We examine whether the properties of bond ratings from certified agencies (designated by the SEC) differ from those of non-certified bond rating agencies. Bond ratings from non-certified agencies are used solely for investment advice. Certified ratings are used by a variety of constituents, many...

Prior to Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) some management spent considerable time and effort guiding analyst earnings estimates, often through detailed reviews of analysts' earnings models. In this paper I use proprietary survey data from the National Investor Relations Institute to identify...

Managers often provide self-serving disclosures that blame poor financial performance on temporary, external factors. Results of an experiment conducted with 124 financial analysts suggest that when analysts perceive such disclosures as plausible, they provide higher earnings forecasts and stock...

Previous research argues that earnings quality, measured as the unsigned abnormal accruals, proxies for information asymmetries that affect cost of capital. We examine this argument directly in two stages. In the first stage, we estimate the firm's exposure to an earnings quality factor in the...

We examine management forecasts to determine whether Regulation Fair Disclosure has improved the quality and quantity of public disclosures. Management forecasts are voluntary, provide earnings guidance and are highly sought by investors and analysts. We find that the information disclosed by...

We investigate whether earnings guidance affects aggregate stock returns through its effects on expectations about overall earnings performance and/or aggregate expected returns. We find that aggregate guidance, especially relative levels of quarterly downward guidance, is associated with...

A firm meets or beats expectations when it reports earnings that are at or above the consensus analysts' forecast. We argue that two types of firms MBE: strong firms who commit to future performance and signal future earnings by MBE, and weak firms who attempt to mimic strong firms by managing...

This paper examines whether analysts resident in a country make more precise earnings forecasts for firms in that country than analysts who are not resident in that country. Using a sample of 32 countries, we find that there is an economically and statistically significant analyst local...

To enhance traditional financial reporting, academics and policymakers have suggested that financial statement users be provided with nonfinancial performance information that may enhance users? ability to evaluate and predict financial performance. This study tests this proposition by examining...

In this study, we investigate underlying mechanisms for the effects of management guidance forms on investors' judgments. We do so by comparing effects of point and range guidance with those associated with a hybrid management guidance form that combines the attributes of both point and range...