Ethical Reasoning and the Use of Insider Information in Stock Trading

The cognitive developmental theory of ethics suggests that there is a positive relationship between ethical reasoning and ethical behavior. In this study, we trained a sample of accounting and finance students in performing competitive stock trading in our state-of-the-art trading room. The subjects then performed trading of stocks under two experimental conditions: insider information, and no-insider information where significant performance-based financial awards were at stake. We also administered the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Ethical behavior, as the dependent variable was measured in a binary scale: whether the subjects used insider information for trading of stocks or not. Ethical reasoning as measured by the DIT P-score indicated statistically significant effect on ethical behavior. The results have important implications for recruitment and training of professionals engaged in the use of financial markets for securities trading.     

An Experiment Testing the Determinants of Non-Compliance with Insider Trading Laws

Recent stories of corporate insiders avoiding losses and, in some cases, generating enormous personal profits as their companies crumbled have led investors to question the integrity of American business and the fairness of the United States stock markets. The SEC tries to ensure the fairness of the stock markets by making and enforcing laws against unfair practices such as insider trading. In the United States, when insiders trade stock based on non-public information, they have broken the law and betrayed the trust that has been placed in them.This study used student subjects to test the relationship between the likelihood of trading based on insider information and subjective probabilities of deterrents and motivations for insider trading. Expected gain, guilt, cynicism, and fairness of laws were the determinants that had a significant relationship with the intent to trade based on insider information. This study also found support for prospect theory with regard to insider trading. The results indicate that subjects are more likely to trade based on insider information to avoid a loss than to achieve an abnormal gain. The study also finds evidence of social desirability response bias.Additional findings of the study were that subjects did not view the determinants for themselves in a manner consistent with how they viewed those same deterrents and motivations for other people. Also, a test of the effects of gender found that certainty and social stigma were significantly higher for female respondents than for male respondents.     

What is really unethical about insider trading?

Insider trading is illegal, and is widely believed to be unethical. It has received widespread attention in the media and has become, for some, the very symbol of ethical decay in business. For a practice that has come to epitomize unethical business behavior, however, insider trading has received surprisingly little ethical analysis. This article critically examines the principal ethical arguments against insider trading: the claim that the practice is unfair, the claim that it involves a misappropriation of information and the claim that it harms ordinary investors and the market as a whole. The author concludes that each of these arguments has some serious deficiencies; no one of them by itself provides a sufficient reason for outlawing insider trading. This does not mean, however, that there are no reasons for prohibiting the practice. The author argues that the real reason for outlawing insider trading is that it undermines the fiduciary relationship that lies at the heart of American business. Jennifer Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Business Administration at the University of Delaware. She teaches and does research in the areas of business ethics and business law. She is the author of several articles in business ethics and co-editor of the anthology, Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, published by McGraw-Hill.     

The Impact of Business Education on Moral Judgment Competence: An Empirical Study

Recent highly publicized ethical breaches including those at Enron and WorldCom have focused attention on ethical behavior within the accounting profession. At the heart of the debate is whether ethical attitudes of accountants are to blame. Using a nationally representative sample of accounting practitioners and a multidisciplinary student sample at two Southern United States universities, we compare sample responses to 25 ethically charged vignettes to test whether they differ. Overall, we find no significant difference – even for a specific “accounting tricks” vignette, which resembles the Enron and WorldCom situations. We do find, however, that the practitioners were more accepting of vignettes that involved physical harm (PH) to individuals and those that were legal (but ethically questionable). We postulate that accounting practitioners may apply a legalistic framework to their assessment of the acceptability of each vignette. Focusing on an “accounting tricks” vignette, we also find no significant difference between auditors and institutional practitioners compared to all other types of accountants in the sample. We conclude that ethical attitudes of accounting practitioners do not differ significantly by specialty area. Tisha L. N. Emerson is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Baylor University in Texas. In addition to business ethics, Professor Emerson has published articles in the areas of environmental economics and economic education. She teaches courses in environmental economics, international trade, intermediate microeconomics and microeconomic principles. Stephen J. Conroy is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of San Diego in California. In addition to business ethics, Professor Conroy has published articles in the areas of economic development and demography, economics of education and economics of aging. He teaches courses in managerial economics at both the graduate and undergraduate level, as well as undergraduate courses in urban and regional economic development, intermediate microeconomics and principles of micro- and macroeconomics. Charles W. Stanley is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Baylor University in Texas. In addition to business ethics, Dr. Stanley has published articles in the areas of financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, accounting systems, tax, and professional ethics for accountants. He has also authored several on-line continuing education courses for CPAs including one that meets the Texas State Board of Accountancy requirements for continuing education by Texas CPAs. He teaches courses in auditing, ethics, financial accounting and managerial accounting in the MBA program at Baylor.     

论“市场欺诈理论”与证券内幕交易民事责任因果关系的确立及借鉴

目前内幕交易民事责任因果关系问题是我国立法中的一个空白点。理论界对此问题做过大量探讨,但涉及内幕交易因果关系的理论基础和发展趋势及我国应采用的基本观点还缺乏必要的认识,为此从我国相关立法实践出发,借鉴"市场欺诈理论"和西方国家立法、司法实践,对完善我国证券内幕交易民事责任的因果关系问题提出建设性意见。     

Insider trading laws and price informativeness in emerging stock markets: The South African case

We test the view that insider trading deters informativeness and, thereby, provide empirical evidence on the ramifications of insider trading legislation, particularly in an emerging market, that has hitherto received no research attention. Using the difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that “effective insider trading law” improves stock price informativeness, a reflection of market efficiency, and that this efficiency is robust to both economic factors that affect market efficiency and the choice of control. Importantly, our results support the hypothesis that prohibition of insider trading elicits efficiency enhancement, particularly in emerging markets which are often characterized by weaker requisite institutional infrastructure than developed markets.     

The ethics of insider trading

Despite the fact that a number of economists and philosophers of late defend insider trading both as a viable and useful practice in a free market and as not immoral, I shall question the value of insider trading both from a moral and an economic point of view. I shall argue that insider trading both in its present illegal form and as a legalized market mechanism undermines the efficient and proper functioning of a free market, thereby bringing into question its own raison d'etre. It does so and is economically inefficient for the very reason that it is immoral. Thus this practice cannot be justified either from an economic or a moral point of view.

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Conflict of Interest and the Talmud

A core value of Judaism is leading an ethical life. The Talmud, an authoritative source on Jewish law and tradition, has a number of discussions that deal with honesty in business and decision-making. One motive that can cause individuals to be unscrupulous is the presence of a conflict of interest. This paper will define, discuss, and review five Talmudic concepts relevant to conflict of interest. They are (1) Nogea B’Davar (being an interested party), (2) V’hiyitem N’keyim (behaving to ensure that one is above suspicion) (3) Lifnei Iver (placing a stumbling block before the blind), (4) Shokhad (accepting a bribe), and (5) Geneivat Da’at (deception and undeserved goodwill). Case examples will be used to apply these Talmudic principles to contemporary business practice. This will include discussion of these Talmudic concepts as it applies to specific contemporary business examples relevant to the boardroom, accounting firms, investment banking, politics, and government. It may be impossible to eliminate all conflicts of interest. However, knowledge and awareness of these Talmudic principles can help individuals in business settings better address the ethical issues that they confront. Joshua Fogel, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Business Program of the Department of Economics at Brooklyn College. He is the Business Program’s behavioral scientist. He has an interest in the interface of religion and business ethics and can be contacted at joshua.fogel@gmail.com. Hershey H. Friedman, PhD, is a Professor in the Business Program of the Department of Economics at Brooklyn College. He has interest in business ethics and also the interface of religion and entrepreneurship. He currently is funded with a grant by the Kauffman Foundation to study religion and entrepreneurship.     

Recent SEC prosecution and insider trading on forthcoming merger announcements

While trading on nonpublic information is illegal, the enforcement of this law has been elusive, particularly in the area of trading in advance of merger announcements. We examine the impact of insider trading on daily stock price changes for firms identified by the SEC in the Antoniu-Newman insider trading case. Using residual analysis, the abnormal returns occuring prior to the announcement are calculated and compared with a sample of 188 typical merger candidates not identified in the Antoniu-Newman case to determine whether or not there was an unusually large market reaction prior to the forthcoming merger announcement on the subset of merger candidates involved in the court procedure.     

Accounting as Applied Ethics: Teaching a Discipline

In this article it is argued that there are notable parallels between all of the different strands within ethics on the one hand, and accountancy on the other that, in teaching, can be drawn upon to enhance students’ understanding of the latter. Accountancy, part of economics, draws on utilitarian ethics, but not solely so. Accounting, in addition, draws on deontological and communitarian strands in ethics. The article suggests that the teaching of accounting – especially to non-economists – would benefit substantially from highlighting and developing these parallels. Wilfred Dolfsma is both an economist and a philosopher, and holds a Ph.D. in the former from Erasmus University. He is attached to the Erasmus University, Rotterdam at the Business School, as well as MERIT, University Maastricht. He is currently fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study. He is corresponding editor of the Review of Social Economy (Routledge). He has co-edited Globalization Social Capital and Inequality (2003, with Charlie Dannreuther), Understanding the Knowledge Economy (2006, with Luc Soete) and Ethics and the Market (2006, with Jane Clary and Deborah M. Figart).     

Where Should the Line Be Drawn on Insider Trading Ethics?

Finance ethics have drawn increasing attention from both government regulators and academic researchers. This paper addresses the issue of insider trading ethics. Previous studies on insider trading ethics have failed to provide convincing arguments and consistent results. In particular, the arguments against insider trading are based primarily on moral and philosophical grounds and lack empirical rigor. This study intends to establish and examine the relationship between the ethical issue and economic issue of insider trading. We argue that the ethics of insider trading is in essence an economic rather than a moral issue. It is so far not clear to what extent insider trading may increase or decrease shareholders wealth. Until then, we must take care to avoid over-regulating insider trading.     

Ma and Sun on Insider Trading Ethics

Ma and Sun have recently argued that some forms of insider trading are ethically acceptable. We argue that the authors fail to prove three key premises of their argument, which is therefore unsound.     

The Issue of Insider Trading in Law and Economics: Lessons for Emerging Financial Markets in the World

Growth of the private sector and privatization of state companies around the world have led to the emergence of various stock markets, some of which are depicted by insider trading. Law literature uses the arguments of unfairness, breach of fiduciary rights and damage to others to define and rule against insider trading. Economic literature can be used to interpret insider trading from other perspectives. This study argues that the question of insider trading in developing markets can be resolved by the extent stock markets generate externalities and are public goods. It advocates structural changes in the developing markets and examines the conditions under which the Coase Theorem would work.     

Corporate governance and insider trading regulation efficiency

This paper aims to measure insider trading probability and the corresponding regulation efficiency in China. Based on an identification of influencing factors of corporate governance, the author explores the relationship among insider trading, corporate governance, and corporate value. The author also uses, based on high-frequency financial data, the probability of insider trading to measure the degree of insider trading in China’s security market. Results reveal that China’s security market has failed to punish and prohibit illegal insider trading effectively. However, the security market does exert certain constraints on insider-trading-ridden listed companies. The conclusion of this article is that by improving corporate governance, we can enhance the efficiency of insider trading regulation. Practical implications are also discussed.     

The Ethics of Managerial Compensation: The Case of Executive Stock Options

This paper examines the ethics of contemporary managerial compensation in the context of executive stock options. Economic considerations would dictate that executive stock options should be adjusted to eliminate the effect of overall stock market movements which are beyond the control of the executive. However, in practice, most executive stock options are not adjusted to control for these outside factors. Agency considerations are the most likely culprit. Adjusting for the influence of outside factors, such as a generally rising stock market, from executive stock options sets a higher bar for managers to reach. Furthermore, traditional accounting standards permitted firms that did not adjust options to avoid reporting options as expenses. This presents CEOs and boards of directors with a major ethical dilemma. On the one hand, their duty to their shareholders and stakeholders dictates that executive stock options should be adjusted to eliminate outside noise from unrelated movements in the overall stock market. However, financial statements are presented in the language of accounting. If the overwhelming majority of the users of a language define a particular item in one way, then to deviate from the norm implies that the recipient of such a deviant statement may not properly interpret the statement. Likewise, if the standard practice is for firms to use unadjusted options and thus under-report expenses, to deviate from this industry norm risks that users of financial statements would not properly interpret the financial statements, with perhaps negative consequences for the shareholders. In short, if “everyone else does it,” then it could be wrong for an individual firm to deviate from the norm as that would harm the shareholders. James J. Angel is an Associate Professor of Finance at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He is a financial expert whose research focuses on the operation of financial markets in the United States and other countries. He currently serves on the OTCBB Advisory Board, and he has served as Chair of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Council. He earned his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology, his MBA from the Harvard Business School, and he earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California at Berkeley. Douglas M. McCabe is a Professor of Management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He serves on the Editorial Boards of 20 scholarly journals, including Research on Ethical Issues in Organizations, JAI Press as well as the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. Considered by the media to be an expert in his field, he has appeared more than 200 times on international (CNN), national (ABC, NBC, and CBS), and local television and radio. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.     

税收监管的会计管理新模式探析——基于临安市会计管理的考察

会计管理模式的选择,直接关系到会计信息的质量和会计管理工作的效果。本文在评析现有会计管理模式的基础上,根据临安市会计管理的相关实践,提出了税收监管的会计管理新模式,剖析了该模式的主要特点,从法学、管理学、经济学视角论证了其可行性。     

News media and insider trading profitability: An emerging country perspective

We test news media's disciplining by dissemination role and predictive power in insider trading related issues with a large and novel dataset on Chinese firms between 2008 and 2017. We find that more media coverage is associated with significantly lower level of insider trading profitability, which confirms the disciplining by dissemination role of media documented in the developed market. However, as a new evidence to the media and insider trading literature, we also find that media's negative tone has a positive correlation with future insider trading profitability, which is consistent with the media predictive power argument. In addition, we find that media's predictive power is amplified by a firm's good governance structure and low level of information asymmetry. Our study shows news media's effectiveness in predicting opportunistic insider trading in China.     

浅谈商贸公司应收账款的管控策略

应收账款是商贸公司常用的商业信用形式之一。应收账款居高不下势必危及商贸企业的生存。之所以会产生这一现象,主要源于市场竞争激烈化、企业清理欠款工作力度不佳以及依法解决债务纠纷的意识薄弱。为销除应收账款的过度积欠,商贸企业有必要建立客户资信台账,评定客户资信等级,合理调整其积欠额度。与此同时,应建立应收账款内部控制制度,明确权限责任,力保资金的安全回收。     

简论会计理论创新

会计理论创新推动着会计改革,而会计改革的步伐又会激发会计理论的创新。会计理论创新既要符合事物创新的一般规律,又有着自身的特殊性,应当坚持先进性、科学性、实践性、导向性、渐进性等原则,并注意做到符合国际会计潮流与发展趋势,紧密联系新科技革命的发展变化,适应人们的认识与实践规律,符合我国的基本国情与经济发展状况等。     

The FASB's cost/benefit constraint in theory and practice

The FASB in its Conceptual Framework has set high principles in the ethics of standard-setting in accounting. This paper concentrates on what the FASB calls the cost/benefit constraint, i.e., the commitment to setting an accounting standard only when the benefits of the standard exceeds the costs of that standard toall stakeholders. This constraint is supposed to take precedence over other concerns, such as neutrality (freedom from bias) of account information.The major conclusion of this paper is that a conflict exists between the FASB's commitment and its practice. There is no evidence that the FASB has always made a costs and benefits judgement with respect to proposed standards. In the cases when such a judgement is made, the FASB discounts social costs; therefore, it is not considering costs to all stakeholders. At the same time the FASB discounts social costs, it seems to have an undue concern for standards that do not increase the volatility of net income. The Conceptual Framework explicitly defines costs as the costs to society as a whole.Stanley Martens is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at DePaul University. He has written many articles for philosophy publications and accounting publications.Kevin Stevens is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at DePaul University. He has written many articles for various accounting publications.