In the context of securities clearing and settlement systems, the nature of governance arrangements acquires a dimension that goes beyond their traditional function in corporate law. They constitute a tool for regulators and central banks to achieve their respective policy goals relating to...

Prior analyst literature focuses on the impact of financial analysts on the firms they cover, and prior information-transfer literature concentrates on the externalities of information provided by management. This paper fills gaps in both streams of literature by examining the focal firm's...

The way some financial institutions are implementing compensation reforms suggests a strengthening alignment of interest among executives, their firms, and wider society.First, through mandatory deferral, payment in equity, and other mechanisms, bankers' pay is more exposed to longer-term...

We examine the association between board independence and the characteristics of non-GAAP earnings. Our results suggest that companies with less independent boards are more likely to opportunistically exclude recurring items from non-GAAP earnings. Specifically, we find that exclusions from...

The recent report by Standards and poor has generated a lot of controversies. While some commentators are saying such report should be discarded others are clamouring for its proper perusal and examination. Investors are beginning to panic over their investments. The question in the lips of...

Investors, regulators, academics, and researchers all emphasize the importance of financial statement comparability. However, an empirical construct of comparability is typically not specified. In addition, little evidence exists on the benefits of comparability to users. This study attempts to...

Using data on over 4,000 individual residential addresses, we find that geographic distance between directors and corporate headquarters is related to information acquisition and board decisions. The fraction of a board's unaffiliated directors who live near headquarters is higher when...

We examine whether greater transparency leads to improved evaluation and rewarding of management. We posit that disclosure improves board effectiveness at monitoring executives and in strengthening the link between pay and performance. We use management guidance as our empirical proxy for...

In this paper we explain the evolving demutualisation process of stock exchanges, in particular the affect of demutualisation on the role of stock exchanges as self-regulatory organizations (SROs). We reveal specific conflicts of interests that arise in a demutualised stock exchange,...

Islamic Finance has been growing at annual double-digit rates for about 40 years although even in conservative Islamic countries the Sharia with its prohibition of interest (ribâ) is not directly applicable law. Islamic Finance is voluntary and encompasses all kinds of financial services that...