We investigate the association between financial restatements and internal controls by examining whether voluntary restatement decisions are associated with internal control quality. We focus on companies' voluntary restatements because they are more susceptible to the numerous provisions...

This study evaluates corporate voluntary disclosure of forward-looking information under the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Based on an analysis of earnings and sales forecasts issued by 523 computer hardware, computer software, and pharmaceutical...

Events leading up to the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) increased the public's focus on corporate governance and increased regulatory scrutiny of corporate governance mechanisms. These events also contributed to a massive restructuring in the audit market which resulted...

This paper examines whether firms manipulating their reported financial results make suboptimal investment decisions. We examine fixed asset investments for a large sample of public companies during the 1978-2002 period and document that firms that manipulate their earnings - firms investigated...

SFAS 142 requires managers to estimate the current fair value of goodwill to determine goodwill write-offs. In promulgating the standard, the FASB predicted managers will, on average, use the fair value estimates to convey private information on future cash flows. The current fair value of...

We track the fortunes of all 2,206 individuals identified as responsible parties for all 788 SEC and Department of Justice enforcement actions for financial misrepresentation from 1978 through September 30, 2006. Fully 93% lose their jobs by the end of the regulatory enforcement period. A...

This paper is the first in a two part series on conservatism in accounting. Part I examines alternative explanations for conservatism in accounting and their implications for accounting regulators. Part II summarizes the empirical evidence on conservatism, its consistency with alternative...

This paper examines conservatism in accounting. Conservatism is defined as the differential verifiability required for recognition of profits versus losses. In its extreme form the definition incorporates the traditional conservatism adage: quot;anticipate no profit, but anticipate all...

This study investigates whether a firm's corporate governance practices have an effect on the quality of its publicly released financial information. In particular, we examine the relationship between audit committee and board of directors characteristics and the extent of corporate earnings...

This study investigates the association between bias in earnings forecasts released by managers of financially distressed firms and subsequent insider trading. Prior studies have documented optimism in such forecasts. Given this finding, this study investigates whether this optimism is...