A common view is that verified earnings reports encourage investment through improved transparency. We lack direct evidence on this foundational proposition because researchers cannot observe counterfactuals where a manager either: (1) must remain silent about performance or (2) can make any...

Extant knowledge of Ponzi schemes in the accounting and finance literature is mainly anecdotal. The consequence of this is that it is difficult to know what, if anything, can be done to deter these frauds. We seek to fill part of our knowledge gap about Ponzi schemes by providing large-scale...

Prior analytical research suggests that competitive firms within an industry may not voluntarily share their private market information through a trade association. Given legal restrictions which preclude trade associations from compelling participation or accurate reporting by firms or...

Smith and Wilson (2019) posit that we self-regulate our actions to conform with what we believe is socially appropriate. The mechanism is Adam Smith's “Impartial Spectator,” a fictitious individual constructed in the mind who helps us predict whether our actions and motivations will earn...

We investigate the extent and nature of income conservatism as reflected in the financial statement numbers of firms in the U.S. technology sector. Technology firms are predicted to have greater income conservatism than other U.S. firms because they are subject to both higher shareholder...