In this study, we investigate whether managerial ability is related to income smoothing and, if so, whether smoothing associated with managerial ability improves the informativeness of earnings and stock prices about future performance. Using a large sample of firms, we find that managerial...

This paper investigates whether analysts' optimism affects the stock crash risk. Analysts' optimism can increase stock crash risk either by inducing overvaluation or by providing managers an opportunity to withhold bad news. Using analysts' forecast error as a proxy for analysts' optimism, we...

This paper examines whether credit rating agencies fully understand the implications of earnings and its components for future performance. After establishing that earnings are more relevant to the rating process than cash flows, we find that future rating changes can be predicted using current...