type="main" <p>This study asks whether insider trading associates with an information advantage around first-time debt covenant violation disclosures in SEC filings, which potentially results from early access to information about the debt covenant violation disclosure. We document two results....</p>

We assess the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on discretionary accruals (DA) and real earnings management (REM) activities around CEO turnovers. Improved corporate governance post-SOX can either deter earnings management (the deterrence effect) or pressure CEOs to inflate earnings when...

New-CEO earnings news exhibits asymmetric effects on stock prices. Stock prices rise more on good earnings news announced by firms with new CEOs compared with those with established CEOs. By contrast, stock prices tend to fall by a smaller amount on bad earnings news for new CEOs. Both the...

Following CEO turnovers, US firms adjust real business activities to manage earnings downward (REM bath). This effect is most pronounced in firms with low levels of institutional ownership. REM baths early in CEOs' tenure can be confounded with legitimate adjustments to business activities....