The evolution of financial reporting quality for companies listed on the Tadawul Stock Exchange in Saudi Arabia: New emerging markets' evidence

Motivated by the Saudi Arabian government's objective to diversify its economy away from oil and correct deficiencies associated with the Saudi stock market crash of 2006, a series of significant capital market infrastructure reforms were initiated that began with the 2007 reorganization of the Tadawul Stock Exchange (TSE) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA) as its sole regulator. This paper adds to the growing body of emerging market literature by providing new evidence of the effects of these initiatives on earnings quality for firms listed on the TSE. The results of tests of this study provide robust evidence that earnings quality increased during the 2007 to 2018 reform period. In particular, we document that relative to pre – reform years, reform period R squares, earnings response coefficients (ERCs) increased and discretionary accruals decreased. We rationalize these findings by asserting that improved regulatory oversight in juxtaposition with significant reform period investments into Saudi Arabia's capital markets infrastructure enhanced earnings quality (Jiambalvo et al., 2002; Latif et al., 2017; Zhong et al., 2017).     

Managing socio-political risk at the subnational level: Lessons from MNE subsidiaries in Indonesia

Within emerging markets, institutional conditions vary significantly at both the country and subnational levels. Although the extant literature recognises the types of risk faced by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging markets, it has hitherto paid scarce attention to explaining how MNEs manage such risk at the subnational level. Reporting on four case studies from Indonesia, we outline how MNEs ensure their success by maintaining active relationships with a variety of non-market actors—including opinion leaders, government officials, and communities at the subnational level. In our study, we developed a conceptual framework, showcasing how MNEs can manage socio-political risk within heterogeneous institutional settings.     

Less timely earnings announcements and voluntary disclosure

The release of earnings information has become less timely in recent years partly because firms increasingly disclose earnings concurrently with their periodic reports (e.g., 10-Ks, 10-Qs). We examine whether firms use voluntary disclosure to mitigate the negative economic consequences of less timely earnings announcements (EAs). We find that firms with less timely EAs are more likely to provide voluntary 8-K filings over the period leading to the EA. We also find that investors’ demand for timely information, the nature of earnings news and litigation risk affect the extent to which firms provide voluntary disclosure to compensate for less timely EAs. The negative effect of less timely EAs on information asymmetry is attenuated when firms provide voluntary 8-K filings prior to EAs. Overall, our findings suggest that firms voluntarily communicate with investors using voluntary disclosure when their EAs are less timely.