内部控制信息披露质量与资本成本

构建基于熵模型计量的内部控制信息披露质量指数,在此基础上,针对2008-2011年度上市公司内部控制信息披露的情况,实证检验了内部控制信息披露质量与资本成本之间的关系.检验结果发现,自2009年开始,内部控制信息披露质量越高的上市公司,在同等条件下的资本成本更低,这说明市场已经开始对内部控制信息予以足够的关注,意味着内部控制信息披露不仅给上市公司带来负担,也给上市公司带来潜在的利好.     

Statistical disclosure in general three-dimensional tables

Statistical offices are concerned with problems of protecting confidential information when publishing data in statistical tables. One method to avoid disclosure is the method of cell suppression, in which the values of the sensitive cells in the table are suppressed from publication. To prevent the values of the sensitive cells from being calculated from the tables totals, additional suppressions are necessary. The problem of minimizing the loss of information caused by the additional suppressions is a difficult optimization problem. We present and compare the performance of some heuristics for cell suppression for general three-dimensional tables.     

内部控制信息透明度影响因素实证研究——来自化工行业上市公司2006年～2008年经验数据

从塑料、橡胶、石油化工行业2006年-2008年度354个调查样本的相关财务数据入手研究上市公司内部控制信息披露问题，量化影响内部控制信息披露因素。研究表明，设置审计委员会、上市地点、年度以及公司控制权、董事会规模时内部控制信息披露具有显著影响，并提出相应对策、建议。     

Using life cycle approaches to enhance the value of corporate environmental disclosures

As the focus of environmental policy and management shifts from cleaner production at the process level towards greener products as a whole, stakeholders ask for transparency throughout the entire value chain. This article assesses the comprehensiveness and the value of currently reported quantitative environmental disclosures of 97 listed companies from the automotive, banking, pharmaceutical and electronic hardware sectors. Findings indicate that quantitative environmental disclosures have many limitations, including incompleteness and inconsistency regarding corporate activities and sites, and limited internal data coherence. For many sectors, corporate disclosures only cover a very small share of the total environmental burden of products. A stepwise procedure is proposed to verify and improve the quality and completeness of reporting using life cycle approaches. We present simple data quality tests, and we introduce the concept of the environmental influence matrix, which provides a solid basis for the identification and prioritization of key performance indicators and areas of action. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

资产减值、披露格式和信息含量——基于中国资产减值准备明细表的经验证据

2006年我国的企业会计准则不但改变了资产减值的计提和转回的内容,还修改了资产减值的披露格式,即取消了资产减值准备明细表,只要求披露资产减值准备总额。通过对我国2001-2006年的上市公司数据的分析,研究了资产减值的披露格式和信息含量的关系。研究发现,资产减值的明细数据的信息含量显著高于资产减值总额,同时资产减值的各项明细数据的预测能力和解释能力是有差异的。研究结论表明,资产减值的披露格式的改变(即取消资产减值准备明细表)降低了会计报表的信息含量。     

The governance of privatized firms: authority,reposnisbility and disclosure1

In any market economy, a fundamental question is how to make management accountable to shareholders and also to the requirements of law. This paper raises selective, critical issues of corporate governance that are particularly relevant to problems of the accountability of boards of directors to their shareholders in transition economies. These issues include the separation of ownership and control and the duties of directors; the need for disclosure given that separation; and the corporate charter as a vehicle for the direct participation of shareholders in governance. The paper suggests that one of the best models of corporate governance that transition economies can use is that employed by the leveraged-buyout (LBO) and venture capital funds operating in the West. It argues that weaknesses in corporate governance may undermine the entire privatization process. Economics and law are too often seen as separate disciplines. In reality, they come together in transition economies perhaps with greater impact than elsewhere.     

Impression management: dual language reporting and voluntary disclosure

The presentation of corporate disclosure may be explained by impression management. The relative extent of corporate disclosure may be related to information costs. This paper links these two theoretical perspectives by comparing the extent of voluntary disclosure in companies that have chosen to present a dual language approach to reporting, relative to the disclosure provided by companies choosing to report only in one language. The analysis shows that voluntary disclosure is higher in companies that have higher visibility through dual language reporting and whose investors face higher information costs. The analysis also shows that voluntary disclosure by companies reporting only in one language is associated with domestic visibility in market listing and type of industry, while that of companies reporting in two languages is associated with responding to market pressures.     

The Association between Disclosure,Distress, and Failure

The quality of corporate disclosures has drawn increasing levels of criticism from Congress and the SEC. A subject of particularly intense scrutiny and action is the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). This narrative, intended to provide an inside perspective on the reported results of the firm, is particularly important when attempting to evaluate the investment prospects of the marginal or poorly performing firm. However, managers may restrict the information content of the disclosure, raising potential concerns about ethical behavior. In this study, we employ a proprietary instrument to measure the quality of MD&A disclosures for a sample of firms entering financial distress. We evaluate the disclosure behavior of these firms in an effort to determine whether changes in the disclosure appear to be motivated primarily by economic or ethical concerns. We find, on average, that firms increase disclosure quality in the year of initial distress. However, sustained increases in disclosure quality are limited to firms that subsequently recover from the distress. The results suggest that observed changes in disclosure are driven primarily by economic considerations, rather than ethical ones, especially in good economic times.     

Disclosure as a tool in stakeholder relations management: a longitudinal study on the Port of Rotterdam

This study applies stakeholder management principles to the port domain. We provide a conceptual framework for evaluating the communication strategies a (landlord) Port Authority (PA) relies on in the management of its relevant stakeholders and the adoption of disclosure to critical issues. The theoretical arguments are supported by empirical evidences from the Port of Rotterdam (PoR), i.e. a major port which leverages disclosure to successfully manage stakeholders and support the implementation of corporate strategy. The research questions are addressed using a content analysis on the annual reports (ARs) of PoR in the period 2000–2012. The overall research design enables the investigation of PA disclosure as a tool for managing the evolving interests of stakeholders from a longitudinal perspective. The PoR case shows that the relative importance of topics reported in the ARs change over time, as a result of external pressures and internal key events. The outcomes demonstrate the growing attention of PoR on topics relevant to the broader community (e.g. environment and safety/security) after a period characterised by a prominent focus on financial and governance issues. Besides, key breakthrough forces stimulating the shifts in landlord communication strategies are identified and discussed. Finally, by suggesting an indirect approach to evaluate how PA prioritises its salient stakeholders, the paper adds to extant port literature and brings methodological implications.