Prior research provides mixed results on the capacity of American shareholder activists to improve managerial behavior. In Japan, however, alternative means of external control (e.g. take-over, litigations) are not as effective as in the U.S. Challenging the management during the annual meeting...

We provide evidence that the financing decisions of companies that are audited by a Big Six auditor are less affected by information asymmetry. Specifically, these companies enjoy greater financial flexibility and depend less on favorable market conditions for their equity issuance decisions...

This paper tests whether companies engage in opinion shopping and examines the role of audit committees when auditors are dismissed (1996-98). There are three findings. First, US companies strategically dismiss when incumbent auditors are more likely to issue unfavorable audit opinions compared...