This report expands into early 2013 studies of the raw performance (profitability) of $457.6 billion of buybacks executed since 2000 by a sample of 232 corporations. The sample companies, drawn mainly from the technology sector, enjoy total equity market value today of $1.221 trillion. 75.0% of...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use and effectiveness of synergy valuation models in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This paper advances the current debate on synergy and valuation models in accounting and finance studies. In particular, it answers the call for a detailed...

We find that motivated monitoring by institutional investors mitigates firm investment inefficiency, estimated by Richardson's (2006) approach. This relation is robust when using the annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes as exogenous shocks to institutional ownership during the period...

This monograph presents existing and new research on three approaches to multiagent incentives: simpler mechanisms, robust mechanisms, and implicit contracts. The goal of all three approaches is to find theories that better explain observed institutions than the standard approach has

Capex guidance disclosed by a firm’s peers provides useful information about their investment plans. We document a positive association between peers’ capex guidance and managerial learning about investment opportunities from stock prices, as captured by investment-q sensitivity, which is...

This study examines the relation between auditors and their client's investment efficiency. We hypothesize and find that auditor's characteristics that proxy for an auditor's knowledge and resources are associated with higher client investment efficiency, after controlling for the auditor's...

We study the role of borrower accounting quality in debt contracting. Specifically, we examine how accounting quality affects the borrower's choice of private versus public debt market and how the design of debt contracts vary with accounting quality in the two markets. We find that accounting...

This study examines whether firms' capital expenditure forecasts can act as a commitment to not engage in expropriation of lenders through opportunistic investment activities. We find that firms with higher leverage and lower credit quality are more likely to issue capital expenditure forecasts....

This paper examines industrial differences in depreciation rates and the suitability of financial data for a microeconomic analysis. Depreciation is a main source of enterprise investment and serves as a source for replacement of obsolete or used-up capital. The findings on capital structure in...

We explore whether disclosures in the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) have spillover effects for investment and investment efficiency, and whether spillover effects vary with competition. We focus on the tone of MD&A disclosures and document that the association between a ompany's...