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.

Behavioral Finance: A Novel Approach presents original papers exploring fresh ideas in behavioral finance. Its chapters span a wide range of topics in a distinct mix of traditional issues along with less conventional matters. This blend creates an optimal balance between chapters aiming at widening the scope of research in behavioral finance and those striving to refine the extant knowledge.Thus, along with traditional topics such as biases in pension decisions, analysts recommendation, gender differences in decisions and IPO's underpricing, the book also contains chapters on CEO and board members behavior, biased responses to regulation and regulatory reform, investors' attitudes towards corporate governance, cognitive biases in judicial decisions, the relations between behavioral finance and religion, new methods to calibrate the accuracy of forecasts, and the relations between behavioral finance and optimal contracting.Presenting original findings on a vast assortment of subjects, all in one venue, makes the book ideal as a reference book for researchers and practitioners interested in keeping up with the important developments in behavioral finance. The book could also serve as a handy guide for adapting insights from popular behavioral finance to some important underrepresented issues.

Understanding cost behavior is a fundamental element of cost accounting and the management of a firm. Deviating from the traditional assumption of symmetric cost behavior, numerous recent research studies show that costs are sticky, that is, they decrease less when sales fall than they increase when sales rise. Daniel Baumgarten comprehensively analyzes the cost stickiness phenomenon by discussing its development and all relevant findings presented in the research literature. Furthermore, he provides several suggestions for future research and discusses important implications of cost stickiness for fundamental analysis and analysts’ forecasts by means of two comprehensive empirical analyses.

This monograph reviews the existing accounting, finance and economics literature on the economic effects of transparency in international equity markets, considers aspects of an international setting that make it an interesting environment for investigating these effects, and suggests directions for future research

Publisher description

Annotation. Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting 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.The papers in this volume cover a wide range of topics including default risk premiums, multi-period contracts, stock market, impact of earnings change on stock price, bank regulation, dividend effect of closed-end mutual funds, income smoothing, and inflation accounting.

Financial accounting, reporting and regulation is a vast subject area of huge global importance, with interest rising significantly in the light of the ongoing global financial crisis. The authors begin with a broad overview of the subject of accounting, setting the stage for a discussion on the theoretical and practical issues and debates regarding financial reporting, which are expanded on in the second part of the book. This includes how to define the reporting entity, recognition and measurement of the elements of financial statements, fair values in financial reporting and the costs and benefits of disclosure. The third part assesses the interest, need and theories behind the accounting, reporting and regulation industry, while parts four and five look at the institutional, social and economic aspects; with issues such as accounting for environmental management and, accounting regulation and financial reporting in Islamic countries, both issues of ever increasing importance. This authoritative Companion presents a broad overview of the state of these disciplines today, and will provide a comprehensive reference source for students and academics involved in accounting, regulation and reporting.