In this paper, we explore two of the most relevant theories that explain financial policy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): pecking order theory and trade-off theory. Panel data methodology is used to test the empirical hypotheses over a sample of 6482 Spanish SMEs during the five-year...

The principal aim of this paper is to test how firm characteristics affect Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) capital structure. We carry out an empirical analysis over a panel data of 6482 non?financial Spanish SMEs along the five-year period 1994?1998, modelling the leverage ratio as a function...

This paper examines the effect of accruals subjectivity on the way investors use the information contained in accruals to set the interest rates charged in debt contracts. To measure the degree of subjectivity involved in the estimation of accruals we use several indicators of their ex ante...

We test whether corporate governance mechanisms promoted by best practice codes are effective in constraining earnings manipulation in Spain, as previously documented in the US and the UK. We show that to a certain extent an Anglo-Saxon model of corporate governance may turn out to be a failure...

This study investigates the market valuation of income smoothing by a long run analysis of the relation income smoothing vs. return and risk in the Spanish stock market. Using several methodological approaches to estimate and test abnormal returns, the results suggest some pattern of behaviour...

The poor stock price performance of firms that raise capital through seasoned equity offerings is one of the recent puzzles in financial literature. In this study we investigate whether pre-issue earnings management can explain these results for rights issues in Spain. Consistent with this...

In recent years, users' information needs have changed, and forward-looking information has become of great importance, as it has been highlighted in many international and national reports. Nonetheless, Spanish regulations are not very specific in this respect, since although it is required to...

In the last years, Spanish firms have attempted to create value for their shareholders.The market value added (MVA) has been proposed by the Stern Stewart Consulting Group asa measure of value creation, and the economic value added (EVA) as an operating measure toimplement this new management...

In financial literature, different ways of estimating the cash flow generated in a firm can be found. These methods are based on the estimation of these flows and on the analysis of the components that are involved in them. Although the estimation is important, we want to know what these cash...

During the nineties, the main issue in earnings management research has beenfocused on models¿ specification to estimate the abnormal component of accruals buttoday it does not exist a generalised consensus about current models. In this paper, wepresent an analysis of statistic and econometric...