This paper reexamines the determinants of the number of analysts following a firm using econometric models based on count distributions. We replicate Bhushan's (1989) analyst-following study to demonstrate the effects of using count-data econometrics, in lieu of OLS, in studying phenomena where the dependent variable ranges among nonnegative integers. In contrast with the original paper, our findings indicate the number of institutional investors is inversely related with analyst following. We also provide econometric evidence to support the preferred use of the negative binomial model in estimating cross-sectional, analyst-following regressions.

We study the relation between audit reports and the capital-raising activities of small business by studying the role of going-concern (GC) audit opinions in IPOs. After controlling for other effects, we find that the presence of a GC opinion is positively related to whether a stock delists (for deleterious reasons) within two years of IPO. We also find that GC IPOs suffer less first-day underpricing. Based on Rock (1986), this implies that firms with GCs have less ex ante uncertainty in the sense that the information conveyed by a GC helps uninformed investors estimate the dispersion of secondary market values.

In this paper, we use a web-based sampling methodology to obtain and content analyze a large sample of modified audit opinions. Based on this analysis, we re-examine whether certain modified audit opinions are associated with abnormal accruals. We find that the documented relation between modified opinions and abnormal accruals rests with companies that have going-concern opinions. These firms have large negative accruals that are likely due to severe financial distress. Overall, we find no evidence to support inferences in previous research that firms receiving modified audit opinions manage earnings more than those receiving clean opinions.