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Articles 1 - 30 of 36
Full-Text Articles in Business
Dual-Class Shares In Singapore – Where Ideology Meets Pragmatism, Pey Woan Lee
Dual-Class Shares In Singapore – Where Ideology Meets Pragmatism, Pey Woan Lee
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article seeks to understand the rationale for and potential implications of the introduction of dual class shares (DCS) in Singapore. It does so by first considering the theoretical as well as evidential arguments for and against the use of DCS, followed by a survey on the reception (or otherwise) of such structures in four common law jurisdictions with vibrant capital markets, viz., Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong. It observes that the chief argument cited by business founders to justify the use of DCS structures is the desire to enhance a firm’s long-term profitability by shielding …
Societal Trust And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald Lobo
Societal Trust And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald Lobo
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Using aninternational sample of firms from 25 countries and a country-level index for societal trust, we document that societal trust is negatively associated with tax avoidance, even after controlling for other institutional determinants, such as home country legal institutions and tax system characteristics.We explore the effects of two country-level institutional characteristics—strength of lega linstitutions and capital market pressure—on the relation between societal trust and tax avoidance. We find that the relation between trust and tax avoidance is less pronounced when legal institutions in a country are stronger and is more pronounced when capital market pressure is stronger. Finally, we examine …
Don's Column: Revised Conceptual Framework For Financial Reporting (Part 2), Pearl Hock-Neo Tan
Don's Column: Revised Conceptual Framework For Financial Reporting (Part 2), Pearl Hock-Neo Tan
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Fresh Perspectives in Recognition, Measurement and Disclosures
Studying The Relationship Between Performance And Z-Scores For Manufacturing Firms In Singapore, See Liang Foo, Shaakalya Pathak
Studying The Relationship Between Performance And Z-Scores For Manufacturing Firms In Singapore, See Liang Foo, Shaakalya Pathak
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Singapore is a key leading economy in the Asia Pacific region. This study examines the relationship between the financial health, as measured by the Altman Z-Score, and corporate performance, as measured by the Return on Equity (ROE), of listed manufacturing companies in this market. A linear regression has been conducted between these variables to determine the magnitude and direction of their relationships. The trends of Z-Scores over a five-year period have also been analysed.The analysis covers the period from 2013 to 2017 (inclusive) and yields a statistically positive correlation between ROE and the Z-Score for the market. Singapore registered relatively …
Don's Column: Revised Conceptual Framework For Financial Reporting (Part 1), Pearl Hock-Neo Tan
Don's Column: Revised Conceptual Framework For Financial Reporting (Part 1), Pearl Hock-Neo Tan
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
In March 2018, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued the revised Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (CF 2018) after five years of deliberation since the Discussion Paper was first issued. CF 2018 is immediately applicable to the IASB and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Interpretations Committee.
Don’S Column: Singapore Corporate Tax Rate: Is It Really A Flat Rate?, Teng Aun Khoo, Clement Tan Kai Guan
Don’S Column: Singapore Corporate Tax Rate: Is It Really A Flat Rate?, Teng Aun Khoo, Clement Tan Kai Guan
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
As there is only one corporate tax rate (CTR) in Singapore, it may appear that the Singapore CTR is a single flat rate, currently 17%. However, after taking into account the availability of the partial tax exemption (PTE)scheme, the start-up tax exemption (SUTE) scheme and the corporate income tax rebate (CITR) in Singapore, all of which have an effect of lowering a company’s tax payable, the seemingly flat Singapore CTR is not what it seems to be. Instead, it translates to various progressive tax rates for different tiers of normal chargeable income (NCI).
New Factors Wanted: Evidence From A Simple Specification Test, Ai He, Dashan Huang, Guofu Zhou
New Factors Wanted: Evidence From A Simple Specification Test, Ai He, Dashan Huang, Guofu Zhou
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
In this paper, we examine the pricing errors (PEs) of three kinds of factor models: a) six well known ones– the CAPM, the Fama-French three-factor model, the Carhart four-factor model, the Fama-French five-factor model, the Hou-Xue-Zhang Q-factor model, and the Stambaugh-Yuan mispricing-factor model; b) principal component factors of sixty-two anomalies; c) extracted statistical factors. We find that there is a systematic PE reversal pattern. A spread portfolio that buys stocks in the bottom PE decile and sells stocks in the top PE decile earns significant abnormal returns across all the models, implying that none of them is adequate in explaining …
Identifying Ineffective Monitors From Securities Class Action Lawsuits, Chi Shen Wei, Lei Zhang
Identifying Ineffective Monitors From Securities Class Action Lawsuits, Chi Shen Wei, Lei Zhang
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
We identify “ineffective” institutional monitors based on the prevalence of occurrences of securities class-action lawsuits in their overall portfolio. We find that firms with a higher representation of such institutional investors among the firms’ large shareholders have a greater likelihood of future litigation and experience more negative market reactions upon such litigation filings. These firms exhibit other unfavorable governance outcomes including poorer acquisitions and lower CEO turnover-performance sensitivity. We find suggestive evidence that ineffective monitoring may be a result of higher operational risk.
Leveling The Playing Field Between Large And Small Institutions: Evidence From The Sec’S Xbrl Mandate, Nilabhra Bhattacharya, Young Jun Cho, Jae B. Kim
Leveling The Playing Field Between Large And Small Institutions: Evidence From The Sec’S Xbrl Mandate, Nilabhra Bhattacharya, Young Jun Cho, Jae B. Kim
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
We investigate how XBRL adoption affects smaller institutions’ access to financial statement information relative to their larger counterparts. We examine three aspects of trading responsiveness: abnormal trading volume, response speed to 10-K information, and decision to trade immediately following the 10-K filing. With regard to all three aspects of trading responsiveness, we find that small institutions’ responsiveness to 10-K news increases significantly more relative to the change experienced by large institutions from the pre- to post-XBRL periods. We further document that small institutions’ stock picking skills in the 10-K filing period increase more compared to those of large institutions following …
Director Tenure Diversity And Board Monitoring Effectiveness, Na Li, Aida Sijamic Wahid
Director Tenure Diversity And Board Monitoring Effectiveness, Na Li, Aida Sijamic Wahid
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
This study examines the impact of director tenure diversity on board effectiveness. We find that tenure-diverse boards exhibit significantly higher CEO performance-turnover sensitivity and that firms with tenure-diverse audit committees are less likely to experience accounting restatements. Furthermore, we document that tenure-diverse compensation committees also award less excess compensation and are less likely to overcompensate. Even though tenure-diverse boards seem to exhibit superior monitoring performance, there is limited evidence that their firms exhibit superior financial performance. The findings suggest that recent calls for board renewal, to the extent that it would increase tenure diversity rather than just decrease average board …
Warrants And Their Underlying Stocks: Microstructure Evidence From An Emerging Market, Charlie Charoenwong, David K. Ding, Nuttawat Visaltanachoti
Warrants And Their Underlying Stocks: Microstructure Evidence From An Emerging Market, Charlie Charoenwong, David K. Ding, Nuttawat Visaltanachoti
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
The Stock Exchange of Thailand provides an ideal platform for comparing the trading characteristics of warrants and their underlying stocks since both of them trade in the same market under identical trading rules. If their patterns diverge significantly, it may be possible for an astute trader to devise profitable arbitrage strategies during the life of the warrants. We find that both their patterns are downward-sloping for spreads, U-shaped for flow toxicity, volatility, depth concentration, and trading volume; and upward-sloping for depth and market order flow ratio. This implies that trading under identical market structures leads to similar trading characteristics. We …
Reading Between The Lines: Not All Csr Is Good Csr, David K. Ding, Christo Ferreira, Udomsak Wongchoti
Reading Between The Lines: Not All Csr Is Good Csr, David K. Ding, Christo Ferreira, Udomsak Wongchoti
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR), as evidenced in annual financial reports, is associated with a firm’s financial performance in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach: A word count approach of several key CSR indicators found in the audited financial reports of NZX50 constituent firms is used. Several variables are constructed that measure the presence of CSR within the annual report such as sustainability, responsibility, social, environment, diversity, employee and community, and eight other variables within the annual report that measure the penetration of stakeholder engagement. Control variables and alternative measures of CSR are also included. Descriptive statistics …
Choosing The Precision Of Performance Metrics, Alan D. Crane, Andrew Koch, Chi Shen Wei
Choosing The Precision Of Performance Metrics, Alan D. Crane, Andrew Koch, Chi Shen Wei
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
There is a standard trade-off in contracts between the provision of incentives and insurance. We hypothesize that this trade-off influences the precision with which firm performance is measured. We find that firm outcomes are measured less precisely when chance plays a large role in these outcomes. Further, this precision is determined through the choice of shares outstanding. This has several novel implications. Nominal stock prices can remain constant over time, and firms with unpredictable cash flows should have more shares and lower stock price levels, all else equal. We find evidence consistent with these implications.
Executive Compensation And Cash Contributions To Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Qiang Cheng, Laura Swenson
Executive Compensation And Cash Contributions To Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Qiang Cheng, Laura Swenson
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Pension contribution has a significant impact on firm valuation, employee benefit, and the financial situation of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Using a comprehensive dataset of defined benefit pension (DB) plan contributions, we investigate economic and accounting determinants of pension contributions. We argue that a firm’s pension contribution decision reflects the trade-off between the benefit – reducing the pension liability, and the cost – reducing cash flows from operations and cash available for other purposes. With respect to economic determinants, we find that firms contribute more when funding status is low and when profitability, cash flows from operations and …
Cross-Country Evidence On The Role Of Independent Media In Constraining Corporate Tax Aggressiveness, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo
Cross-Country Evidence On The Role Of Independent Media In Constraining Corporate Tax Aggressiveness, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Using an international sample of firms from 32 countries, we study the relation between media independence and corporate tax aggressiveness. We measure media independence by the extent of private ownership and competition in the media industry. Using an indicator variable for tax aggressiveness when the firm’s corporate tax avoidance measure is within the top quartile of each country-industry combination, we find strong evidence that media independence is associated with a lower likelihood of tax aggressiveness, after controlling for other institutional determinants, including home-country tax system characteristics. We also find that the effect of media independence is more pronounced when the …
Allocation Of Decision Rights Between The Parent Company And Its Subsidiaries, Yuanyuan Liu, Ting Luo, Heng Yue
Allocation Of Decision Rights Between The Parent Company And Its Subsidiaries, Yuanyuan Liu, Ting Luo, Heng Yue
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
This article examines the determinants of allocation of decision rights between the parent company and its subsidiaries, and the economic consequence of suboptimal power structure. Based on China’s unique double disclosure for the parent company and the whole group, we construct a decentralization index to measure how decision rights are allocated within the group companies. We find a more decentralized (centralized) power structure for the groups with more uncertain (certain) external environment and with poorer (better) internal information quality. We also show that the groups with suboptimal power structure have weaker future performance.
U.S. Firms On Foreign (Tax) Holidays, Travis K. Chow, Jeffrey L. Hoopes, Edward L. Maydew
U.S. Firms On Foreign (Tax) Holidays, Travis K. Chow, Jeffrey L. Hoopes, Edward L. Maydew
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
We undertake the first large-sample analysis of foreign tax holiday participation by U.S. firms. Tax holidays are temporary reductions of tax granted by governments, usually contingent on the firm making new operational investments in the country. We predict and find that firms are more likely to participate in foreign tax holidays if they are highly capital-intensive and have highly profitable foreign operations, and less likely to participate in foreign tax holidays if they are capital constrained and if the firm is headed by a short-term focused CEO. While foreign tax holidays reduce taxes on foreign income, we also find that …
The Competitive Landscape Of High-Frequency Trading Firms, Ekkehart Boehmer, Dan Li, Gideon Saar
The Competitive Landscape Of High-Frequency Trading Firms, Ekkehart Boehmer, Dan Li, Gideon Saar
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
We examine product differentiation in the high-frequency trading (HFT) industry, where the “products” are secretive proprietary trading strategies. We demonstrate how principal component analysis can be used to detect underlying strategies that are common to multiple HFT firms, and show that there are three product categories with distinct attributes. We study how HFT competition in each product category impacts the market environment, presenting evidence that indicates how it influences the short-horizon volatility of stocks as well as the viability of trading venues.
Shareholder Litigation And Corporate Disclosure: Evidence From Derivative Lawsuits, Thomas Bourveau, Yun Lou, Rencheng Wang
Shareholder Litigation And Corporate Disclosure: Evidence From Derivative Lawsuits, Thomas Bourveau, Yun Lou, Rencheng Wang
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Using the staggered adoption of universal demand (UD) laws in the United States, we study the effect of shareholder litigation risk on corporate disclosure. We find that disclosure significantly increases after UD laws make it more difficult to file derivative lawsuits. Specifically, firms issue more earnings forecasts and voluntary 8-K filings, and increase the length of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) in their 10-K filings. We further assess the direct and indirect channels through which UD laws affect firms' disclosure policies. We find that the effect of UD laws on corporate disclosure is driven by firms facing relatively higher ex …
Debt Heterogeneity And Covenants, Yun Lou, Clemens A. Otto
Debt Heterogeneity And Covenants, Yun Lou, Clemens A. Otto
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Coordination failure among owners of heterogeneous debt types increases distress costs. Covenants reduce expected distress costs by lowering the probability of liquidity shortages, increasing liquidation values, and incentivizing creditor monitoring. We predict and find that new debt contracts include more covenants when borrowers' existing debt structures are more heterogeneous. Our findings suggest that covenants are not only used to address creditor-shareholder conflicts but also to reduce the expected costs of coordination failure among creditors. Further, our results indicate a dynamic component missing from static debt structure models: Debt heterogeneity entails additional covenants (i.e., constraints) when raising future debt.
Capm-Based Company (Mis)Valuations, Olivier Dessaint, Jacques Olivier, Clemens A. Otto, David Thesmar
Capm-Based Company (Mis)Valuations, Olivier Dessaint, Jacques Olivier, Clemens A. Otto, David Thesmar
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
There is a discrepancy between CAPM-implied and realized returns. Using the CAPM in capital budgeting -- as recommended in finance textbooks -- should thus have valuation effects. For instance, low beta projects should be valued more by CAPM-using managers than by the market. This paper empirically tests this hypothesis using publicly announced M&A decisions and shows that takeovers of lower beta targets are accompanied by lower cumulative abnormal returns for the bidders. Specifically, our estimates imply an average net loss to bidders corresponding to 12% of the average deal value and exceeding USD 10 billion per year in aggregate.
Option Listing And Information Asymmetry, Jianfeng Hu
Option Listing And Information Asymmetry, Jianfeng Hu
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
Option listing increases informed and uninformed trading by 12.4% and 23.9%, respectively, in the US between 2001 and 2010, hence reducing relative information risk. We establish the causal effects using control stocks with similar propensities of listing and a quasi-natural experiment using option listing standards. The benefits are more prominent for stocks with active options trading and opaque stocks. The reduction of information risk is larger for good news than bad news, and the stock price response to earnings surprise weakens after listing. The results suggest that options improve the overall market information environment beyond substitutional effects to stock trading.
Are Bond Ratings Informative? Evidence From Regulatory Regime Changes, Louis H. Ederington, Jeremy Goh, Yen Teik Lee, Lisa Yang
Are Bond Ratings Informative? Evidence From Regulatory Regime Changes, Louis H. Ederington, Jeremy Goh, Yen Teik Lee, Lisa Yang
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
The recent Dodd-Frank Act (Section 939B) enacted in 2010 repeals credit rating agencies’ (CRAs) exemption from Regulation Fair Disclosure. We test whether CRAs continue to provide new information to the market after the repeal. We find that the significant pre-repeal stock price responses to rating changes disappear after the regime change. Bond price reactions however remain significant. These results are even more significant at the investment-speculative boundary. Our evidence suggests that CRAs serve as a conduit for transmitting private information before the repeal. It also shows that regulatory constraint is a channel by which credit ratings affect cost of financing.
Return Predictability And The Real Option Value Of Segments, Pingui Rao, Heng Yue, Xin Zhou
Return Predictability And The Real Option Value Of Segments, Pingui Rao, Heng Yue, Xin Zhou
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Theory suggests that firm value should include the value of real options; that is, firms have the option to expand more profitable businesses and liquidate less profitable businesses. In a diversified firm, each segment has its own real options. Applying real options theory to a diversified firm at the firm level neglects the value of segment-level options. If investors overlook segment-level options, mispricing will occur. Using data from 1981 to 2013, we find that a hedge portfolio buying diversified firms in the highest decile of the estimated real option value of segments (RVS) and selling those in the lowest RVS …
Financial Reporting Changes And Internal Information Environment: Evidence From Sfas 142, Qiang Cheng, Young Jun Cho, Holly I. Yang
Financial Reporting Changes And Internal Information Environment: Evidence From Sfas 142, Qiang Cheng, Young Jun Cho, Holly I. Yang
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Using the adoption of SFAS 142 as an exogenous shock, we examine the effect of changes in financial reporting on firms’ internal information environment. SFAS 142 removed goodwill amortization and required firms to perform a two-step impairment test. We argue that complying with SFAS 142 induces managers to acquire new information and, therefore, improves managers’ information sets. Interviews with executives and auditors confirm this argument. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that firms affected by SFAS 142 (i.e., treatment firms) experience an improvement in management forecast accuracy in the post-SFAS 142 period compared with those not affected. The increase is …
Using Data Analytics To Raise Productivity And Profitability: 4 Key Steps For Smes, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow
Using Data Analytics To Raise Productivity And Profitability: 4 Key Steps For Smes, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
It is widely believed that effective data analysis may create newbusiness opportunities as technological advancement may offercompanies greater ability to predict what their customers want.
Trade Secrets Law And Corporate Disclosure: Causal Evidence On The Proprietary Cost Hypothesis, Yinghua Li, Yupeng Lin, Liandong Zhang
Trade Secrets Law And Corporate Disclosure: Causal Evidence On The Proprietary Cost Hypothesis, Yinghua Li, Yupeng Lin, Liandong Zhang
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
This study exploits the staggered adoption of the inevitable disclosure doctrine (IDD) by U.S. state courts as an exogenous shock that generates variations in the proprietary costs of disclosure. We find that firms respond to IDD adoption by reducing the level of disclosure regarding their customers’ identities, supporting the proprietary cost hypothesis. Our results are stronger for firms in industries with a higher degree of entry threats, for firms in more volatile industries, and for firms with a lower degree of external financing dependence. Overall, this study represents one of the first efforts in identifying the causal effect of proprietary …
Internal Control And Operational Efficiency, Qiang Cheng, Beng Wee Goh, Jae Bum Kim
Internal Control And Operational Efficiency, Qiang Cheng, Beng Wee Goh, Jae Bum Kim
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
We examine whether effective internal control over financial reporting has implications beyond that of financial reporting to firm operational efficiency. We predict and find that operational efficiency, derived from frontier analysis, is significantly lower among firms disclosing material weaknesses in internal control relative to firms with effective control. This result exists even in the years leading up to the disclosure of material weaknesses, but disappears after remediation of the internal control problems, suggesting that the remediation of material weaknesses improves operational efficiency. Overall, our study extends the literature on the reporting effects of strong versus weak internal control, and helps …
Are Overconfident Ceos Better Leaders? Evidence From Stakeholder Commitments, Kenny Phua, T. Mandy Tham, Chi Shen Wei
Are Overconfident Ceos Better Leaders? Evidence From Stakeholder Commitments, Kenny Phua, T. Mandy Tham, Chi Shen Wei
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
We find evidence that the leadership of overconfident chief executive officers (CEOs) induces stakeholders to take actions that contribute to the leader's vision. By being intentionally overexposed to the idiosyncratic risk of their firms, overconfident CEOs exhibit a strong belief in their firms’ prospects. This belief attracts suppliers beyond the firm's observable expansionary corporate activities. Overconfident CEOs induce more supplier commitments including greater relationship-specific investment and longer relationship duration. Overconfident CEOs also induce stronger labor commitments as employees exhibit lower turnover rates and greater ownership of company stock in benefit plans.
Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan
Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
Studies have shown there is clear association between aboard's gender diversity and company performance. Yet Singapore has been softerthan usual in pushing the agenda. In this commentary, the authors discussed theimportance of setting an explicit hard target with a fixed deadline to reframeboard diversity in Singapore.