Showing papers in "Journal of Business Finance & Accounting in 2003"

Does working capital management affect profitability of Belgian firms

Abstract: The relation between working capital management and corporate profitablity is investigated for a sample of 1,009 large Belgian non-financial firms for the 1992-1996 period. Trade credit policy and inventory policy are measured by number of days accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventories, and the cash conversion cycle is used as a comprehensice measure of working capital management. The results suggest that managers can increase corporate profitablity by reducing the number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Less profitable firms wait longer to pay their bills.

Length of Board Tenure and Outside Director Independence

Abstract: I posit and test two competing views on the significance of outside director tenure lengths; the expertise hypothesis suggesting that extended board service time is a sign of director commitment, experience, and competence and the management-friendliness hypothesis suggesting that extended board service time marks directors who befriend management at the expense of shareholders. I find evidence that Senior directors, defined as directors with twenty or more years of board service, are almost twice as likely to occupy a ‘management-affiliated’ profession compared to the rest, and that they are also more likely to staff the firm's nominating and compensation committees. Senior director participation in the compensation committee is associated with higher pay for the CEO, especially when the CEO is more powerful in the firm. These results are consistent with the management-friendliness hypothesis, and highlight a need for setting term limits for directors.

Dividend Policy, Corporate Governance and the Managerial Entrenchment Hypothesis: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract: This paper analyses the agency explanation for the cross-sectional variation of corporate dividend policy in the UK by looking at the managerial entrenchment hypothesis drawn from the agency literature. Consistent with predictions, a significant U-shaped relationship between dividend payout ratios and insider ownership is observed for a large (exceeding 600 firms) sample of UK companies and two distinct periods. These results strongly suggest the possibility of managerial entrenchment when insider ownership reaches a threshold of around 30%. Evidence is also presented that non-beneficial holdings by insiders can lead to entrenchment in conjunction with shares held beneficially.

Efficiency, Ownership and Market Structure, Corporate Control and Governance in the Turkish Banking Industry

Abstract: Turkish banks are quite heterogeneous in terms of organizational form, ownership structure, size, age, portfolio concentration, growth prospects and attitude toward risk. They also exhibit strong variations in performance as measured by several efficiency indices. In the light of theoretical advances in corporate finance and financial institutions, this paper is an in-depth cross-sectional analysis of the Turkish banking sector, which explores the various bank, market and regulatory characteristics that may explain the efficiency variations across banks. Consistent with the related hypotheses investigated, the results indicate that a number of independent bank characteristics are significantly correlated with various efficiency measures.

Scale and the Scale Effect in Market‐based Accounting Research

Abstract: The nature of the data we usually encounter in market-based accounting research is such that the results of the regressions of market capitalization on financial statement variables (referred to ‘price-levels’ regressions) are driven by a relatively small subset of the very largest firms in the sample. We refer to this overwhelming influence of the largest firms as the ‘scale effect’. This effect is more than heteroscedasticity. It arises due to the non-linearity in the relation between market capitalization and the financial statement variables. We present the case that scale is market capitalization rather than a correlated omitted variable. Since scale is market capitalization, we advocate its use as a deflator in a regression estimated using weighted least squares. This regression overcomes the scale effect and the resultant regression residuals are more economically meaningful. Christie's (1987) depiction of scale is the same as ours but he advocates the use of the returns regression specification in order to avoid scale effects. We agree that returns regressions should be used unless the research question calls for a price-levels regression.

Glamour Acquirers, Method of Payment and Post-acquisition Performance: The UK Evidence

Abstract: We study the effect of different acquirer types, defined by financial status and their payment methods, on their short and long-term performance, in terms of abnormal returns using a variety of benchmark models. For a sample of 519 UK acquirers during 1983–95, we examine the abnormal return performance of acquirers based on their pre-bid financial status as either glamour or value acquirers using both the price to earnings (PE) ratio and market to book value ratio (MTBV). Value acquirers outperform glamour acquirers in the three-year post-acquisition period. One interpretation is that glamour firms have overvalued equity and tend to exploit their status and use it more often than cash to finance their acquisitions. As we move from glamour to value acquirers, there is a greater use of cash. Our results are broadly consistent with those for the US reported by Rau and Vermaelen (1998). However, in contrast to their study, we find stronger support for the method of payment hypothesis than for extrapolation hypothesis. Cash acquirers generate higher returns than equity acquirers, irrespective of their glamour/ value status. Our conclusions, based on four benchmark models for abnormal returns, suggest that stock markets in both the US and the UK may share a similar proclivity for over-extrapolation of past performance, at least in the bid period. They also tend to reassess acquirer performance in the post-acquisition period and correct this overextrapolation. These results have implications for the behavioural aspects of capital markets in both countries.

Voluntary Disclosure of Management Earnings Forecasts in IPO Prospectuses

Abstract: Asymmetric information and mechanisms for its resolution in the initial public offering (IPO) process are subjects of extensive research and debate. In this paper, we investigate the impact of one such mechanism, namely voluntary disclosure of management earnings forecasts by issuers of IPOs, as a means of reducing asymmetric information as well as ex ante uncertainty. Our focus is on the relative importance of this voluntary disclosure mechanism on both IPO underpricing and post-issue return performance. Our results indicate that management earnings forecasts provide important and incremental information compared to other means of reducing asymmetric information, and these disclosures appear to improve the environment of IPO issuance. For example, our underpricing results show that firms that choose to provide forecasts leave ‘less money on the table’ with a lower degree of underpricing. In terms of post-issue performance, firms whose forecasts turn out to be optimistic are penalized significantly relative to other forecasters and non-forecasters.

Fortune’s Best 100 Companies to Work for in America: Do They Work for Shareholders?

Abstract: In this paper we examine the market reaction to the announcement by Fortune of the ‘Best 100 Companies to Work for in America.’ Employees rate firms based on several criteria including trust in management, pride in work/company and camaraderie. To examine long-term performance, we calculate raw and risk-adjusted returns and then compare them to the returns of a matched sample of firms. In addition, we calculate the return on a buy and hold investment in the sample firm less the return on a buy-and-hold investment in a matched sample firm (BHARs). We find a statistically significant positive response to the announcement of the ‘100 best companies to work for’ by Fortune. Also, based on all measures of risk-adjusted return, we find these firms generally outperform the matched sample of companies. The BHAR results, although not exhibiting the level of statistical significance, are consistent with the raw and risk-adjusted return results.

Deflators, net shareholder cash flows, dividends, capital contributions and estimated models of corporate valuation

Abstract: Models of corporate valuation based upon a symmetric distribution of information suggest that net shareholder cash flows (the difference between dividends and capital contributions) should have a negative impact on corporate valuation (see, for example, Ohlson, 1989). Using a cross-sectional valuation model approach, a number of studies have empirically investigated this relationship, directly or indirectly. Rees (1997) estimates that dividends have a positive impact on corporate valuation in the UK. He does not estimate the impact of capital contributions, however. In the USA, Rees’ (1997) result is repeated by Hand and Landsman (1999), who also observe a coefficient for capital contributions more in line with symmetric information theory. If these results of a positive relationship between dividends and market value are accepted at face value, they could be consistent with signalling models, based upon an asymmetric

The determinants of credit ratings in the United Kingdom insurance industry

Abstract: Executive Summary The Determinants of Credit Ratings in the United Kingdom Insurance Industry Academic researchers have devoted a considerable amount of attention to the activities of credit rating agencies over the past 20 years, focusing in particular on the agencies’ potential role in overseeing corporate financial strength and promoting the efficient operation of financial markets. Examinations of credit rating practices has recently extended to the insurance industry, where the complex technical nature of market transactions leads to policyholders, investors and others facing particularly acute information asymmetries at the point-of-sale. Published credit ratings are therefore seen as helping to alleviate imperfections in insurance markets by providing a third party opinion on the adequacy of an insurer’s financial health and the likelihood of it meeting obligations to policyholders and others in the future. Although the United Kingdom (UK) insurance market is now one of the five largest in the world, relatively little is known about the practices of the major firms and policy-makers which influence its operations. In particular, whilst the determinants of rating agencies’ assessments of United States (US) insurers is well documented, published studies have yet to provide comprehensive evidence about insurance company ratings in the UK. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the ratings awarded by two of the world’s leading agencies – A.M. Best and Standard and Poor (S&P) – and establishing the extent to which organizational variables can help predict: (i) insurance firms’ decision to be rated; and (ii) the assigned ratings themselves. Our sample of UK data comprises ratings made by A.M. Best and S&P over the period 1993-1997 for both life and property-liability insurers. The panel data we use is ordinal in nature and is therefore analysed using an ordered probit model. However, because neither A.M. Best or S&P rate the full population of UK insurance firms our data set is potentially subject to selfselection bias and we therefore extend the model to correct for such problems. In particular, the paper examines the effect of eight firm-specific variables (namely, capital adequacy, profitability, liquidity, growth, size, mutual/stockowner status, reinsurance level, and short/long-term nature of business) on the ratings awarded by the two agencies, as well as on insurance firms’ decisions to volunteer for the ratings in the first place. In general terms, our evidence concurs with earlier US findings, and suggests that although the decision to be rated by either of the agencies is largely influenced by a common set of factors, the determinants of the ratings themselves appear to differ. Specifically, our first main finding is that insurers’ decisions to be rated by either A.M. Best or S&P is positively related to surplus growth, profitability and leverage. Second, while we find that A.M. Best’s ratings are positively linked to profitability and liquidity, as well as being generally higher for mutual insurers, the findings for S&P differ substantially. Although liquidity again exerted a positive influence on assigned ratings, the only other statistically significant variable was financial leverage, which had a negative sign. We believe that the results of our research are of potential importance for companies operating in insurance markets as well as for policy-makers, brokers and others. For example, the evidence that mutual insurers are generally assigned higher ratings than stock insurers suggests that certain publicly-traded insurers, in particular new entrants, might not possess sound financial strength and may require closer regulatory scrutiny than other, more established, insurance firms. In addition, the finding that liquidity has a significantly positive effect on ratings assigned by two of the world’s leading credit agencies should provide a measure of confidence about the robustness of the ratings to industry regulators, policyholders and investors in the UK. This could imply that external ratings might eventually play a role in substituting for costly industry regulation. The study concludes that although the factors influencing the decision to be rated by A.M. Best or S&P are broadly the same, a degree of variability exists in the variables which influence the actual ratings themselves. Insurance company managers should be aware of this when contemplating whether to seek an independent rating and which agency to choose for the assessment. We therefore believe that this study fills an important gap in the literature about key players in the important UK insurance market and provides a basis for the conduct of future research.

An empirical investigation of determinants of audit reports in the uk

Abstract: Prior studies of audit reporting in the UK only analyse either very small, private companies, or large listed companies. In addition, these studies focus on narrowly defined types of modified audit reports, respectively the ‘small company’ audit qualification, and going-concern related modifications. In contrast, this paper employs a multinomial logit model to analyse the determinants of both going-concern and non going-concern related audit modifications, including modifications for disagreements and limitations on scope. Furthermore, this paper analyses reports over a wide range of both private and public (listed and non-listed) companies. The determinants of audit reports are shown to differ between different types of audit modification. In addition, subsidiary companies hiring large auditors are significantly less likely to receive non going-concern related modifications, whereas non-subsidiary companies hiring large auditors are significantly more likely to receive going-concern related modifications.

Stock market reaction to the appointment of outside directors

Abstract: This paper examines the UK stock market's reaction to the appointment of outside (non-executive) board members. Tests conducted using a sample of 714 appointments reported by EXTEL between 1 July, 1993 and 31 December, 1996, indicate a strong interaction between appointee characteristics and the magnitude of the agency problem: the share price reaction to outside director appointments is significantly more favourable when board ownership is low and the appointee possesses strong ex ante monitoring incentives. In contrast, the appointment of independent and manager-affiliated outside directors does not appear to benefit shareholders on average, even in the presence of serious agency problems.

European Stock Market Integration: Does EMU Matter?

Abstract: Numerous recent studies (e.g., Eun and Shim, 1989; Koch and Koch, 1991;Brocato, 1994; LeachmanandFrancis, 1995; Francis and Leachman, 1998; and Bessler and Yang, 2003) have explored the long-term cointegration relations and/or shortterm dynamic interactions among major international stock markets, which also involve somemajor European stockmarkets. Parallel to these studies on major international stock markets, there is also a growing literature with a focus on stock markets within Europe. Taylor and Tonks (1989) and Corhay, Rad and Urbain (1993) found much evidence for cointegration among several major European stock markets in the late 1970s and 1980s. Dickinson (2000) argued that a cointegrating relationship among the major European stock markets exists after the

Modelling International Price Relationships and Interdependencies Between the Stock Index and Stock Index Futures Markets of Three EU Countries: A Multivariate Analysis

Abstract: This paper addresses the important relationship between stock index and stock index futures markets in an international context. By simply examining the spot-futures relationship within a single country as most of the extant literature does and thus ignoring possible market interdependencies between countries, the dynamics of price adjustments may be misspecified and thus findings misleading. The main contribution of the paper is to improve our understanding of the pricing relationship between spot and futures markets in the light of international market interdependencies. Using a multivariate VAR-EGARCH methodology, the paper investigates stock index and stock index futures market interdependence, that is lead-lag relationships and volatility interactions between the stock and futures markets of three main European countries, namely France, Germany and the UK. In addition, the paper explicitly accounts for potential asymmetries that may exist in the volatility transmission mechanism between these markets. The main conclusions of the paper imply that investors need to account for market interactions across countries to fully and correctly exploit the potential for hedging and diversification.

Discussion of Scale and the Scale Effect in Market‐based Accounting Research

Abstract: Easton and Sommers (ES) (2003) argue that cross-sectional differences in scale can interfere with the process of making appropriate inferences about estimated parameter coefficients when using cross-secdonal valuation models in market-based accounting research (MBAR). Such interference can occur whether the dependent variable is the total equity market value of a firm (and the independent variables are measured as firm values) or whether the dependent variable is the price per share of the firm (and the independent variables are measured on a^er share basis also). Specifically, they define that a 'scale effect' exists when large firms (as measured by total equity market value) exert undue infiuence on the estimated regression coefficients. They illustrate this by showing that the average values of studendzed residuals grouped by market value (market value/>er share) (where studentized residuals act as a measure of the influence of an individual observation on the estimated coefficients) vary with market value (market value per share) in ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions of market value (or market value jb r share) on earnings (or earnings per share) and book value (or book value per share) on US data. This variation is particularly extreme for

Contrarian Investment and Macroeconomic Risk

Abstract: It is now widely accepted that contrarian, or value investment strategies deliver superior returns. Gregory, Harris and Michou (2001) examine the performance of contrarian investment strategies in the UK and find that value strategies formed on the basis of a wide range of measures of value have delivered excess returns that are both statistically and economically significant. However, while value strategies appear to be profitable, the reason for their superior perform- ance is far from clear. Under the contrarian model, value strategies are profitable because they are contrarian to naive strategies such as those that erroneously extrapolate past performance, while under the rational pricing model, value strategies are profitable because they are fundamentally riskier in some sense. In this paper, we discriminate between these two possibilities by undertaking a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between the returns to value investment strategies and various macroeconomic state variables that in a multi-factor asset pricing model could reasonably be taken as proxies for risk. Moreover, we examine whether the returns to value strategies predict future GDP, consumption and investment growth over and above the contribution of the Fama and French (1993 and 1996) SMB, HML and market factors. While the SMB and HML factors behave in a manner consistent with the rational pricing model, we show that some value strategies in the UK are able to generate excess returns that do not seem to be related to known risk factors.

The Value Relevance of Equity Method Fair Value Disclosures

Abstract: Under the equity method of accounting fair value disclosures are required for investments in common stock for which a quoted market price is available. To date, no studies have specifically considered the value relevance of book and fair values for equity method investments. 1 In addition, equity method investments have been consistently excluded from fair value accounting standards passed by the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) and under consideration by the IASC (International Accounting Standards Committee) without a documented reason. In this study we examine the value relevance of the fair value disclosures made for publicly traded securities accounted for under the equity method. 2 Our intention is to provide evidence that will contribute to our understanding of the valuation implications of the fair value disclosures. This

Endogenous Parameter Time Series Estimation of the Ohlson Model: Linear and Nonlinear Analyses

Abstract: This paper tests the empirical validity of the Ohlson (1995) model on a firm-level time series basis. The coefficients of the earnings dynamic and valuation equations are first estimated by OLS. Next, recognizing the nonlinear relationships among the parameters, each equation is estimated by nonlinear Least Squares. Lastly, the model is estimated as a restricted system by nonlinear Least Squares and nonlinear SUR. In all cases, parameters are endogenously estimated. Irrespective of the estimation method, the Ohlson model often yields inconsistent or insignificant parameter estimates. Nevertheless, point estimates of equity risk premia are similar to those obtained from alternative methodologies.

The Incremental Information Content of Earnings and Cash Flows from Operations Affected by Their Extremity

Abstract: Previous returns studies have shown that extreme earnings and extreme cash flows from operations are less informative than moderate (i.e., less extreme) earnings and moderate cash flows. Studies also report that cash flows supplement to earnings in firm valuation by showing a higher association of cash flows with returns when earnings are extreme than when earnings are moderate. We propose that this supplementary role of cash flows is affected by cash flows extremity. Using data from the US capital markets, we find that the supplementary role of cash flows exists only when cash flows are not extreme. We also investigate the supplementary role of earnings to cash flows and search for a higher association of earnings with returns when cash flows are extreme than when cash flows are moderate. Similar to results on cash flows, our findings show that the supplementary role of earnings exists only when earnings are not extreme. Our results imply that investors and researchers should consider both earnings and cash flows extremity when assessing the information content of these variables.

A Simultaneous Equations Analysis of Analysts’ Forecast Bias, Analyst Following, and Institutional Ownership

Abstract: In this paper we use a simultaneous equations model to examine the relationship between analysts’ forecasts, analyst following, and institutions’ investment decisions. Estimates of our three equation model using US data indicate that higher institutional demand leads to greater optimism among analysts and lower analyst following. At the same time, institutional demand increases with increasing optimism in analysts’ forecasts but decreases with analyst following. We also investigate firm characteristics as determinants of analysts’ and institutions’ decisions. Empirical estimates of the effects of these characteristics indicate that agency-driven behavioral considerations are significant.

Interdependence and Volatility Spillovers Under Market Liberalization: The Case of Istanbul Stock Exchange

Abstract: This paper analyzes stock returns and volatility relations between the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) and the global market as represented by stock markets in the US, the UK, Japan and Germany. Results from monthly data and multivariate cointegration tests suggest that the ISE became significantly integrated in the global market only in the period following market liberalization in late 1989. We also find evidence based on GARCH estimations that capital liberalization actually mitigated, rather than intensified, volatility in the ISE. Our results further suggest that the Asian crisis in mid-1997 and the consequent Russian economic meltdown in mid-1998 are partly responsible for the recent excessive volatility in the Turkish market. The results also identify the US and the UK markets as dominate sources of volatility spillovers for the ISE, even in the period following the Asian-Russian crises. Consequently, it appears that the two matured markets of the US and the UK shoulder significant responsibility for the stability and financial health of smaller emerging markets like the ISE.

Measuring the Impact of Corporate Investment Announcements on Share Prices: The Spanish Experience

Abstract: We bring together three disparate strands of literature to develop a comprehensive empirical framework to examine the efficiency of security analysts' earnings forecasts in Singapore. We focus specifically on how the increased uncertainty and the negative market sentiment during the period of the Asian crisis affected the quality of earnings forecasts. While we find no evidence of inefficiencies in the pre-crisis period, our results suggest that after the onset of the crisis, analysts (1) issued forecasts that were systematically upward biased; (2) did not fully incorporate the (negative) earnings-related news; and (3) predicted earnings changes which proved too extreme.

Investment Opportunities and the Relation Between Equity Value and Employees' Bonus

Abstract: A sample of firms where employee stock options and other long-term incentives are absent but an annual bonus is required is examined. A positive relation is found between firm equity value and stock bonus but not cash bonus. The positive relation is stronger when the firm has greater investment opportunities. Additionally, the relation is shown to be nonlinear in the sense that the marginal effect of stock bonus on equity value is positive but decreasing (negative) when the stock bonus is below (above) the breakpoint. Overall, the annual stock bonus is valued positively by investors even though it is linked to the firm's contemporaneous but not future performance.

On the Existence of Visual Technical Patterns in the UK Stock Market

Abstract: The aim in this paper is to replicate and extend the analysis of visual technical patterns by Lo et al. (2000) using data on the UK market. A non-parametric smoother is used to model a nonlinear trend in stock price series. Technical patterns, such as the 'head-and-shoulders' pattern, that are characterised by a sequence of turning points are identified in the smoothed data. Statistical tests are used to determine whether returns conditioned on the technical patterns are different from random returns and, in an extension to the analysis of Lo et al. (2000), whether they can outperform a market benchmark return. For the stocks in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices over the period 1986 to 2001, we find that technical patterns occur with different frequencies to each other and in different relativities to the frequencies found in the US market. Our extended statistical testing indicates that UK stock returns are less influenced by technical patterns than was the case for US stock returns.

The Weekend and ‘Reverse’ Weekend Effects: An Analysis by Month of the Year, Week of the Month, and Industry

Abstract: In this paper, we examine whether the ‘reverse’ weekend effect recently documented by Brusa, Liu and Schulman (2000) is concentrated in a few industries or widely spread across all the industries. The findings in this paper indicate that the ‘reverse’ weekend effect exists not only in broad indices, but also in most industries. The results suggest that the ‘reverse’ weekend effect may be driven by economic events that affect all industries, rather than industry-specific factors. Although the patterns of Monday returns are similar between broad indices and industry indices, they are different between the pre- and the post-1988 periods. Monday returns tend to be negative in the pre-1988 period, but tend to be positive in the post-1988 period, for both broad market indices and industry indices. These conclusions are valid even after considering the influence of the month-of-the-year and the week-of-the-month effects.

The Relative Relevance of Cash Flow and Accrual Information for Solvency Assessments: A Multi‐Method Approach

Abstract: This multi-method study reports the results of two complementary experiments investigating the relevance of cash flow and accrual information. A behavioural field experiment investigated differences in the accuracy of solvency assessments between commercial lending managers using cash flow information and those using accrual information. Results indicated that commercial lending managers using cash flow information made more accurate solvency assessments than managers using accrual information. Results of an archival quantitative modeling experiment complemented these results and indicated cash flow information had incremental information content beyond accrual information. Our results confirmed the decision-usefulness of cash flow information and supported the mandate of the Statement of Cash Flows.

An Aggregation Theorem for the Valuation of Equity Under Linear Information Dynamics

Abstract: We state an Aggregation Theorem which shows that the recursion value of equity is functionally proportional to its adaptation value. Since the recursion value of equity is equal to its book value plus the expected present value of its abnormal earnings, it follows that the adaptation value of equity can normally be determined by a process of simple quadrature. We demonstrate the application of the Aggregation Theorem using two stochastic processes. The first uses the linear information dynamics of the Ohlson (1995) model. The second uses linear information dynamics based on the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985)‘square root’ process. Both these processes lead to closed form expressions for the adaptation and overall market value of equity. There are, however, many other processes which are compatible with the Aggregation Theorem. These all show that the market value of equity will be a highly convex function of its recursion value. The empirical evidence we report for UK companies largely supports the convexity hypothesis.

Determinants of Actuarial Valuation Method Changes for Pension Funding and Reporting: Evidence from the UK

Abstract: This study examines various factors that potentially explain cross-sectional variations in UK corporate managerial discretion to switch towards a market-based actuarial pension valuation method for pension funding and reporting purposes. Evidence is based on accounting, actuarial and share market data for an industry-matched pair sample of 90 UK firms. Consistent with our hypotheses we find that companies have a greater propensity to switch actuarial methods if they use lower discount rates, lower flow funding ratios and sponsor larger pension plans in the pre-switch valuation year. These findings are consistent with the traditional perspective, which implies that UK corporate switching decisions are explained by characteristics of their defined benefit pension funds. The results run contrary to the findings of earlier US based studies that find that such choices can be explained from an alternative corporate financial perspective.

The information signaling hypothesis of dividends: Evidence from cointegration and causality tests

Abstract: This paper uses cointegration and causality tests to study the temporal behavior of dividends and earnings at the individual firm level. We find that, for a sample of 143 non-utility firms, approximately one-fifth of the firms exhibits a temporal relationship between dividends and earnings that is consistent with the information signaling hypothesis of dividends. In the case of 72 utilities, about a third exhibit dividend policies that are consistent with the signaling notion of dividends. Further examination of firm characteristic differences between signaling and non-signaling firms shows that, in the case of non-utility firms, signaling firms tend to be smaller, have a lower growth rate of total assets, and have a higher leverage ratio. In the case of utilities, we find no major differences in firm characteristics between signaling and non-signaling firms.

The Time Series Properties of Financial Ratios: Lev Revisited

Abstract: This paper re-evaluates the time series properties of financial ratios. It presents new empirical analysis which explicitly allows for the possibility that financial ratios can be characterized as non-linear mean-reverting processes. Financial ratios are widely employed as explanatory variables in accounting and finance research with applications ranging from the determinants of auditors’ compensation to explaining firms’ investment decisions. An implicit assumption in this empirical work is that the ratios are stationary so that the postulated models can be estimated by classical regression methods. However, recent empirical work on the time series properties of corporate financial ratios has reported that the level of the majority of ratios is described by non-stationary, I(1), integrated processes and that the ratio differences are parsimoniously described by random walks. We hypothesize that financial ratios may follow a random walk near their target level, but that the more distant a ratio is from target, the more likely the firm is to take remedial action to bring it back towards target. This behavior will result in a significant size distortion of the conventional stationarity tests and lead to frequent non-rejection of the null hypothesis of non-stationarity, a finding which undermines the use of these ratios as reliable conditioning variables for the explanation of firms’ decisions.