Business Commons^™

The Effect Of Regulation On Statement Disclosures In The 1915 Moody's Manuals, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie Archambault

Jeffrey Archambault

United States firms in the early 20th century were subject to public and private regulation. Forms of regulation included rate regulation and stock exchange listing requirements. These regulations created incentives to report income statement information. This study utilizes the 1915 Moody’s Analyses of Investments to test whether regulated firms in the United States reported more income statement information than unregulated firms. Rate regulation influenced utilities to report income statements more frequently than industrial companies.

Stock market listing requirements also influenced the reporting of income statements. Therefore, the results indicate that both public and private regulations influenced financial reporting in the …

Earnings Management Among Firms During The Pre-Sec Era: A Benford's Law Analysis, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault

Jeffrey Archambault

This paper examines the existence of financial statement manipulation in the U.S. during a time period when many of the current motivations did not exist. The study looks for types of manipulations that would be motivated by the pre-SEC operating environment. To examine this issue, a sample of U.S. firms from the 1915 Moody's Analyses of Investments is divided into industrial firms, railroads, and utilities. The railroad and utility companies faced rate regulatiori during this time period, providing incentives to manipulate the financial reports so as to maximize the rate received. Industrial firms were not regulated. These companies wanted to …

Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie Archambault

Jeffrey Archambault

This study uses the 1920 Moody’s Analysis of Industrial Investments to assess the extent of financial reporting by U.S. indus­trial companies. The reporting of an income statement and a balance sheet, as well as the amount of disclosure in both of these statements, is examined empirically to determine which economic factors influ­ence this reporting. The results show that corporate-governance, op­erating, and financing factors all significantly influence the reporting of financial statements and the extent of disclosure within those state­ments. However, the significant factors vary across the two financial statements and the two decisions considered (reporting a particular statement and the …

The Effect Of Regulation On Statement Disclosures In The 1915 Moody's Manuals, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault

Marie E. Archambault

United States firms in the early 20th century were subject to public and private regulation. Forms of regulation included rate regulation and stock exchange listing requirements. These regulations created incentives to report income statement information. This study utilizes the 1915 Moody’s Analyses of Investments to test whether regulated firms in the United States reported more income statement information than unregulated firms. Rate regulation influenced utilities to report income statements more frequently than industrial companies. Stock market listing requirements also influenced the reporting of income statements. Therefore, the results indicate that both public and private regulations influenced financial reporting in the …

Earnings Management Among Firms During The Pre-Sec Era: A Benford's Law Analysis, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault

Marie E. Archambault

This paper examines the existence of financial statement manipulation in the U.S. during a time period when many of the current motivations did not exist. The study looks for types of manipulations that would be motivated by the pre-SEC operating environment. To examine this issue, a sample of U.S. firms from the 1915 Moody's Analyses of Investments is divided into industrial firms, railroads, and utilities. The railroad and utility companies faced rate regulatiori during this time period, providing incentives to manipulate the financial reports so as to maximize the rate received. Industrial firms were not regulated. These companies wanted to …

Financial Reporting In 1920: The Case Of Industrial Companies, Jeffrey Archambault, Marie E. Archambault

Marie E. Archambault

This study uses the 1920 Moody’s Analysis of Industrial Investments to assess the extent of financial reporting by U.S. indus­trial companies. The reporting of an income statement and a balance sheet, as well as the amount of disclosure in both of these statements, is examined empirically to determine which economic factors influ­ence this reporting. The results show that corporate-governance, op­erating, and financing factors all significantly influence the reporting of financial statements and the extent of disclosure within those state­ments. However, the significant factors vary across the two financial statements and the two decisions considered (reporting a particular statement and the …