Previous analytical work has shown that a firm's cash recovery rate (the ratio of cash recovery during a period to gross investments outstanding during the period) is related to the internal rate of return of firm projects in the event that the firm reinvests all of its cash flows. This paper extends the previous analytical work by establishing a link between a firm's cash recovery rate and the internal rate of return of firm projects in circumstances when the firm does not reinvest all of its cash flows. Additionally, this paper applies the extended model to a group of firms in order to obtain estimates of their internal rates of return. Work of this kind would seem to be of particular interest to economic researchers who are interested in theoretically defensible empirical measures of firm profitability.

William R. Kinney, Jr., Gerald L. Salamon, Regression Analysis in Auditing: A Comparison of Alternative Investigation Rules, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 20, No. 2, Part I (Autumn, 1982), pp. 350-366

This paper examines the relationship between the ownership control status of firms and the accounting methods they adopt. The arguments of Watts and Zimmerman's positive theory are integrated with those of managerial economists to generate the prediction that management controlled firms are more likely than owner controlled firms to adopt accounting methods which increase reported earnings. This prediction is inconsistent with Fama's hypothesis that the market for managerial talent will prevent management controlled firms from acting differently than owner controlled firms. This paper compares the depreciation methods used by a sample of management and owner controlled firms for financial reporting purposes. The comparison considers and controls for the factors of firm size, leverage, and the depreciation method used for tax reporting purposes. The comparison reveals that there is a significant difference in the depreciation methods adopted by management controlled and owner controlled firms for financial reporting purposes.