We examine the real effects of lease capitalization rules (i.e., standards that require firms to capitalize finance leases) on corporate investment. We hypothesize that, in order to comply with these standards, managers collect, process, and disclose additional information, which leads them to...

We examine the real effects of lease capitalization rules (i.e., standards that require firms to capitalize finance leases) on corporate investment. We show that the introduction of these rules leads to a decrease in investment, which is more pronounced for firms with high reliance on leases. We...

We examine the effect of interpretive accounting guidance on a direct and observable cost of financial reporting: audit fees. Many contend that U.S. GAAP has too much interpretive guidance, making it complex and difficult to assimilate. This effect would lead to higher audit effort and higher...