This study examines the role of effective control systems in capturing corporate innovation. Although we expect effective control systems to improve information flows within the firm by allowing managers to better identify and patent their most valuable intellectual property, a priori this...

This study documents a spillover effect of accounting fraud by showing that after the revelation of accounting misconduct, there is an increase in financially motivated neighborhood crime (robberies, thefts, etc.) in the cities where these misconduct firms are located. We find that more visible...

We examine a comprehensive set of investigations by SEC Division of Enforcement offices to provide evidence on the consequences of busyness on the formal investigation process. Our evidence suggests that higher office case backlog decreases the likelihood of investigation initiation. Consistent...

In addition to disclosure regulation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) periodically intervenes in the market making process to facilitate fair, orderly, and efficient capital markets. For example, responding to calls for increased market maker competition on the Nasdaq in the early...

Research on restatements has grown significantly in recent years. Many of these studies test hypotheses about the causes and consequences of intentional managerial misreporting but rely on restatement data (such as the GAO database) that contains both irregularities (intentional misstatements)...