I show that median earnings surprise has shifted rightward from small negative (miss analyst estimates by a small amount) to zero (meet analyst estimates exactly) to small positive (beat analyst estimates by a small amount) during the 16 years, 1984 to 1999. I show that a rightward temporal shift in median surprise from negative to positive describes earnings, but neither profits nor losses. Median profit surprise shifts within the positive quadrant, from zero to one cent per share. Median loss surprise shifts within the negative quadrant from extreme negative (about ‐33 cents per share) to zero. I show that the median surprise for profits exceeds that for losses in every year. I document significant positive temporal trends in both meet and beat analyst estimates for both profits and losses, but I find a greater frequency of profits that either meet or beat analyst estimates in every year. I find a significant positive temporal trend in positive profits that are “a little bit of good news,” and a significant negative temporal trend in managers who report losses that are an “extreme amount of bad news.” My results are robust to the four internal validity threats I consider—namely temporal changes in: (1) analyst forecast accuracy, (2) the mix of earnings of one sign preceded by earnings of another sign four quarters ago, (3) the timeliness of the most recent analyst forecast, and (4) the I/B/E/S definition of actual earnings. I find that managers of growth firms are relatively more likely than managers of value firms to report good news profits. I show that when they do report positive profit surprises, managers of growth firms are more likely to report “a little bit of good news” in every year.

Accounting changes, Analyst forecasts, Forecast accuracy, Earnings announcement

Editors exhort authors to circulate and present their working papers to colleagues before submitting them to journals (Zimmerman 1989; Green et al. 2002). Authors heeding such advice are said to increase the likelihood of getting their work published and making their research, once published, more influential (Zimmerman 1989). While evidence regarding these matters is of keen importance to authors, editors, and administrators, no research exists showing that circulating and presenting manuscripts increases their probability of being accepted in accounting journals or, when published, their influence on stimulating other research. I present such evidence by perusing acknowledgments in premier accounting journals. I examine the relation between circulating and presenting manuscripts and the probability of acceptance by relating acknowledgments of 305 papers submitted to The Accounting Review during June 2002–May 2003 to the editor's reject versus revise and resubmit decision. I examine the relation between circulating and presenting manuscripts and an article's influence by relating the acknowledgments in 256 articles published in The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, and Journal of Accounting and Economics to citations to these articles. My two analyses of acknowledgments to institutions, conferences, and individuals yield similar results. I find that papers presented at more workshops are more likely to be invited back to The Accounting Review, and that papers published in The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, or Journal of Accounting Research generate more citations if they were presented previously at more workshops.

Determining familiarity with and evaluating quality of accounting journals are of interest to various parties in accounting academia. In recent years, the number of accounting journals has grown, and many special‐interest subgroups have arisen. This study surveys senior faculty at Business Week's “best 40 MBA programs” to determine their familiarity with and quality perceptions of 44 accounting journals. As to familiarity, 5 journals were nearly universally known, and a total of 15 had wide recognition. Financial, managerial, and auditing faculty exhibited similar familiarity patterns, while tax faculty had a somewhat different pattern. As to quality perceptions, relatively few journals achieved high quality evaluations. There was, however, general consensus across the different subject‐area faculty as to the top journals. Special consideration was given to the newer (post‐1980) journals. Six of the 19 newer journals in the study achieved high familiarity scores, and 3 achieved high quality evaluations. Résumé. Le degré de connaissance des publications comptables et la perception de la qualité de ces publications sont des sujets qui intéressent divers membres de la communauté universitaire œuvrant dans le domaine comptable. Depuis quelques années, le nombre des publications comptables a augmenté, et maints sous‐groupes d'intérêt particuliers ont vu le jour. Les auteurs ont réalisé un sondage auprès de professeurs d'expérience enseignant dans le cadre des quarante meilleurs programmes MBA répertoriés par Business Week , afin de déterminer dans quelle mesure ils connaissaient 44 publications comptables et quelle était leur perception de la qualité de ces publications. En ce qui a trait à la connaissance, 5 publications sont presque universellement connues et 15 au total ont un grand rayonnement. Les professeurs de finance, de gestion et de vérification ont affiché des profils de connaissance analogues, tandis que les professeurs de fiscalité présentaient un profil quelque peu différent. Quant à la perception, de la qualité, relativement peu de publications ont obtenu la cote ≪ qualité élevée ≫. L'on a cependant observé un consensus général chez les professeurs des différentes disciplines ers ce qui a trait aux publications de prestige. Une attention particulière a été accordée aux publications plus récentes (postérieures à 1980). Six des 19 publications plus récentes de l'étude ont obtenu une cote élevée relativement au degré de connaissance, et 3 d'entre elles ont obtenu une cote élevée relativement à la qualité.

This paper empirically examines whether labor strikes affect the forecasting and information content of quarterly earnings numbers. We address two issues regarding financial analyst forecast (FAF) superiority: whether FAF superiority increases when a strike occurs and if so, whether the increase in FAF superiority is sustained immediately after the strike ends. We also examine two issues regarding information content: whether strikes affect the coefficient mapping unexpected earnings into stock prices and whether strikes affect the variance of stock price changes. We suggest that strikes affect both the forecasting and information content of quarterly earnings numbers. Résumé. Cet article examine de façon empirique si les grèves des travailleurs influencent la prévision et le contenu informatif des résultats trimestriels. Nous abordons deux questions relatives à la supériorité des prévisions d'analystes financiers (PAF): à savoir si la supériorité des PAF s'accroît lorsqu'une grève se produit et, dans l'affirmative, si l'accroissement de cette supériorité se maintient immédiatement après la fin de la grève. Nous étudions également deux questions relatives au contenu informatif: à savoir si les grèves influencent le coefficient incorporant l'impact des bénéfices imprévus sur le cours des actions et si les grèves affectent la variance des fluctuations du cours des actions. Les grèves affecteraient donc à la fois la prévision et le contenu informatif des résultats trimestriels.

Managers play earnings surprise games to avoid negative earnings surprises by managing earnings upward or by managing analysts' earnings expectations downward. We investigate the effectiveness of the financial reporting process at restraining earnings surprise games. Because the annual reporting process is subject to an independent audit and more rigorous expense recognition rules than interim reporting, it provides managers with fewer opportunities to manage earnings upward. We document that, relative to interim reporting, annual reporting reduces the likelihood of income‐increasing earnings management and, to a lesser extent, of negative surprise avoidance, but increases the magnitude of downward expectations management. Our findings suggest that regulatory attempts to monitor corporations' internal checks and balances are likely to be more effective at curbing upward earnings management than at mitigating negative surprise avoidance.