Accounting changes, Discretionary accounting decisions, Management turnover, Earnings management

Abstract The article is a comment on the article "An Empirical Analysis of the Quality of Corporate Financial Disclosure," by researchers, Surendra S. Singhvi and Harsha B. Desai, published in the January 1971 issue of the journal "The Accounting Review." Singhvi and Desai report on a research project in which they attempted, to identify some of the characteristics of corporations in the United States which are associated with, and the possible implications of, the quality of corporate disclosure. To accomplish their purpose, an index of disclosure was constructed. According to the author, Singhvi and Desai have little to say about how they applied the index. Presumably, they constructed a list of criteria to be met by each item if it were to receive the requisite number of points. However, no mention is made of such a procedure in the article. The lack of specific criteria would tend to give greater play to the variability of human judgment in applying the index. The test, as described by Singhvi and Desai is somewhat misleading.

Abstract This article presents information on the validity of the 1966 tax model and its effectiveness as a research tool. The Internal Revenue Service expects that the 1966 Model will aid researchers in measuring the impact of proposed changes code. The description manual accompanying the model states that, the Individual Tax Model is primarily a research tool that will accurately test hypotheses regarding income, deductions, tax base, tax rates, or any combination of these factors. This paper reports on a validity check on the data underlying the tax model. Specifically, they were concerned with concurrent validity, that is, investigation of the relationship of one set of data to an alternate accepted contemporary measure of the same underlying phenomenon. Tax researchers often desire data on the average dollar amount of an informational item categorized by Adjusted Gross In come (AGI) class. For example, researchers may be interested in the average amount of salaries and wages, dividends, property taxes and so forth, for categories of taxpayers broken down by AgI classes.

Product liability ideally should promote efficient levels of product safety, but misdirected liability efforts may depress beneficial innovations. This paper examines these competing effects of liability costs on product R & D intensity and new product introductions by manufacturing firms. At low to moderate levels of expected liability costs, there is a positive effect of liability costs on product innovation. At very high levels of liability costs, the effect is negative. At the sample mean, liability costs increase R & D intensity by 15 percent. The greater linkage of these effects to product R & D rather than process R & D is consistent with the increased prominence of the design defect doctrine.

[This study investigates the influence of both the state corporate income tax rate and the form of the income tax base structure on foreign investment in manufacturing assets. An econometric model of foreign investment is derived from a supply-oriented theory of regional investment. That is, the decision to develop productive capacity in one region as opposed to another is due to regional advantages. Empirical results suggest that tax structures that use the unitary method of accounting have a substantial impact on the amounts of foreign investment. On the other hand, business income tax rates appear to have little impact.]

[Little is known about the speed and accuracy of aggregate taxpayer response to an income tax law change. Using a multiple time series model, it was found that individuals and corporations quickly and relatively accurately adjust their income tax prepayments in response to a tax increase.]

Reviews the book, "Development of Information Systems: What Management Needs to Know," by Donald F. Heany.

Abstract This article reports on a study of the extent to which certain specialized accounting statements presented in accounting textbooks are actually used in practice. To determine the extent of use and form in which these statements are prepared, fifty bankrupt or liquidated companies in the six-year period were selected. These companies were contacted by mailed questionnaire. Each questionnaire was accompanied by a typical textbook model of the appropriate specialized accounting statement. In addition to the questionnaire information, examples of statements and numerous comments were also received. From these sample statements and comments it was clear that when statements are prepared in cases of bankruptcy or liquidation, they generally take on the configuration of the conventional balance sheet. It was concluded in the study that statements prepared for bankruptcy, liquidation, loan or credit purposes are rarely found in practice in the same form as is conventionally depicted in accounting textbooks.

We investigate the source of information advantage in inter-dealer FX trading using data on trades and counter-party identities. In liquid dollar exchange rates, information is concentrated among dealers that trade most frequently and specialize their activity in a particular rate. In cross-rates, traders that engage in triangular arbitrage are best informed. Better-informed traders are also located on larger trading floors. In cross-rates, the ability to forecast flows explains all of the advantage of the triangular arbitrageurs. In liquid dollar rates, specialist traders can forecast both order-flow and the component of exchange rate changes that is uncorrelated with flow.

Individual food consumption data are used to examine three issues. First, is food consumption linked intertemporally at the individual level? Second, does the association between current and past consumption reflect habit or heterogeneity? Third, what do the estimates imply about the intertemporal elasticity of substitution? The authors find that habit matters, that controlling for heterogeneity reduces estimated habit effects, and that the product of the estimated intertemporal elasticity of substitution and the risk aversion parameter is less than one. These results all lead to rejection of time separable specifications of intertemporal consumption behavior. Copyright 1996 by MIT Press.