Much of the existing empirical evidence on the use of stock option compensation conflicts with theoretical predictions. This has led some to conclude that the theories are incomplete or that stock option compensation policies are not optimal, on average. However, most studies use data from the...

This study tests whether firms in the electric utility industry alter their compensation policies in response to the recent and dramatic changes that the 1992 Energy Policy Act imposes on their operating and regulatory environment. The 1992 Act intensifies competition in the utility industry by...

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and in what way adopting firms benefited from the pattern documented by Balsam et al. (1995) of reporting owners' equity increasing (decreasing) effects of mandated accounting changes in the income statement (balance sheet directly). If the...

The use of stock-based compensation for U.S. CEOs has increased significantly throughout the 1990s. Research interest, in particular on stock option compensation, has similarly increased, yet contradictory results create questions about the theoretical underpinnings. Therefore, we revisit the...

A significant volume of long-term debt was refinanced by corporate America in the early 1990s. We argue that a majority of the refinancing was undertaken to improve the firm's cash flow performance. Firms replacing high-coupon long-term debt with low-coupon debt were able to increase their...

The legislation known as Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) requires firms to assess their internal controls over financial reporting and to report material weaknesses, as defined by the Public Accounting Oversight Board. Based upon early evidence, we find that firms with material weaknesses are, on average,...