Despite the globalization of accounting standards occurring through convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards, local accounting systems are deeply intertwined with each country’s unique institutions such as its corporate system, disclosure practices and enforcement mechanisms. First, this book empirically analyzes the effects of globalization and localization of accounting rules on corporate behavior such as earnings management, signaling, investment behavior and dividend payout policy. Second, the book unravels the economic consequences of disclosure based on the concept of self-disciplining enforcement such as management forecasts, environmental disclosures and risk disclosures by Japanese firms. This volume is a step forward in understanding the link between accounting and corporate behavior based on a new institutional accounting approach.

Michael Erkens analyzes the determinants and consequences of information disclosure. He presents an empirical investigation of corporate risk management disclosures of nearly 400 firms from 20 European countries. The results show that countries’ institutional settings and cultural values are predominant factors why firms disclose information on their risk management practices. In another study, the author analyzes the economic consequences associated with the publication of an annual report in English by European firms from non-English speaking countries. He finds that the release of English annual reports attracts more analysts and foreign investors to the firm, and decreases information asymmetries between insiders and outsiders of the firm.

Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting (New Series) is an annual publication designed to disseminate developments in the quantitative analysis of finance and accounting. The publication is a forum for statistical and quantitative analyses of issues in finance and accounting as well as applications of quantitative methods to problems in financial management, financial accounting, and business management. The objective is to promote interaction between academic research in finance and accounting and applied research in the financial community and the accounting profession.

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