We investigate the credibility of forward-looking performance disclosures (FLPDs) in the narrative sections of annual reports, as perceived by investors. Our proxy for these disclosures is an index of statements about future performance. We find that companies issue more FLPDs when raising debt...

This paper examines flows of bad and good news as a feature of the firm’s information environment. We argue that to the extent that managers delay reporting bad news, this leads to bad news being more concentrated. Measuring flows of bad and good news using flows of negative and positive...

Financial Reporting Standard No3 (FRS 3): Reporting Financial Performance, which came into force in 1993, increased UK firms' discretion in classifying exceptional items. We examine how this increased discretion affected their use of classificatory smoothing and inter-temporal smoothing through...

We examine whether UK firms engage in earnings management or forecast guidance to ensure that their reported earnings meet analyst earnings expectations. We explore two earnings management mechanisms: (a) positive abnormal working capital accruals; and (b) classification shifting of core...

This study explores the market response to achieving analyst earnings expectations, distinguishing between expectations achieved through earnings forecast guidance and earnings management. We consider three earnings management tools: real earnings management, working capital accruals management,...

We hypothesize and provide evidence that the economic consequences of managerial accounting discretion vary systematically with volatility in firm fundamentals. Unlike common approaches in the literature that identify managerial discretion as orthogonal to business volatility, we use a model...

Financial Reporting Standard No 3 (FRS3) regulated the reporting of financial performance by UK firms from 1993 until the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in 2005. FRS3 outlawed extraordinary items, but allowed a clearer distinction between recurring and transitory income...