Wealth Effects of Acquiring Financially Distressed Firms

The purpose of the present research is to study target and acquirer shareholder wealth effects of acquisition announcements in which the target is financially distressed. The abnormal returns and the dollar abnormal gains to both the target and acquiring firms are examined according to whether the mode of acquisition is a merger or a tender offer. A regression analysis is also undertaken to examine the importance of the mode of acquisition, an industry effect, and tax variables in determining the abnormal dollar gains in acquisitions of financially distressed targets.     

Empirical Evidence of Risk Shifting in Financially Distressed Firms

This paper provides evidence of risk‐shifting behavior in the investment decisions of financially distressed firms. Using a real options framework, I show that shareholders' risk‐shifting incentives can reverse the expected negative relation between volatility and investment. I test two hypotheses that are consistent with risk‐shifting behavior: (i) volatility has a positive effect on distressed firms' investment; (ii) investments of distressed firms generate less value during times of high uncertainty. Empirical evidence using 40 years of data supports both hypotheses. I further evaluate the effect of various firm characteristics on risk shifting, and estimate the costs of the investment distortion.     

Investment Policy and Exit-Exchange Offers Within Financially Distressed Firms

This article examines the conflict of interest between shareholders and bondholders in a setting in which firms can renegotiate the terms of existing debt with public debtholders. In particular, we consider one of the most common types of debt restructuring: the exit-exchange offer. Our analysis explores the relation between exit-exchange offers and investment choice by the manager, and it concludes that managers, acting strategically on behalf of shareholders, may select inefficient investment projects in order to enhance their bargaining position vis-a-vis creditors. Holding the upside potential of an investment project fixed, managers/shareholders prefer projects with lower payoffs in states of bankruptcy because it induces individual bondholders to accept poorer terms in a debt-for-debt exit-exchange offer, thus generating a greater residual for shareholders in states of solvency. Additionally, we show how the investment inefficiencies in our analysis depend on (i) the inability of bondholders to coordinate their actions; (ii) the ability of managers to commit to suboptimal investment projects; and (iii) the coupling of an individual bondholder's decision to tender and her decision to consent to allow the firm to strip fiduciary covenants. We suggest conditions under which a ban on coupled exit-exchange offers—or alternatively, constraints on “debt-for-debt” exchanges—would be efficiency-enhancing.     

Earnings Behaviour of Financially Distressed Firms: The Role of Institutional Ownership

Using a sample of 859 U.S. bankruptcy-filing firms over the period 1986–2004, we examine the earnings behaviour of managers during the distressed period by looking at sources of abnormal accruals prior to the bankruptcy-filing year. Results show that managers of highly distressed firms shift earnings downwards prior to the bankruptcy filing. We test and provide evidence in support of two potential contributing factors. First, top-level management turnover among distressed firms leads new managers to earnings bath choices during the distressed period. Second, qualified audit opinions exert pressure on managers to follow more conservative earnings behaviour during the distressed period. Evidence is also provided that the management of distressed firms with lower (higher) institutional ownership has greater (lesser) tendency to manage earnings downwards. Results also show that higher institutional ownership mitigates the negative abnormal returns of firms with top management turnover. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to examine whether institutional ownership relates to market reaction in conjunction with a top management turnover or a qualified audit opinion during the distressed period. Prior studies focused on the investigation of earnings management or institutional ownership (separately) during the distressed period, but did not examine if the effect of institutional ownership on earnings behaviour also influences subsequent returns. Thus, the results of this study should be of interest to analysts, standard setters and regulatory bodies since our results show that management turnover, qualified audit opinions and firm governance mechanisms affect the quality of earnings and the level of abnormal returns.     

Political Connections and Government Subsidies: Evidence from Financially Distressed Firms in China

Previous studies report mixed evidence regarding the effect of political connections on firm value. We seek new evidence in China, an important emerging market with a hallmark of a relationship-based economy. Using financially distressed firms (special treatment or ST firms) as a unique sample, we identify a direct channel through which political connections enhance firm value by showing that politically connected firms receive more government subsidies. Moreover, such effect becomes stronger for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), for firms with a better chance of survival, and after the government implemented a new policy to more strictly enforce the delisting in 2012.     

On Freezing Depositor Funds at Financially Distressed Banks: An Experimental Analysis

This article reports an experiment conducted to evaluate the effects of alterations in the terms of repayments to depositors following a liquidity suspension, as well as the effect of alterations in the publicity of information about withdrawal behavior on the fragility of distressed banks. Results indicate that a “tough” renegotiation stance of protecting depositors who maintain their money in the bank, can quite effectively promote stability. Information provided to depositors regarding past withdrawal behavior weakens the effectiveness of a tough renegotiation policy but reduces fragility somewhat for a more lenient rescheduling condition.     

建所立业诚信是金

注册会计师事业是维护社会公众利益的事业,是以诚信为基石的。客户的信赖,是事务所事业发展的根本。只有坚持诚信为本,操守为重的良好风尚,事务所才能争取到客户,才能兴旺发达。下面笔者就事务所诚信建设提出几点思考。 加强培训,增强诚信意识会计师事务所是以注册会计师为主体的执业机构,是高文化层次,知识密集型的群体,其性质为中介,其作用为鉴证。每位注册会计师的诚实意识状态将影响整个事务所的形象,决定其生存。会计师事务所必须将增强每位注册会计师的诚信意识作为一项经常性的工作常抓不懈。1.树立正确义利观,切实维护公众利…     

现金流权与控制权分离下的公司价值--基于我国家族上市公司的实证研究

为探究现金流权与控制权的分离对我国家族上市公司价值的作用机理以及影响程度,本文首先建立了一个基于控制权私人收益的理论模型。然后,本文以121家家族上市公司为样本,对现金流权、控制权、现金流权与控制权的分离率以及影响公司价值的诸多因素进行细致的分析。研究表明,我国家族上市公司现金流权与控制权的分离率平均为62%,并且此分离程度在东亚为最高。另外,研究发现:我国家族上市公司价值与现金流权比例显著负相关,这可能是与控股股东的“掠夺性分红”行为有关;我国家族上市公司价值与控制权比例显著负相关,与独立董事人数占董事会比例、负债规模、净资产收益率均不相关,与公司规模显著负相关;公司规模与现金流权与控制权的分离率显著负相关。     

Trade Receivables Policy of Distressed Firms and Its Effect on the Costs of Financial Distress

This paper studies the trade receivables policy of distressed firms as the trade-off between the firm's willingness to gain sales and the firm's need for cash. We find that firms increase trade receivables when they have profitability problems, but reduce trade receivables when they have cash flow problems. We also find that a firm that significantly cuts its trade receivables when in financial distress will experience an additional drop of at least 13% in sales and stock returns over the previously documented 20% average drop for financially troubled firms. Moreover, the performance decline of a firm in financial distress is significantly higher if the firm cuts trade receivables than if it does not.     

The Dynamics of Financially Constrained Arbitrage

We develop a model in which financially constrained arbitrageurs exploit price discrepancies across segmented markets. We show that the dynamics of arbitrage capital are self‐correcting: following a shock that depletes capital, returns increase, which allows capital to be gradually replenished. Spreads increase more for trades with volatile fundamentals or more time to convergence. Arbitrageurs cut their positions more in those trades, except when volatility concerns the hedgeable component. Financial constraints yield a positive cross‐sectional relationship between spreads/returns and betas with respect to arbitrage capital. Diversification of arbitrageurs across markets induces contagion, but generally lowers arbitrageurs' risk and price volatility.     

会计师事务所、资产评估机构内部治理机制建设指导意见

推进会计师事务所、资产评估机构完善内部治理机制建设,是注册会计师行业、资产评估行业健康发展的一项重要而紧迫的任务1.随着改革开放的深入和社会主义市场经济体制的逐步确立,注册会计师行业、资产评估行业在市场中发挥着日益重要的作用。会计师事务所、资产评估机构(以下简称事务所)作为自主经营、自担风险的独立主体参与市场服务,其内部治理机制的合理性和有效性,直接影响其自身的经营管理效率和服务水平事务所内部治理机制的整体水平,直接影响到行业形象和服务效率。建立有效完善的内部治理机制,规范和约束货币资本、人力资本要素投入…     

The Discount to NAV of Distressed Open-End Real Estate Funds

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - This paper examines the discount to NAV in the context of distressed German open-end real estate funds. This is a unique setting to study NAV...     

Information Provided by Accrual and Cash-Flow Measures of Operating Activities

This article examines accrual and cash-flow measures useful for observing companies' financing, investing and operating activities. It addresses the information provided jointly by income and operating cash flow, and reveals that information provided by these accounting measures is dependent on their relative magnitudes. A consistent pattern of income in excess of operating cash flow, with both measures appropriately adjusted and scaled, indicates superior company growth. Income and cash-flow patterns are associated significantly with various company financing, investing and operating attributes. Empirical tests confirm that both income and operating cash flow are important for observing company performance and prospects when considered jointly and when interpreted with respect to accounting measurement theory. At least for many companies, the results do not support the conventional wisdoms that accounting measures of income and operating cash flow converge over long periods of time and that earnings provide a reliable basis for cash-flow prediction.     

国内会计师事务所与国际会计公司的差距

自1998年我国会计师事务所脱钩改制后,注册会计师行业发展很快。在90年代中期前,三、五十个人的事务所算是已不小的所,达上百万收入的事务所也不是很多。但到了2002年,几百人员工、年收入上千万的事务所已比比皆是,有的甚至达到近亿元的年收入,一些所还在全国各地建立各种分支机构。这主要得益于社会经济的发展、事务所经验的积累、职业范围的拓展、会计市场的扩大、人员素质的提高以及有关政策的支持。但随着加入WTO后我国会计市场的进一步开放,竞争会越来越激烈,如何进一步建立健全事务所内部法人治理结构、加强事务所的内部管理、提高…     

The Internal Governance of Firms

We develop a model of internal governance where the self‐serving actions of top management are limited by the potential reaction of subordinates. Internal governance can mitigate agency problems and ensure that firms have substantial value, even with little or no external governance by investors. External governance, even if crude and uninformed, can complement internal governance and improve efficiency. This leads to a theory of investment and dividend policy, in which dividends are paid by self‐interested CEOs to maintain a balance between internal and external control.     

The Information Content of Tax Expense for Firms Reporting Losses

We investigate whether management's decision regarding the recognition of the valuation allowance (VA) for deferred tax assets provides incremental information about the persistence of accounting losses. We introduce a classification scheme that assigns loss firm‐years into three categories based on whether management appears to have recognized a material change in the VA, and whether or not the firm has positive taxable income (e.g., a net operating loss). The results of our study show that our tax categories contain information about the persistence of accounting losses over the following three years beyond variables previously identified to predict loss persistence. This incremental information is consistent with management using private information about the firm's future prospects in setting the VA. Finally, we find that investors’ pricing of the VA varies with the saliency of the tax signal and the information environment of the firm.     

对做好高校贫困生工作的几点体会

做好高校贫困生的管理及思想政治工作,有利于高校学生管理工作的顺利开展以及社会的稳定。高校应在解决贫困生经济困难的同时,加强正面引导,开展有针对性的心理咨询工作,营造良好的校园化氛围,通过各种方式改善他们的学习环境,使他们得到全面、健康的发展。     

浅谈会计师事务所的核心竞争力

核心竞争力是一种超越竞争对手的内在能力,是一个组织独有的、比竞争对手强大的、具有持久力的某种优势。会计师事务所作为为广大社会公众     

Why the Housing Sector Leads the Whole Economy: The Importance of Collateral Constraints and News Shocks

This paper establishes a dynamic stochastic partial equilibrium model for explaining residential investment dynamics in the United States, focusing on the distinctive cyclical features of residential investment in that it leads the whole economy. This paper is different from the existing literature by adding three new features to the model: news shocks, collateral constraints and agent heterogeneity. The partial equilibrium analysis where interest rates are exogenously fixed shows that these assumptions are essential to generating the dynamic pattern in which residential investment leads consumption and GDP.     

会计师事务所客户分类

事务所可按客户的价值观作以下分类:(1)经济实惠型。该类客户重视用价格来“货比三家”,倾向于选择较低价格的服务(报价较低的事务所)。不过通常也是最不容易培育其忠诚度的客户。(2)服务卓越型。这类客户强调服务的质量,在选择事务所时不过分关注报价的高低或事务所的知名度,更重视提供服务质量的本身。(3)心理满意型。这类客户追求服务的无形价值,比如品牌形象或情感链结,或服务的后续能力等。这类客户更愿意将公司的信誉建立在有信誉的会计师事务所之上。还可按客户现状作以下分类:(1)忠诚的老客户。客户关系越老,双方信息沟通和工作流程…