This paper studies the effect of the public disclosure of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comment-letter reviews (CLs) on firms' financial reporting. We exploit a major change in the SEC's disclosure policy: in 2004, the SEC decided to make its CLs publicly available. Using a novel...

Outsourcing has become a significant factor in the U.S. economy over the past two decades. Annual report disclosures made by a firm related to outsourcing are voluntary disclosures. Understanding the determinants and firm performance implications of initial outsourcing annual report disclosures...

We analyze the first quarter 2007 10-Q filings of 348 Samp;P 500 calendar year-end firms to provide evidence concerning the levels of, and changes in, unrecognized tax benefits (UTBs) resulting from the adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48). We draw the following conclusions. First,...

This paper examines whether legal liability coverage, as measured by excess directors' and officers' (Damp;O) liability insurance coverage and excess cash for indemnification, is associated with the quantity and the quality of a firm's voluntary disclosures. Using Canadian firms whose Damp;O...

Prior research generally interprets complex language in firms' disclosures as indicative of managerial obfuscation. However, complex language can also reflect the provision of complex information, e.g., informative technical disclosure. As a consequence, linguistic complexity commingles two...

A growing literature documents that complex financial statements negatively affect the information environment. In this paper, we examine whether managers use voluntary disclosure to mitigate these negative effects. Employing cross-sectional and within-firm designs, we find a robust positive...

This article offers a survey of theoretical research on disclosure and the cost of capital. We summarize the current state of the literature and discuss the channels through which information affects the cost of capital. After giving an overview of asset pricing theory, we examine the rationale...

The growth in demand for corporate social responsibility (CSR) information raises the question of how various CSR disclosure items are used by investors, an important stakeholder group driven by instrumental, moral, and relational motives. Prior research examines the instrumental motive to...

Prior research generally interprets complex language in firms' disclosures as indicative of managerial obfuscation. However, complex language can also reflect the provision of complex information; for example, informative technical disclosure. As a consequence, linguistic complexity commingles...

Investor relations officers (IROs) play a central role in corporate communications with Wall Street. We survey 610 IROs at publicly traded U.S. companies and conduct 14 follow-up interviews to gain insights into the nature of their interactions with sell-side analysts and institutional...