In today's uncertain financial climate it is particularly important for entities to explain their financial performance relative to their expectations. Therefore, the paper analyzes the quality and quantity of management reporting in Germany's publicly traded MDAX and SDAX companies using a...

The paper analyses a strategy for avoiding the disclosure of the financial statements of a limited partnership with a limited liability company as general partner (GmbH & Co. KG) according to German Commercial Code (HGB). It describes the formal process of the joining of a natural person as an...

The paper analyzes the risk disclosure quality in the prospectus of IPOs in Germany between 2006 and 2008. Quality of risk information is measured as precision and comprehensibility. The relationship between risk disclosure quality and earnings power is tested. -- Risikoberichterstattung ;...

We estimate a firm-year measure of accounting conservatism, examine its empirical properties as a metric, and illustrate applications by testing new hypotheses that shed further light on the nature and effects of conservatism. The results are consistent with the measure, C_Score, capturing...

This paper argues that in revising the Takeover Bid Directive, EU policymakers should adopt a neutral approach toward takeovers, i.e. enact rules that neither hamper nor promote them. The rationale behind this approach is that takeovers can be both value-creating and value-decreasing and there...

The objective of the IFRS for SMEs is to provide SMEs an attractive accounting alternative according to international standards. The paper analyses the differences compared to the German-GAAP and highlights the consequences for medium-sized entities in Germany. -- Accounting ; full IFRS ; IFRS ;...

Managers' incentives to round up reported EPS cause under-representation of the number four in the first post-decimal digit of EPS, or "quadrophobia." We develop a novel measure of aggressive financial reporting practices based on a firm's history of quadrophobia. Quadrophobia is pervasive and...

Recent empirical data indicate that the Commission's proxy access proposals reduce shareholder wealth and are inimical to the best interests of the shareholder community at large. Cross-sectional variation in stock price response data further suggest that the Commission should reject a...

Countries pursuing economic development confront a fundamental obstacle. Reforms that increase the size of the overall pie are blocked by powerful interests that are threatened by the growth-inducing changes. This problem is conspicuous in efforts to create effective capital markets to support...

This is a preliminary study on the status of the U.S. in the global market for derivatives-related services. We include some of the policy choices available to enhance this status. We begin with a review of the importance of active and efficient derivatives markets for the U.S. economy. We then...