Knowledge that Transforms

Auditing, Sampling, Substantive test, Bayesian model

Accounting research, Disciplinary structure, Integration, Fragmentation

Robert N. Freeman, Senyo Tse, The Multiperiod Information Content of Accounting Earnings: Confirmations and Contradictions of Previous Earnings Reports, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 27, Current Studies on The Information Content of Accounting Earnings (1989), pp. 49-79

Executive compensation, Executive stock options, Equilibrium warrant pricing model, APB opinion No. 25

Baruch Lev, On the Usefulness of Earnings and Earnings Research: Lessons and Directions from Two Decades of Empirical Research, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 27, Current Studies on The Information Content of Accounting Earnings (1989), pp. 153-192

Price-Earnings Ratio, Information content, Transitory component of earnings, Forecasting

It is a great honor for me to be at this conference and speaking to you today. Nick Dopuch was not all that explicit when it came to a topic for this last session. Nick said, Talk about anything you like. I interpreted that to mean I should talk in general terms about my early work with Ray and its influence on the accounting literature; and in particular, about a paper we wrote about 20 years ago, which is now commonly referred to simply as Ball and Brown [1968]. I begin by covering the paper itself: the antecedent conditions, why the paper was written, what we attempted to do in the paper, and what was novel as far as we were concerned. Next, I give my view of the main strands in the accounting literature, since 1968, that are related to our work. I conclude by offering a few thoughts on directions that the capitalmarkets-based accounting literature might take in the years ahead.

Voluntary Disclosure, Earning information transfer, Decision to disclose, Management forecast

Inventory accounting method, Inventory accounting changes, Dynamic model, LIFO

Accounting History, Double-entry Bookkeeping, Negative numbers