Drawing on financial reporting, institutional, and social psychology theories, we consider whether awareness of SEC scrutiny affects the extent to which managers exercise financial reporting discretion. Because there is a higher probability that the SEC will detect misconduct and impose...

In this study, we examine whether investors' actions to acquire accounting information are predictive of future firm performance because these actions partially reveal investors' private expectations of this performance. Using a database of EDGAR downloads, we find some evidence that information...

In an effort to enhance informational transparency for investors, the SEC periodically reviews public firms' filings for regulatory compliance. Although the SEC dedicates significant resources to the filing review process, the efficacy of this process is unclear. Upon receipt of a comment letter...

This study examines whether the percentage of retail ownership of a firm is associated with the likelihood that the firm is subject to monitoring and enforcement by the two largest divisions of the SEC. We find a negative association between retail ownership percentage and SEC monitoring. In...