Key audit matters (KAM) are supposed to enhance the informational value of the audit report. Since the audit report is the primary communication channel between the auditor and the financial statement users, understanding the determinants of KAM disclosure is crucial. Our cross-country study...

This study investigates if and how the influence of compensation interdependence on risk-taking depends on mutual monitoring of risky investment decisions. We argue that individuals under compensation interdependence have a behavioral incentive for higher risk-taking if mutual monitoring is...

This paper investigates whether and how social-psychological mechanisms, namely reciprocity, demographic similarity, and similar experiences, affect CEO compensation packages with respect to the levels of total, fixed, and short- and mid-term compensation and the variable proportion of the...

Prior research demonstrates that relative performance information affects effort and performance. However, little is known about the qualitative design parameters of these information systems. This study examines, via an experiment, how adding performance category labels to ranks (e.g.,...

Purpose: In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the influence of competitive compensation systems on employee risk taking has gained increasing attention. As the renouncement of such incentive schemes might entail severe disadvantages regarding employee motivation, standard setters have...

Purpose – The tax advantage of debt is considered an important motivation for highly leveraged transactions. The German government limited the tax deductibility of interest expenses to 30.0 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (the interest barrier rule)...

In this paper, we analyze the qualitative and quantitative differences and similarities between two prominent sustainability datasets, namely, the sustainability ratings developed by MSCI ESG KLD STATS (formerly known as KLD) and Thomson Reuters ESG (formerly known as ASSET4). We find...