An international study of carbon information asymmetry and independent carbon assurance

Protecting the environment is now a major aspect of corporate social responsibility. However, voluntary carbon disclosure includes private information on future sustainability that external stakeholders cannot easily verify. Drawing on information asymmetry theory, we predict that companies with higher carbon information asymmetry between insiders and outsiders have a greater incentive to voluntarily engage an external party for the independent assurance of their greenhouse gas statements. Using data from the CDP, we test this hypothesis and find that our proxies for carbon information asymmetry (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, energy structure) are significantly associated with the adoption of carbon assurance. Further analyses suggest that the probability of carbon assurance is enhanced when carbon disclosure is inadequate to diminish information asymmetry. Finally, our sample companies adopted carbon assurance in addition to financial auditing. This highlights the key point that resolving carbon information asymmetry requires carbon assurance, which cannot be substituted for by financial auditing.     

Audit report information content and the provision of non-audit services: Evidence from Spanish lending decisions

This study examines whether auditor economic independence affects the information content of going concern audit reports in the European setting. We conduct an experiment where 80 experienced Spanish loan officers from the second largest European commercial bank review a loan request under two lending scenarios: (1) a potential borrower receiving an unqualified but modified going concern opinion, and (2) a potential borrower receiving a qualified going concern opinion. Auditor economic independence, measured by the provision of non-audit services (NAS), is manipulated (absence vs. presence of significant NAS). We find that a qualified going concern audit report is interpreted as a primary warning signal (death penalty). However, the provision of NAS acts as a second order mechanism that only activates loan officers’ professional skepticism in the case of an unqualified but modified going concern report scenario. Therefore, we find evidence suggesting that the potential negative impact of a perceived lack of auditor independence depends on the nature of the audit report. Our findings have important implications for the European regulator, which is currently considering establishing an auditor independence regulation framework similar to that in the United States of America.     

Effect of different types of feedback on the level of auditors' configural information processing

Previous audit judgement research has emphasized the importance of auditors processing information configurally (i.e. jointly considering the impact of different cues). This paper examines the impact of four different forms of feedback (outcome, task properties, cognitive and combined) on increasing the extent of configural information processing by auditors. We find that task properties, cognitive and combined (task properties plus cognitive) feedback all lead to increased configural information processing. There is no impact of outcome feedback. We also find that the extent of configural processing is positively associated with our measure of judgement performance. We discuss the implications of the results for audit firms.     

论《固定资产贷款管理暂行办法》对我国商业银行的影响及其应对措施

《固定资产贷款管理暂行办法》的发布,是我国对固定资产贷款管理发布的一项重要立法规定,可以说是我国贷款管理的一个里程碑。因此研究《固定资产贷款管理暂行办法》的意义重大。本文通过分析《固定资产贷款管理暂行办法》和《贷款通则》的关系,阐述了《固定资产贷款管理暂行办法》对我国商业银行的影响及其应对措施。     

Effect of regulatory oversight on the association between internal governance characteristics and audit fees

We examine the relationship between internal governance, external audit monitoring and regulatory oversight for a sample comprising industrial companies and financial/utility companies subject to additional industry‐specific regulation. Our results indicate that the association between audit fees and board/audit committee independence and size are weaker for regulated companies. These observations are consistent with the notion that regulatory oversight partially substitutes the external audit as a monitoring mechanism. However, boards/audit committees with more multiple directorships demand a more extensive audit in the presence of regulatory oversight to protect their reputation capital. Our study enhances our understanding of the complex relationships among the major corporate governance elements.     

The extent of corporate governance disclosure and its determinants in a developing market: The case of Egypt

This paper assesses the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure and the impact of a comprehensive set of corporate governance (CG) attributes (board composition, board size, CEO duality, director ownership, blockholder ownership and the existence of audit committee) on the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure in Egypt. The measurement of disclosure is based on published data created from a checklist developed by the United Nations, which was gathered from a manual review of financial statements and websites of a sample of Egyptian companies listed on Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Although the levels of CG disclosure are found to be minimal, disclosure is high for items that are mandatory under the Egyptian Accounting Standards (EASs). The failure of companies to disclose such information clearly shows some ineffectiveness and inadequacy in the regulatory framework in Egypt. Moreover, the phenomenon of non-compliance may also be attributed to socio-economic factors in Egypt. Therefore, it is expected that Egyptian firms will take a long time to appraise the payback of increased CG disclosure. The findings indicate that that—ceteris paribus—the extent of CG disclosure is (1) lower for companies with duality in position and higher ownership concentration as measured by blockholder ownership; and (2) increases with the proportion of independent directors on the board and firm size. The results of the study support theoretical arguments that companies disclose corporate governance information in order to reduce information asymmetry and agency costs and to improve investor confidence in the reported accounting information. The empirical evidence from this study enhances the understanding of the corporate governance disclosure environment in Egypt as one of the emerging markets in the Middle East.     

信息传递成本和预测能力不足对信贷契约的影响

信息传递成本和预测能力不足是影响信贷融资交易成本的主要因素。二者直接影响信贷融资具体方式的选择和融资过程的治理。治理这些问题的机制通常在利好情况下能够约束借款人恪守诚信,但是在利空情况下会导致低效率。能够缓解信息不对称和契约不完全问题的其他方式包括签订自我履行的信贷契约、构建关系性融资、提高契约法规的执法力度、营造诚信的商业环境和规范企业财务信息披露。     

An empirical investigation of trading on asymmetric information and heterogeneous prior beliefs

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze inter-temporal trading patterns attributable to informed trading. Recent theoretical models posit that heterogeneous prior beliefs provide a source of trading volume in addition to the commonly accepted trading motives of liquidity and asymmetric information. After separating informed from uninformed trading using the estimation procedure of Easley et al. [Journal of Finance 51 (1996) 1405], we test for the presence of trading on heterogeneous beliefs as opposed to asymmetric information. The empirical findings confirm the existence of trading on heterogeneous prior beliefs and generally support the inter-temporal patterns proposed by Wang [Journal of Financial Markets 1 (1998) 321].     

人民币汇率变动趋势及其对区域货币合作的影响

人民币汇率变化及其汇率政策的选择,对于东亚区域货币金融合作和人民币的国际化有着重要意义。本文通过考察近年来人民币与世界主要货币及东亚其他货币的联动关系,分阶段探讨了人民币汇率变动对东亚货币的影响,指出人民币有条件地成为本地区潜在的"锚"货币,但现阶段这一功能只能通过保持与美元汇率的相对稳定得以实现,人民币要想独立成为东亚区域性关键货币,取决于中国能否在某种程度上替代美国成为区域内最终产品的市场提供者。同时,现阶段东亚地区制度化的汇率合作应当缓行,但有必要进行某种程度的汇率政策协调,人民币汇率政策的选择应当考虑区域合作因素。     

The effect of early resolution of uncertainty on the valuation of assets: A dichotomy into market and non-market information

We reconsider how the temporal resolution of uncertainty about the future payoffs from capital assets affects the initial valuation of these assets. Our results regarding valuation indicate that, in an intertemporal CAPM framework, the early resolution of market uncertainty leads to an increase in the value of the market portfolio. The values of individual assets change in direct proportion to their betas. We reconcile the differing conclusions of Ross (1989) and Epstein and Turnbull (1980) regarding the early resolution of what they term idiosyncratic and asset specific information respectively.     

外资潜入及其对中国股市的冲击——基于1994～2007年实际数据的分析

"外资潜入",是指海外资本为获得高额收益,逃避资本管制和政策限制,通过非正常渠道进入中国大陆进行投机的资本流动。本文在对"热钱"的内涵进行辨析的基础上,提出"外资潜入"的概念,分析外资潜入的目的和渠道,并对1994～2007年外资潜入的规模进行测度,进而实证检验外资潜入对中国股市的冲击。研究发现:外资潜入规模较大、流动速度加快、反转性强;外资潜入与国内股票价格正相关,即外资潜入会推动国内股价上涨;当外资潜入出现反转时,则会引起国内股价下跌。     

The Impact of Information Release on Stock Price Volatility and Trading Volume: The Rights Offering Case

This paper examines whether information released via rights offering announcements induces changes in price volatility and trading volume of underlying stock. The results of this paper provide support for the release of new information via offering announcements and evidence of its effects on price volatility and volume of underlying stock. Specifically, utilization of the announced information by investors is evidenced by greater trading volume following the announcement date than during the pre-announcement period. We interpret this result to mean that informedness dominates consensus. However, stock price volatility decreased from the pre-announcement period to the post-expiration period of rights offerings.     

高校青年教师心理特点分析与培养机制的思考

青年教师培养问题是高校近年来面临的重大课题,本文从青年教师的心理特点出发分析青年教师发展中存在的普遍问题,并且针对青年教师培养制度的建立和完善进行了详尽的讨论,拟通过本研究对青年教师培养问题进行深入的思考。     

Stock price firm‐specific information on the choice of stock payment in mergers and acquisitions

Previous studies on the choice of stock payment in M&A mainly focus on managerial private information. This study shows that managers also learn new firm‐specific information from financial markets in making this decision. The acquirer's stock price firm‐specific information increases the stock‐payment‐to‐Q sensitivity. The target's stock price firm‐specific information decreases the stock payment probability. Further analyses on deal and firm characteristics as well as shareholder wealth in stock mergers support the managerial learning argument. Overall, this study highlights a new set of information that affects the form of merger payment in mergers and acquisitions.     

The Impact of SFAS No. 14 Segment Information on Price Variability and Earnings Forecast Accuracy

This study provides empirical evidence on the economic effects of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 14 segment disclosures. Required disclosures under this standard subsume those of the Securities and Exchange Commission' (SEC) 1970 line-of-business disclosure rule both in terms of the variables to be disclosed and the degree of decomposition of the consolidated information. Consequently, this study hypothesizes that stock price variability will be greater at the time of, and security analysts' earnings forecasts more accurate following, release of these disclosures. The results of the empirical analysis support these hypotheses. They indicate that SFAS No. 14 segment disclosures convey incremental information over previously reported SEC line-of-business information that is relevant to stockholders and to security analysts.     

海外内幕交易主体的规则和司法判例研究及借鉴

文章分析了美国《证券交易法》规则10b5—2的合理性和缺陷，同时参照美国、台湾和日本的证券立法实践，对我国《证券法》中有关内幕交易主体的规定存在的缺陷提出了修改和完善的建议。我国《证券法》应将家庭成员、发行人和外部信息制造者纳入内幕交易的主体范围，这对于正确理解和完善内幕交易的法律规则将起到积极作用。     

An international investigation of associations between societal variables and the amount of disclosure on information technology and communication problems: The case of Y2K

This study examines the association between five societal variables—political and civil system, cultural values, type of legal system, level of economic development, and equity market features—and the amount of corporate disclosure on the Year 2000 (Y2K) technological dilemma. Data are collected from the 1997/1998 fiscal-year annual reports of 1618 publicly listed firms spanning 17 nations. Empirical findings indicate the amount of Y2K disclosure varied significantly across national boundaries. Statistical analysis indicates a strong positive association between the amount of Y2K disclosure and the level of (a) political rights and civil liberties and (b) economic development. Results also imply publicly listed firms in Common Law nations disclose more Y2K information than counterparts in Roman-German Law nations. Of Hofstede's [Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications] four cultural dimensions, only power distance is a significant explanatory factor of variations is the amount of Y2K disclosure.     

新冠肺炎疫情对中国保险业的影响研究——基于非典的复盘与长短期影响分析

本文基于张响贤等(2003)的非典分析框架,复盘2020年新冠肺炎疫情对中国保险业的影响,并且基于长短期的视角,从收入端、赔付端和投资端三个维度关注短期内疫情对保险业的影响,从商业逻辑、发展模式、产品创新和保险科技的四个角度关注长期影响。研究发现,新冠肺炎与非典疫情均给保险业带来正负面影响,但非典时间的负面影响在新冠肺炎时期被部分正面影响所中和;疫情短期内对保险业造成部分负面的冲击,但是整体冲击有限;新冠肺炎疫情将给保险业带来深远的影响,助推保险转型、信息化运用和"大国家大保险"等发展模式。     

城镇居民参与股市及其对财产性收入的影响——基于我国2000-2008年30个省市(区)面板数据的研究

本文在借鉴国际计算方法的基础上,对我国城镇居民参与股市的广度和深度进行了测算,并实证检验了其对城镇居民财产性收入的影响。研究发现股市参与广度和深度对财产性收入提高均有显著正向促进作用,但城镇居民股市参与广度的影响总体服从倒U型特征。同时,房产价格和收入分配差距也对城镇居民财产性收入有显著影响。