We examine whether accounting quality is associated with efficient investments in labor. Consistent with high quality accounting mitigating market frictions that lead to sub-optimal levels of investment, we find evidence that abnormal net hiring (measured as the absolute deviation from net...

We examine the relation between a firm’s reliance on high-skill workers and its accounting conservatism. We find that reliance on high-skill workers is negatively related to accounting conservatism, presumably because firms with higher labor adjustment costs are more concerned about the cost...

We examine whether and how accounting conservatism plays a disciplinary role in corporate layoffs. Analyzing 722 layoff announcements in Form 8-K over the period 2004 to 2012, we first document that the level of hiring on average falls short of the optimal level (i.e., under-hiring) even before...

This paper examines the opinions of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of public companies in the U.S. with respect to the choice of fair value accounting for non-financial assets. Based on 209 surveyed firms, we first show that the majority of CFOs are resistant to fair value accounting for...

This study investigates the role of public debt financing in shaping accounting conservatism in privately held companies. We focus on the change in conservatism of private firms following initial issuance of public debt and examine the effects of agency conflicts between bondholders and...