We examine the relation between firms' debt maturity structures and the propensity to manage earnings. Our results indicate that (i) firms with more current debt are more susceptible to managing earnings, (ii) this relation is stronger for firms facing debt market constraints (those without investment grade debt) and (iii) auditor characteristics such as auditor quality and tenure help diminish...

Using a large sample of Chinese listed companies during period from 2005 to 2014, this paper investigates whether the managerial characteristics of Chairman affect earnings management. Using McNichols [1] accrual-based and Roychowdhury [2] real earning management, we find that companies with female, long-tenured, older and more educated Chairman have lower absolute discretionary accruals and lo...

In 1989 the Hong Kong government embarked on a program to increase the provision of first-year first-degree places. The expansion of tertiary education represents a large and exogenous increase in supply of university graduates to the territory. This paper measures the labor market effects of the expansion program by studying the changes in earnings premium for university graduates. Two alterna...

This paper examines empirically the effect of firm growth opportunities and earnings quality on the market valuation of free cash flow, defined as the difference between operating cash flows and capital expenditures. Equity valuation theory prescribes that free cash flow should not be associated with stock returns because it does not add value. However, free cash flow could become a value-relev...

Kilbridge correctly points out that comparative effectiveness research (CER) does not require cost data. It should also be pointed out, however, that the composition of the quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gain of one intervention over another—whether the QALY gain is achieved mainly in the dimension of longevity or in the dimension of quality of life—has real consequences in terms of comparat...

We argue that high quality firms that expect larger quantity of cash flows in the near future are more likely to actively smooth earnings via discretionary accruals before seasonal equity offerings to reduce underpricing. If high quality firms are confident about future earnings, it is also plausible to assume that they also push their offer prices up more aggressively, and lessen the degree of...

An information usefulness approach to decision making points out that only the information is regarded as useful that will bring valuable messages to investors and lead to stock price adjustments. This study examines the effectiveness of audit committees in improving earnings quality and informativeness, particularly among family-owned firms. Earnings informativeness was measured through the re...

Existing studies of the effects of college quality on earnings typically rely on a single proxy variable for college quality. This study questions the wisdom of this approach given that a single proxy likely measures college quality with substantial error. We begin by considering the parameter of interest and its relation to the parameter estimated in the literature; this analysis reveals the p...