Assessing the predictive ability of behavioral finance theories using out-of-sample data is important. Without predictive tests, the risk of overfitting theory to data is large considering the potentially boundless set of psychological biases underlying the behavioral explanations for observed...

Analyst research helps prices reflect information about a security's fundamentals. However, analysts' private incentives potentially contribute to misleading research and it is possible that the market fixates on such misleading and/or optimistic reports. We examine cross-sectional determinants...

This paper examines whether auditor fees are associated with earnings management and the market reaction to the disclosure of auditor fees. Using data collected from proxy statements, we present evidence that non-audit fees are positively associated with small positive earnings surprises, the...

Previous research suggests legal liability as a strong determinant of corporate disclosure policies and the content of corporate disclosures. We study the influence of pre-earnings announcement quiet periods on legal liability and the affect of Regulation FD on corporation's use of quiet...

This study examines the market response to confirming forecasts. Confirming management forecasts are voluntary disclosures by management that corroborate existing market expectations about future earnings. The study of confirming forecasts is important because it can provide evidence on the...

This paper provides evidence on the characteristics of firms that hold conference calls and on whether these calls provide information to market participants. We find that firms that hold conference calls are larger, more profitable, go to the capital markets more often, and are growing more...

We examine the association between board independence and the characteristics of non-GAAP earnings. Our results suggest that companies with less independent boards are more likely to opportunistically exclude recurring items from non-GAAP earnings. Specifically, we find that exclusions from...

We predict the persistence of large negative special items based on expected accounting conservatism. Greater conservatism results in immediate recognition of anticipated future cash flow losses, leading to large negative special items that are highly associated with contemporaneous returns. If...