Commemorating the 50‐Year Anniversary of Ball and Brown (1968): The Evolution of Capital Market Research over the Past 50 Years

We commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ball and Brown [1968] by chronicling its impact on capital market research in accounting. We trace the evolution of various research paths that post–Ball and Brown [1968] researchers took as they sought to build on the foundation laid by Ball and Brown [1968] to create a body of research on the usefulness, timeliness, and other properties of accounting numbers. We discuss how those paths often link back to the groundwork laid and questions originally posed in Ball and Brown [1968].     

The Effect of Earnings–Announcement Timing on Earnings Management

This paper examines whether firms which delay earnings announcements engage in earnings management. The cross–sectional version of the modified Jones 1995 model is used to estimate 'normal' accruals. Prior research has documented that, on average, delayed earnings announcements are associated with negative earnings surprises. Our evidence suggests that the market anticipates unfavorable earnings news when it observes reporting delays. As a consequence, late reporters appear to make the most of a bad situation by employing income–decreasing accruals in big–bath–type earnings management and in contractual renegotiations. We find that the magnitude of income–reducing abnormal accruals is related to the reporting lag.     

实时财务报告:需求、困境与实现

信息化下的实时财务报告系统作为未来财务会计发展的一个方向必将给传统的财务会计领域带来重大的变革。实现实时财务报告系统,要以完备的信息化保障为前提,同时树立起成本效益理念和重要性理念。     

上市公司会计信息披露及时性监管问题分析

目前,我国在会计信息披露及时性监管方面存在的问题主要是披露时间的规定存在缺陷;监管部门职责权限划分不清;对违规的上市公司处理较轻;缺少及时性会计信息披露的应急管理和完善的信息披露渠道。我国政府应完善法律制度体系建设,确立更为合理的信息披露时限,开辟并整合多元的信息披露渠道,建立网络实时报告系统和及时性档案以及信息管理应急机制,加大执法力度,以加强会计信息披露的及时性监管。     

管理层盈余预测与不对称及时性实证研究

为了分析管理层盈余预测对盈余不对称及时性之间的关系,即发布消息的时间点和内容分类对盈余不对称及时性的影响,用Basu模型分段实证检验盈余预测对盈余不对称及时性的影响、正(负)向盈余预测与不对称及时性的关系,以及当期发布的盈余预警对盈余不对称及时性的影响。结果表明,不对称及时性对公司发布的未来盈余的影响不显著,公司发布预期盈余的时间及时性主要集中在负向盈余意外,这与价格引导盈余引起更多的未来盈余预测的向下有偏的不对称及时性系数相一致,当期发布盈余预警会降低盈余与收益的不对称及时性。管理层发布内部盈余预测,有助于缓解与外部信息使用者之间的信息不对称,满足利益相关者的决策需求,进而有助于促进证券市场向半强式有效市场转化。     

Creditors’ and Shareholders’ Reporting Demands in Public Versus Private Firms: Evidence from Europe*

In this study we investigate whether the importance of accounting information in contracting and communication with shareholders and creditors affects earnings timeliness in publicly disclosed general‐purpose financial statements. To operationalize the relationship between timeliness demands and the importance of accounting information to shareholders and creditors, we compare the (asymmetry in) earnings timeliness of public firms with that of private firms. We attribute public versus private firm differences in timeliness to shareholders’ demands when a country’s institutions provide strong investor protection. Similarly, we attribute these differences to creditors’ demands when the institutions provide strong creditor protection. Our analysis of public and private firms in 13 Western European countries suggests that creditors and shareholders have different timeliness demands. In particular, we find that the public versus private firm difference in asymmetric timeliness is not associated with a country’s degree of investor protection but positively associated with a country’s degree of creditor protection. The results further suggest that shareholders demand symmetric rather than asymmetric timeliness. An important implication of our study is that general‐purpose financial statements are responsive to creditors’ reporting demands, which contrasts with the idea that these — primarily private — creditors would use special‐purpose reports.     

早餐工程货物配送路线优化分析

近几年城市早餐工程给广大市民带来了极大的方便,文章介绍了如何选取早餐工程物流配送路线,旨在找到各条货物配送路线中最短的一条;本文把所有早餐工程点及连接各个早餐摊位点的所有道路、路口归为一个无向网络图。通过优化方法得出完成早餐货物配送任务的最短路线。     

A Model of Supplier Responses to Just-In-Time Delivery Requirements

When buyers provide incentives for suppliers to deliver just-in-time, suppliers can respond by choosing to hold additional inventory, reducing the variance of flow time to facilitate just-in-time production, or both. A model characterizing the supplier's optimal response to incentives for JIT delivery is presented. The model shows a situation where the optimal action of the supplier is to hold more inventory. When incentives for on-time delivery are increased, the supplier responds by decreasing the variance of flow time and by increasing the lead time allowance. However, the lead time allowance increases more quickly than the variance is reduced, resulting. in a net increase in the amount of inventory that must be held by the supplier. The result is that inventory is pushed upstream. This paper does not suggest that inventory is always pushed upstream in JIT purchasing. Rather, it provides a counter-example to those who presume that holding more inventory is always a non-optimal response to buyer's requests for JIT delivery.     

Timeliness of Reporting and Earnings Information Transfers

This study examines earnings timeliness and its effect on earnings information transfers. Empirical analyses focus on a sample of approximately fifteen hundred earnings reports and nearly four thousand information transfers. The principal findings are: (1) earlier earnings releases yield negative information transfers, (2) earnings releases yield negative (nominal) information transfers to firms that previously (subsequently) release their earnings reports, and (3) earlier earnings releases yield negative information transfers to firms that have not yet disclosed earnings. These findings show that the timing of earnings reports has significant and far-reaching economic consequences.     

会计师事务所特征影响审计报告时滞吗

审计报告是会计师事务所、上市公司、监管部门和投资者等密切关注的一个重要信息载体,其及时性好坏直接关系到决策有用性的大小。以审计报告时滞作为替代变量,使用1999-2009年沪深非金融类上市公司的12831个观察值,考察了会计师事务所特征对审计报告时滞的影响。结果发现:(1)非标意见的时滞显著更长;(2)事务所更换方向和审计报告时滞显著负相关;(3)大所和小所的审计报告时滞并无显著差异。