Segmental Reporting: A Preparers' Perspective

Following the introduction of Statement of Standard Accounting Practice 25, Segmental Reporting, companies must now report turnover, result and net assets analysed by geographical segments and business classes. This paper, unlike most previous research into segmental reporting, focuses on the preparers of accounts. The empirical study, based on information obtained by a questionnaire survey, has two objectives. First, to investigate the preparers' perceptions of the usefulness of segmental information and second, to identify which criteria were used to select reportable segments. The results show that the reported selection criteria have discarded or ignored many of the suggestions identified in previous academic literature and in the standard, in favour of pre-existing organisational groupings. The responses also indicate that preparers doubt the usefulness to shareholders of the reported information.     

Child–mother nutrition and health status in rural Kenya: the role of intra‐household resource allocation and education

There exists gender bias in resource ownership in many parts of Kenya with women being more disadvantaged. Resource ownership and control within the household has differential impacts on the health and overall well‐being of male and female members. This paper examines intra‐household resource ownership and how it affects nutrition and health status of household members. Data from a household survey containing detailed gender‐disaggregated information on resource ownership as well as food and anthropometry were collected from a rural Kenyan district and used in the analysis. Results showed that male members of the household had more access to education, income and land than the females. Mothers’ education, household income, frequency of illness and nutrient intake were the most important factors that contributed to the nutritional status of children. The education and household’s economic status were important determinants of child morbidity. Malnutrition and poor health of children and women is linked to the existing poverty in the study region, therefore emphasis needs to be put on eradication of discrimination against women in accessing education and accessing land, which will contribute to an increase in household incomes. Government policies need to focus on promotion of nutrition education through adult education programmes and incorporating it in the school curricula. Improvement of health‐care facilities in rural areas is also paramount to improving health and nutrition in these areas.     

The Relation Between Investor Uncertainty and Market Reactions to Earnings Announcements: Evidence from the Property‐Casualty Insurance Industry in the USA

Abstract:   This paper investigates the relationship between investor uncertainty, gauged by properties of analysts' forecasts, and the stock market response to earnings. We find that uncertainty is best characterized by a comprehensive measure recently proposed by Barron, Kim, Lim and Stevens (1998) , BKLS. The BKLS measure is related to uncertainty‐inducing events, as well as factors that affect the difficulty faced by analysts in forecasting earnings. We conclude that, first, pre‐disclosure uncertainty is a significant determinant of the price reaction to the earnings release, and second, BKLS is a more comprehensive measure of uncertainty than simple dispersion.     

The lay subsidies and the distribution of wealth in medieval England, 1275–1334

This article examines the evidence that between 1275 and 1334 the lay subsidies provide a yardstick with which to measure the English economy. It compares their evidence with the chronological and geographical pattern of wealth obtainable from the Statute Merchant records of debt and concludes that the main discrepancies can be explained by the progressive exclusion from the tax valuations of wool, coin, and credit. Accordingly, from c . 1300 the lay subsidies cannot be used as a guide to the distribution of wealth in England and they can offer only a limited comparison with the wealth revealed by the Tudor subsidies.     

ABNORMAL RETURNS AND ANALYSTS' EARNINGS FORECAST REVISIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PUBLICATION OF “STOCK HIGHLIGHTS” BY VALUE LINE INVESTMENT SURVEY

We examine the reaction of stocks and the response of financial analysts' earnings forecasts to securities recommended as “Stock Highlights” by Value Line Investment Survey. Significant abnormal returns appear around the publication of stock highlights. Stock price responses are relatively efficient and permanent. Using earnings expectation data provided by the Institutional Brokers Estimate System, we find analysts raise their forecasts significantly following Value Line recommendations. Near-term forecast revisions are significantly related to stock returns at the time of the recommendations. Thus, an explanation for Value Line's security recommendation success is its ability to generate firm-specific earnings information.     

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.