Stock price crash risk and internal control weakness: presence vs. disclosure effect

This study examines the stock price crash risk for a sample of firms that disclosed internal control weaknesses (ICW) under Section 404 of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX). We find that in the year prior to the initial disclosures, ICW firms are more crash‐prone than firms with effective internal controls. This positive relation is more pronounced when weakness problems are associated with a firm's financial reporting process. More importantly, we find that stock price crash risk reduces significantly after the disclosures of ICWs, despite the disclosure itself signalling bad news. The above results hold after controlling for various firm‐specific determinants of crash risk and ICWs. Using an ICW disclosure as a natural experiment, our study attempts to isolate the presence effect of undisclosed ICWs from the initial disclosure effect of internal control weakness on stock price crash risk. In so doing, we provide more direct evidence on the causal relation between the quality of financial reporting and stock price crash risk.     

The association between corporate governance and earnings quality: Further evidence using the GOV-Score

This paper reexamines the relation between corporate governance and quality of earnings using a summary governance measure. Prior research has used many surrogates for corporate governance including size and composition of board of directors, existence and composition of audit committee, and extent of institutional ownership. However, the criticism of the extant research has been that corporate governance comprises many facets and is not uni-dimensional. In this study we fill this void by using the Gov-Score developed by Brown and Caylor [Brown, D., and Caylor, M.L., (2006). Corporate governance and firm valuation. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 25, 409-434.] to measure corporate governance. In the post-Sarbanes-Oxley period, we find evidence of a significant inverse relationship, namely higher levels of corporate governance are associated with lower absolute discretionary accruals and higher quality of earnings. Furthermore, our results suggest that only firms in the highest category of corporate governance experience significantly improved quality of earnings. Finally, as a test of robustness, we document that corporate governance is negatively associated with small earnings surprises. This implies that firms with weak corporate governance are more likely to manage earnings in order to meet or beat analyst forecasts.     

企业过度投资与股价崩盘风险

实体经济的过热投资是否会导致股市出现“泡沫”进而引发股市的暴跌风险是当前学术界和实务界关注的一个焦点问题。本文以2004-2013年A股上市公司为样本,从微观层面考察企业过度投资对股价崩盘风险的影响,并从“代理理论”和“管理者过度自信”两种视角分析其背后的作用机理。研究结果表明:(1)企业过度投资显著加剧了股价未来的崩盘风险;(2)股东与经理人之间的代理冲突而非管理者过度自信是导致二者正相关的主要原因;(3)进一步的研究发现,企业过度投资对未来股价崩盘风险的影响具有长期性,且其对股价未来的暴涨不具有预测能力。本文的研究结论不仅丰富了股价崩盘风险、过度投资等相关领域的文献,对于如何抑制实体经济投资过热以降低股价崩盘风险、维护金融市场稳定也具有重要的参考价值。     

借鉴国外经验构建我国完善的公司治理模式

公司治理是现代金融重要的理论和实践问题.从典型国家的发展历程看,并不存在一成不变的治理模式.虽然不同的治理模式各有优势,但也都有逐步向市场主导型靠拢的倾向.在清晰了解发达国家公司治理模式形成过程的基础上,构建适合我国公司实际情况的公司治理模式具有重要意义.     

CEO equity incentives and the remediation of material weaknesses in internal control

This study examines how CEO equity incentives affect the remediation of material weaknesses (MWs) in internal control disclosed pursuant to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX). We find that the sensitivity of CEO equity portfolios to stock price (CEO price sensitivity, or delta) has a positive impact on firm promptness in remedying MWs, whereas the sensitivity of CEO equity portfolios to stock return volatility (CEO volatility sensitivity, or vega) has a negative impact on firm promptness in remedying MWs. In addition, we provide evidence that effective boards of directors mitigate the undesirable, negative effect of CEO volatility sensitivity on remediation of MWs. Our results shed light on the effects of equity compensation structures on internal control quality in the more transparent, post‐SOX environment.     

对股票期权的思考--股票期权在我国企业的适用性研究

起源于美国的股票期权制度在其本土已经得到了较为广泛的应用，我国在这方面也进行了积极的探索，一些企业也进行了实践。但股票期权究竟是否适合我国的情况呢?本将以主板市场为基础，通过对股票期权的实施条件的分析来对其在我国企业的适用性进行研究。     

The Effectiveness of Price Limits and Stock Characteristics: Evidence from the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges

We examine the effectiveness of price limits on Chinese A shares and investigate the characteristics of those stocks that hit their price limits more frequently. We find that the effect of price limits is asymmetric for the A shares in upward and downward price movements and different for bullish and bearish sample periods. During a bullish period price limits effectively reduce stock volatility for downward price movements, but not for upward price movements; while during a bearish period price limits effectively reduce stock volatility for upward price movements, but not for downward price movements. Second, price limits delay efficient price discovery for upward price movements, but not for downward price movements. However, we do not find evidence to suggest that price limits harmfully interfere with the stock trading processes in the Chinese A share markets. Finally, we find that actively traded stocks hit their price limits more often and tend to hit the lower limit more frequently when overall market conditions are bearish. Stocks with high book-to-market values of equity hit their upper price limits more frequently, while stocks with a high ratio of tradable shares tend to hit their price limits less frequently.JEL Classification: G10, G14, G15     

Harmonisation of financial reporting before the European Company Law Directives: the case of the Nordic Companies Act

De jure harmonisation of financial reporting began early in the Nordic countries with initial discussions reported as early as the 1930s. Legislation implemented in the 1970s was based on a proposal for a common Nordic Companies Act. This article follows the history of this legislation and analyses it with a view to providing insights into voluntary harmonisation across multiple countries. The main lessons appear to be that (1) Germany had a measurable influence; (2) taxes played an important role which has persisted in some countries, with others resisting change until the 1980s and 1990s; (3) the Nordic countries were among the first to introduce a legal requirement for publication of a funds flow statement; (4) meeting the needs of diverse and dynamic stakeholders was addressed differentially by the Nordic countries; and (5) regional co-operation seems to have been overtaken by events on the broader international stage and the costs of compromise.     

The association between human resource investment in IT controls over financial reporting and investment efficiency

This study investigates the association between human resource investment in information technology (IT) controls over financial reporting and its investment efficiency. To conduct the analysis, it uses novel hand-collected data on the number of IT control personnel. In particular, it uses the ratio of (1) the number of IT control personnel, (2) the number of IT control personnel who are certified public accountants to the total number of employees in a firm, and (3) the natural logarithm of average working experience of IT control personnel in months as a proxy for human resource investment in IT controls. This study finds that such investment is negatively associated with the firm's abnormal investment, suggesting that investing in IT control personnel enhances a firm's investment efficiency. Furthermore, not only quantitative but also qualitative investment in IT control personnel improves investment efficiency. We also find that the association between human resource investment in IT controls and a firm's investment efficiency is more pronounced for firms with lower financial reporting quality and information environment. The results of this study provide useful implications for management, regulators, and market participants, as they demonstrate the positive role of investment in IT control personnel on the firm's internal decision.     

Price Expectation and the Pricing of Stock Index Futures

Capital markets are not perfect or frictionless, and arbitrage mechanism cannot be complete, particularly for index arbitrage. This study constructs a theoretical foundation to explain why the price expectation of the underlying asset should be entered into the pricing formula of stock index futures. The price expectation and incompleteness of arbitrage then are taken into account to develop a pricing model of stock index futures in imperfect markets. This study also presents three approaches for estimating the model parameter. Finally, the concept of the degree of market imperfection is defined and the valuation model is provided.     

The effect of external audits of internal control over financial reporting on financial reporting for clients of Big 4, Second-tier,and small audit firms

The external audit of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) is a very expensive and contentious aspect of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX). Larger public firms were first required to file a management report on and have an external audit of ICFR in 2004. Smaller public firms were first required to file a management report on ICFR in 2007 but are exempt from the audit requirement. Whereas most related prior research investigates the combined effect of management and auditor reports on financial reporting, this study examines the distinct effect of auditor reports on reporting quality. For companies audited by small auditors, we find evidence that financial reporting quality improves with an auditor report on ICFR. We find no evidence that auditor ICFR reports improve reporting quality for clients of Big 4 or Second-tier audit firms. Our study adds to the debate on the applicability of SOX Section 404 to smaller firms.     

CEO Overconfidence and Earnings Management During Shifting Regulatory Regimes

This study examines the relationship of CEO overconfidence with accrual‐based earnings management, real activities‐based earnings management, and targeting to meet or just beat analyst forecasts. Following, we measure “overconfidence” based on the CEO's tendency to hold in‐the‐money stock options, as rational expected utility maximizers should exercise early to avoid overexposure to company idiosyncratic risks. The results show that before the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), companies of overconfident CEOs were more likely than other CEOs to engage in managing earnings through accelerating the timing of cash flow from operations and achieving analyst forecast benchmarks. After SOX, we find that overconfident CEOs are more likely to have income‐increasing discretionary accruals. They remain more likely to engage in real activities management through abnormally high cash flows, and also have abnormally low discretionary expenses. These results are consistent with overconfident CEOs feeling less constrained by SOX, and suggest that this individual characteristic works against regulators’ attempts to constrain earnings management by corporate executives. In contrast, we find that the tendency of overconfident CEOs to manage to targets decreases after SOX, perhaps due to changes in investor behavior in the new regulatory environment.     

Risk Shifts Following Sarbanes‐Oxley: Influences of Disclosure and Governance

The Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) aimed to improve financial reporting by enhancing corporate disclosure and governance. We find statistically significant increases, from before to after the passage of SOX, in total return variance, market risk and idiosyncratic risk. The risk increases are consistent with predictions that the legislation would cause firms to disclose more negative information, resulting in increased investment risk. However, in cross‐sectional tests, post‐SOX improvements in information certainty, board independence and monitoring are associated with smaller increases or greater decreases in risk. If SOX is responsible for these improvements, its effects are consistent with its purpose.     

Market reactions to the disclosure of internal control weaknesses and to the characteristics of those weaknesses under section 302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002

We examine the stock price reaction to management’s disclosure of internal control weaknesses under §302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act and to the characteristics of these weaknesses, controlling for other material announcements in the event window. We find that some characteristics of the weaknesses—their severity, management’s conclusion regarding the effectiveness of the controls, their auditability, and the vagueness of the disclosures—are informative. We also find that the information content of internal control weakness disclosures depends on the severity of the internal control weakness. Moreover, in a sub-sample uncontaminated by other announcements in the event window, we find negative price reactions to the disclosure of internal control weaknesses and material weaknesses.

Predicting credit card fraud with Sarbanes‐Oxley assessments and Fama‐French risk factors

This research developed and tested machine learning models to predict significant credit card fraud in corporate systems using Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) reports, news reports of breaches and Fama‐French risk factors (FF). Exploratory analysis found that SOX information predicted several types of security breaches, with the strongest performance in predicting credit card fraud. A systematic tuning of hyperparamters for a suite of machine learning models, starting with a random forest, an extremely‐randomized forest, a random grid of gradient boosting machines (GBMs), a random grid of deep neural nets, a fixed grid of general linear models where assembled into two trained stacked ensemble models optimized for F1 performance; an ensemble that contained all the models, and an ensemble containing just the best performing model from each algorithm class. Tuned GBMs performed best under all conditions. Without FF, models yielded an AUC of 99.3% and closeness of the training and validation matrices confirm that the model is robust. The most important predictors were firm specific, as would be expected, since control weaknesses vary at the firm level. Audit firm fees were the most important non‐firm‐specific predictors. Adding FF to the model rendered perfect prediction (100%) in the trained confusion matrix and AUC of 99.8%. The most important predictors of credit card fraud were the FF coefficient for the High book‐to‐market ratio Minus Low factor. The second most influential variable was the year of reporting, and third most important was the Fama‐French 3‐factor model R² – together these described most of the variance in credit card fraud occurrence. In all cases the four major SOX specific opinions rendered by auditors and the signed SOX report had little predictive influence.     

论企业本质、公司治理与财务会计理论的契合:资本保全视角

基于企业本质从价值角度描述为财务资本、人力资本、组织资本与社会资本的一个不完全契约组合,公司治理就是保证这一契约组合有效执行的制度安排,而现代财务会计在理论与实践上更接近于公司治理.本文利用资本保全概念将企业本质、公司治理与财务会计理论整合为一个完整的理论框架.     

The Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 and Market Liquidity

Investors rely heavily on the trustworthiness and accuracy of corporate information to provide liquidity to the capital markets. We find that the rash of financial scandals caused a severe deterioration in market liquidity in the form of wider spreads, lower depths, and a higher adverse selection component of spreads vis‐à‐vis their benchmark levels. Regulatory responses including the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) had inconsequential short‐term liquidity effects but highly significant and positive long‐term liquidity effects. These liquidity improvements are positively associated with the improved quality of financial reports, several firm‐specific variables (e.g., size), and market factors (e.g., price, volatility, volume).     

中国货币供应量与股票市场价格关系的实证分析

股票市场作为货币政策传导的渠道,一方面通过货币供应量影响股票市场价格,另一方面股票市场价格的变动反馈到投资、消费等领域,从而影响宏观经济以实现货币政策的目标。本文对我国货币供应量与股票市场价格关系进行了实证检验,分析检验结果后认为我国各层次的货币供应量与股票市场价格存在长期的协整关系,其中股票市场价格处于因方地位,货币供应量处于果方地位。本文的实证结论在一定程度上反映了目前我国股票市场的货币政策传导效率不高,还没有发挥其应有的作用,这与我国股票市场自身缺陷有很大关系。     

董事高管责任保险能否抑制股价崩盘风险——基于中国A股上市公司的经验数据

股价崩盘严重损害投资者利益并阻碍股票市场健康发展,因此,探寻抑制股价崩盘风险的手段成为当前公司治理与企业财务领域关注的热点问题。使用2009~2013年我国 A 股上市公司数据为样本,实证检验董事高管责任保险与公司股价崩盘风险之间的关系。研究发现：上市公司购买董事高管责任保险能有效监督与约束高管利己行为,进而降低股价崩盘风险。该结论有助于深入了解董事高管责任保险,同时也为监管部门遏制股价崩盘现象提供了新的思路。     

印花税调整对股票价格影响的实证研究

印花税下调在短期内对大盘股指产生显著影响,但这种影响随时间的推移而逐渐减弱;税率下调对沪市和深市单只股票具有冲击效应,个股产生正的超额收益;税率下调对两市的大盘波动性产生显著影响,刺激了"噪声交易者",在短期内产生了噪声效应。目前印花税仍然存在一些不足,建议:拓宽税基,改双向征税为单向征税,尽快开征股票交易税。