We examine the determinants of clients' decision to follow departing partners to new audit firms and the effect of this decision on the likelihood of financial restatements. Using Taiwanese audit partner turnover data from 1984–2010, we find that clients are more likely to follow departing...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) provides a natural experiment for examining how stock ownership and executive pay structure adapt to a change in regulatory environment. Using annual compensation data of Samp;P 1500 firms in 1994-2005, we examine the impact of SOX on stock ownership and...

This research explores whether a dual-class ownership structure affects a firm’s propensity to stockpile cash reserves over the life cycle stages. Using a sample of U.S. dual-class firms, evidence shows that the cash holdings of dual-class firms are significantly lower than that of...

This paper examines the impact of going concern opinions on the market value of firms. Our results suggest that firms with going concern opinions tend to have lower market value than firms without such opinion modification. In addition, we find that the pricing multiples of earnings are lower...

Previous empirical research has found mixed results of the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments on financial performance. In this paper we contribute to the literature by exploring the complex relationship between intangibles, CSR, and financial performance. In a two stage...

Acquirers do not benefit from hiring the CEOs of firms they buy, either in terms of merger announcement returns or long-run operating performance. This is especially true when the retained CEOs exhibit inferior quality (as proxied by target firm industrial efficiency or the target CEO's...

Most extant studies consider golden parachutes as the totality of change-in-control payments. However, for the median CEO of firms listed in the S&P SmallCap 600 index in 2009, golden parachute payments are only 46% of total change-in-control compensation. We measure total change-in-control...

We examine how exogenous increases in foreign competition affect firms' earnings management behavior, using import tariff reductions as a natural experiment. Using a Difference-in-Differences framework, we find a significant increase in earnings management (and financial restatements) after...

This paper examines the incentive effects of a mandatory personal deductible in liability insurance contracts for directors and officers (D&Os). Exploiting a novel German law that mandates personal deductibles for executives, we document positive returns for affected firms around the first...

Using unique, hand-gathered data, this paper examines how public news about the target firmreleased publicly during the private merger negotiation process affects bidding strategies. Weprovide strong evidence that market reactions to information events during the private sale processhave a...