We explore the role of investor relations (IR) in debt markets. Using earnings announcements as a laboratory, we examine whether, when, and to what extent IR departments help credit investors assimilate information. We find that the presence of IR decreases (increases) the negative (positive)...

We investigate the disclosure and prominence of non-GAAP earnings metrics in IPO prospectuses and how these disclosures affect IPO valuation. In contrast to already-public firms, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between IPO firms' GAAP performance and the likelihood that they will disclose...

We investigate how interactions between analysts and managers influence (1) analyst disagreement about the definition of forecasted street earnings and (2) shifts in the definition of actual street earnings. Textual analysis of conference call transcripts indicates that more discussion about...

Consensus analyst target prices are widely available online at no cost to investors. In this paper we consider whether these consensus target prices are informative for predicting future returns. We find that when considered in isolation, consensus target prices are not generally informative...

We investigate the audit fee response to CEO behavioral integrity (BI). BI refers to the perceived congruence between an individual's words and deeds (Simons 2002). Because low word-deed congruence should result in more explanations when communicating, we use variation in explanations beyond...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews companies’ mandatory filings and issues comment letters to ensure compliance with applicable financial reporting requirements. We explore the nature, determinants, and consequences of SEC comment letters that refer to information disclosed...