We utilize information only recently disclosed on Form 990 to examine the use and consequences of incentive pay at nonprofit organizations. While not used as frequently as in for-profit firms, bonuses are common in nonprofits, as we observe them in approximately 44 percent of our firm-year...

We investigate the impact of say-on-pay on 2010 executive compensation, finding affected firms reduced compensation and made it more performance-based, with that decrease being greater for firms that previously overpaid their CEOs. We also find the percentage of votes cast against executive pay...

Using the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), we examine whether an exogenously imposed disclosure reform that increases the amount of information affects the level of executive compensation. Extant theories suggest that disclosure reforms could either raise...

Debt covenant violation alters firm dynamics, providing creditors with the right to demand repayment, and via that right, influence firm actions. We provide evidence consistent with creditors employing that channel to influence CEO compensation. Using regression discontinuity analysis, we show...

In this paper we examine the effect of Enron, Andersen, and Sarbanes-Oxley on the fees paid by clients for their audits, and on the movement of clients from one auditor to another. As a percentage of total assets the average audit fee increased from 0.092 percent in 2000, the year before the...

Outside board chairs are more likely in firms that are smaller, have greater stock volatility and Ramp;D intensity, have a lower proportion of inside directors and less institutional ownership, and when CEOs have shorter tenure and lower ownership. We also find the existence of an outside chair...

This paper examines earnings management prior to stock option grants. Because the gain realized from a stock option is dependent on the difference between the exercise price determined on the stock option grant date and market price on the exercise date, management has the incentive to...

The release of the full set of financial statements in Form 10-Q provides investors with the data necessary to estimate the discretionary portion of earnings, thereby allowing them to better assess the integrity of reported quarterly earnings. We thus expect a negative association between...