U.S. public companies can redact information from required material contracts disclosures whenmanagement asserts that the information is immaterial and would cause competitive harm ifpublicly disclosed (i.e., it is proprietary). This study examines whether managers use this channelto withhold...

This paper provides an in-depth look into the properties of accounting numbers used in compensation contracts for S&P 500 firms from 2006 to 2017. Our data reveal wide variation in the accounting performance metrics used in compensation contracts, with some recent movement from bottom-line...

The Securities and Exchange Commission permits companies to redact proprietary information from material contract filings so long as the redacted information 1) would cause competitive harm if disclosed, and 2) the information is legally immaterial. Because these joint criteria are inherently...

Analyzing over 97,000 price target valuations from 2005-2020, we find analysts’ judgments reflect over four times more pessimism per dollar of negative earnings news for Non-White CEO firms, resulting in lower target valuations. These lower target valuations are associated with an increased...

This study investigates the determinants and trading performance of outside directors’ equity deferrals, which represent the choice to convert part or all of their annual cash compensation into deferred company stock. Using a large sample of S&P1500 firms that allowed directors to defer their...

We propose two explanations for the previously documented relation between aggregate earnings growth and future inflation: one based on firms changing their investment in response to earnings growth and the other based on consumers varying their consumption in response to wealth effects of...

We examine whether the 2005 mandatory adoption of IFRS is followed by an increase in cross-border acquisitions into the adopting countries and whether the association is driven by IFRS per se or by concurrent enforcement changes. Using the exogeneity of a firm's listing status to identify the...