Corporate Finance Commons^™

Three Essays On External Sources Of Corporate Governance, Kevin K. Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corporate governance is the system by which corporations are controlled. External sources of governance include regulatory and market mechanisms as well as the interplay of goals between managers, the board, and shareholders. Other external sources can include informal institutions which can shape goals as well as suggested by institutional theory, effectively constrain human behavior. In my first essay, I argue that foreign direct investors can act as agents of change in corporate governance. Investigating changes in ownership and control of Swedish firms, I find that active foreign investors' participation move firms away from a Swedish stakeholder orientation toward an Anglo-American …

Two Essays On Executive Pay And Firm Performance, Thuong Quang Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Two essays of this dissertation study the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance. These essays analyze both compensation level and compensation structure, and focus not only on CEO compensation but also on Top Management Team (TMT) compensation as well as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) compensation. Methodologically, these essays use different regression techniques to explore the nature of time series over cross sections of executive compensation data in order to find a reliable relationship between executive compensation and firm performance.

The first essay investigates the TMT compensation - firm performance relationship and finds that the compensation dispersion among TMT members …

A Study Of Risk-Taking Behavior In Investment Banking, Elzotbek Rustambekov

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation examines corporate risk-taking behavior by investment banks in the United States. This study was sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the largest bankruptcy filings in U.S. history. This dissertation examines the specific factors that drove investment banks such as Lehman Brothers to take excessive risks, and how the deregulation of the US financial services industry towards the end of the 1990s contributed to risk-taking behavior.

I use four theoretical perspectives to examine corporate risk-taking behavior among investment banks. These perspectives include: institutional theory, behavioral theory of the firm, knowledge based view (KBV) of the firm, …

Executive Compensation And Regulation Imposed Governance: Evidence From The California Non-Profit Integrity Act (2004), Tharindra Ranasinghe, S. Khumawala, S. Mishra, S. Dhole

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

No abstract provided.

Gender, Behavioral Finance And The Investment Decision, Bimal Jaiswal, Naela Kamil

Business Review

As per classical economic theory, humans are completely rational decision makers who carefully evaluate all facts and evidences before taking decisions that aim at maximizing outcomes. However it has been found that in real life humans are not totally rational, rather they are influenced by various behavioural factors while making decisions. Behavioural Finance has thus emerged as an emerging field that studies the influence of psychology on financial decisions. However, it still remains to be investigated whether the impact of behavioural factors is homogenous on all individuals or whether the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the individuals in any way …

2012 Q2 Market Pulse Report, John K. Paglia

Pepperdine Market Pulse Report

The quarterly IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Survey was created to gain an accurate understanding of the market conditions for businesses being sold in Main Street (values $0-$2MM) and the lower middle market (values $2MM -$50MM). The national survey was conducted with the intent of providing a valuable resource to business owners and their advisors. The IBBA and M&A Source present the Market Pulse Survey with the support of the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project and the Graziado School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Disciplinary Effect Of Internal Control Provisions Of Sox On Corporate Governance Structures, Beng Wee Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study examines whether the internal control provisions under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) have a disciplining effect on the governance structures of firms. We find that audit committee members and outside directors of firms that disclose material weaknesses (MWs) under Section 302 of SOX are more likely to leave the firms compared to their counterparts in a matched sample of control firms without such weaknesses, and they lose more outside directorships than their counterparts in the control firms. These results are consistent with the notion that the labor market imposes reputational penalties for internal control failures. Although the MW firms …

Client Conservatism And Auditor-Client Contracting, Yoonseok Zang, Chee Yeow Lim, Mark Defond

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Auditors risk costly litigation and loss of reputation when they are associated with clients that engage in substandard financial reporting, and prior research argues that accounting conservatism reduces managements‟ tendency to misreport. Thus, we predict that client conservatism affects auditor-client contracting by reducing auditor litigation and reputation risk. Consistent with our predictions, we find that conservative audit clients are less likely to trigger auditor litigation or issue accounting restatements; and that auditors of conservative clients charge lower audit fees, issue fewer going concern opinions, and resign less frequently. Taken together, these findings are consistent with client accounting conservatism playing an …

R&D Reporting Rule And Firm Efficiency, Nilabhra Bhattacharya, Yoshie Saito, Ram Venkataraman, Jeff Jiwei Yu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

US GAAP (SFAS 2) requires immediate expensing of research and development (R&D) expenditure. Critics of this rule contend that the current treatment incentivizes managers to cut essential investments in R&D to manage short-term profits, and such actions could lead to longer-term adverse consequences for firms and investors. While other observers argue that there is little rigorous research that suggests that the current accounting treatment has harmful consequences. In this study, we exploit a setting in Germany when the accounting rule for R&D reporting changed from immediate expensing (as in the U.S.) to partial capitalization when Germany adopted International Financial Reporting …

Aspirations, Innovation, And Corporate Venture Capital: A Behavioral Perspective, Vibha Gaba, Shantanu Bhattacharya

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study takes an organizational decision-making perspective to examine when firms are likely to utilize CVC units as a mechanism for externalizing R&D. We draw insights from the behavioral theory of the firm to argue that managerial aspirations for innovation-related goals are an important driver of CVC initiatives within firms. We test our argument by examining both the adoption and termination of CVC units for a sample of information technology firms from 1992 to 2003. Results show that a firm is more likely to adopt and less likely to terminate a CVC unit when its innovation performance is closest to …

Two Essays: “Does Corporate Governance Affect The Adjustment Speed Towards Target Capital Structure?” And “Do Option Traders On Reits And Non-Reits React Differently To New Information?”, Li-Kai Liao

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The first chapter investigates how corporate governance influences firms’ capital structure behavior. Based on the premise that costs associated with deviations from the target capital structure are positively correlated to the extent of deviation, we hypothesize that the initial deviation from the target will be shorter for a firm with good corporate governance than for a firm with poor corporate governance. We also hypothesize that the former group will employ a higher speed of adjustment towards target than the latter group due primarily to the following reasons. First, a firm with well-placed governance system will adjust at a faster rate …

Two Essays In Islamic Finance And Investment, Hesham J. Merdad

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this dissertation is to lessen the gap in the Islamic finance and investment literature by providing new answers to the most vital question raised in that literature: Is the adherence to the Shariah law associated with at any cost?

The first chapter provides a primer on Islamic finance. It discusses several restrictions and necessary adaptations that must be made to have a Shariah-compliant product. The takeaway is that Shariah law mandates is related to fundamentals and, thus has a direct effect on the risk-return profile of all sorts of different products. This is referred to as …

Whole Foods Market ™ Case Study: Leadership And Employee Retention, Kristin L. Pearson

MBA Student Scholarship

Employee retention can be a challenge for Human Resources in today’s business climate, especially in retail food service occupations due to long and sometimes unpredictable hours, limited benefits, and growth potential to name a few. Despite the obstacles, Whole Foods Market has been able to overcome such limitations allowing employees flourish and as a result have set an industry benchmark for reducing voluntary turnover. This case study research is an examination of Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey and his modern approach to leadership and its effect on employee retention. The purpose of the research is to examine the association …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Fallacies And Flaws, Christina Blundin

MBA Student Scholarship

Over time, the ideals of business and society have become discordant from one another. When exactly this occurred is not as important as the effects it has had. When society began asking more from business, it voiced its concerns over companies solely existing to create profits, as well as their lack of responsibility to society. Consequently, businesses were coerced into performing acts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and philanthropy, to justify the profits they receive. However, in the pursuit of CSR, both business and society got short changed. They misconstrued the tenants of CSR. Each thought that it was the …

Bric Ipos: How Do Capital Market And Economic Activities In Emerging Markets Relate?

Fordham Business Student Research Journal

Since the beginning of the millennium, the acronym BRIC has captivated the world and become synonymous with an extraordinary economic growth story that has defined the first decade of the 21st century. Along with newfound prosperity, entrepreneurs in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have been opening themselves up to further growth opportunities for investors all over the world through equity financing by issuing IPOs. This paper primarily attempts to explore the relationship between the capital market activities of the BRIC countries and their corresponding economic indicators. In the past decade, IPO activity has witnessed a rapid increase …

3d – Personalized Statues Business Plan: Istatue, Junjie Li

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Opportunity Statement

As people in our current society are becoming more fashionable and self-expressive, the demand of products that can enhance uniqueness and demonstrate personality is increasing drastically. iStatue, with the introduction of 3D Personalized Statues, will provide a unique product with quality and satisfaction to its customers.

Business Concept & Product

iStatue will challenge market leaders Build-a Bear Workshop and American Girl with a personalized toy to satisfy customers’ unique needs. The sculpture is a personalized toy in which the face head of the statues are made based on the picture of customers and customers control over which the …

Integrating A New Business Into The Financial Planning Process, Barbara M. Tarasovich

WCBT Faculty Publications

A new Controller in this case was recently hired by Unilever, a global 200 consumer products organization, to integrate a newly acquired business into Unilever’s financial planning process. The newly acquired organization was a publically held company and had its own existing financial processes and procedures. Financial planning and reporting are major company activities and finance and accounting professionals are expected to “get it right.” The purpose of this case study is to get students to think about the difficulties and challenges of revamping existing financial processes and procedures and alert them to areas where other financial professionals have encountered …

Capitalization Structure: The Effects Of Leverage On Growth Prospects, Laura Cawley, Roers Janku

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In this paper we quantitatively analyzed capital structure to lead to an understanding of the effects of debt within capital structure. Utilizing EBITDA growth as a proxy for the effects of leverage, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of the capitalization decision. Through the use of a model we analyzed 180 companies to come to conclusions about the EBITDA growth rate necessary as determined by leverage.

Analyzing Financial Data Through Interactive Visualization, Fizi Yadav

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

This investigation explored the role data visualization in the scientific community and its effect on the cognitive ability of an individual. The research attempted to answer the question, “ Whether appropriate data visualization helps in better understanding of corporate financial data?” and used quantitative methods to gain an insight. Participants in the study were divided into two groups of 30 each, with one group receiving the treatment devised for the research and the other using the common prevalent method. Both the groups were subjected to a test, based upon the analysis of which a conclusion was derived. The subjects were …

Essays On Mergers And Acquisitions And Governance, Rwan Ibrahim Talib El-Khatib

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a recent strand of corporate finance literature that explores the impact of executives and directors' Social connections on firm value, performance, and governance. Those studies document that such Social connections could be beneficial when they enhance the sharing of information and knowledge, but could also be detrimental when associated with CEOs, as they could provide the CEO with a source of influence that makes her more entrenched and powerful.

In the first essay, I use four common measures of network centrality to compute the position of the CEO within the Social network of all executives and directors of …

Geographic Proximity Between Auditor And Client: How Does It Impact Audit Quality?, Jong-Hag Choi, Jeong-Bon Kim, Aini Qiu, Yoonseok Zang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using a large sample of audit client firms, this paper investigates whether and how the geographic proximity between auditor and client affects audit quality proxied by accrual-based earnings quality. We define an auditor as a local auditor (1) if the auditor’s practicing office is located in the same metropolitan statistical area (MSA) as the client's headquarters and (2) if the geographic distance between the two cities where the auditor’s practicing office and the client’s headquarters are located is within 100 kilometers or they are in the same MSA. As predicted, our empirical results are consistent with local auditors providing higher-quality …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: The Value Of Political Connections In Social Networks, Quoc-Anh Do, Yen Teik Lee, Bang Dang Nguyen, Kieu-Trang Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper investigates the impact of social-network based political connections on firm value. We focus on the networks of university classmates and alumni among directors of U.S. public firms and congressmen. Comparing firms connected to elected versus defeated politicians in the Regression Discontinuity Design of close elections from 2000 to 2008, we provide evidence that political connections enhance firm value. However, the value of political connections varies in a more complex way than expected. While connections to powerful members of the Senate generate strong positive impact on firm value, connections to newly elected congressmen are less valuable to firms than …

F.A.C.E.S. (Faculty Academic Community Education Showcase): Professional Growth Experiences In A Career University, Paul J. Colbert, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Institutes of higher education exist for the purpose of developing, fostering, nurturing, and stimulating the intellectual growth and development of students. The core values of a college education provide students conceptual and practical educational opportunities that focus on improving their skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge translate into purposeful, real-life learning experiences. However, in the academic community, learning is not restricted to students. Faculty, too, must be supported and provided opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Although professional development is not a novel concept in the education profession, schools often take up the gauntlet, but fall short …

Auditor Reporting Under Section 404: The Association Between The Internal Control And Going Concern Audit Opinions, Beng Wee Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act introduced integrated audits of internal control over financial reporting and the financial statements. Since the internal control and audit reports are joint products of the audit process, we examine whether the issuance of an internal control material weakness opinion (MWO) influences, other things equal, the issuance of a going concern audit opinion (GCO). Using a sample of financially stressed companies, we find that the issuance of a MWO increases the likelihood of a GCO, suggesting that auditors respond to the uncertainty surrounding a MWO by issuing a GCO. Further, the positive association between MWO …

Financial Stability And Casino Debt, David G. Schwartz, Eugene M. Christiansen

Library Faculty Research

Casino operators have always borrowed money to construct and improve their resorts. Beginning in 1999, however, the Las Vegas-based companies that dominate gambling in Nevada and many other jurisdictions began taking on unprecedented levels of debt. This debt load escalated from 2005 to 2009, and, though it has since leveled off, it has left casino operators more highly leveraged than ever before. Companies with such high levels of debt have consequently high interest payments, which leads to less money available for capital investment; it also makes them susceptible to default, should revenues weaken (as casino revenues did from 2008 onward). …

Essays On Spatial Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment And Economic Growth Determinants In Developing Countries, Uwaoma George Nwaogu

Dissertations

This dissertation uses spatial econometric technique to investigate the role of spatial interdependence/third-country effects on Multinational Enterprises (MNE’s) for affiliate location choice, spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) determinants, and the economic growth of developing countries. Unlike non-spatial models, the advantage of spatial econometric models lies in their ability to capture cross-country interdependence and spillover effects of explanatory variables.

The first essay employs a spatial autoregressive model and data on U.S. outbound FDI to investigate whether U.S. FDI into Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) depends on previous U.S. FDI in these regions. Additionally, the study investigates the …

Spin-Offs And Operating Performance, Gary L. Caton, Jeremy C. Goh, Frank Kerins

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study examines the relation between changes in industry-adjusted operating performance associated with corporate spin-offs and the market’s assessment of the spin-off as either a value increasing or value decreasing activity. I find that the average change in industry-adjusted operating performance associated with my sample of spin-offs is not significantly different from zero. However, I also present evidence suggesting that this average result is misleading because some spin-offs appear to be value increasing while others are value decreasing. I establish that a positive and significant relation exists between parent company revaluation and a) the change in industry-adjusted operating performance of …

Illicit Money Flows As Motives For Fdi, M. Fabricio Perez

Economics Faculty Publications

We examine the role of FDI in facilitating money laundering and illegal capital flight, focusing on transition economies’ FDI outflows because they largely reflect current investment decisions rather than the inertia of past decisions. We estimate a model of FDI outflows in which illicit money flows influence the volume of FDI directed toward countries considered to be centers of money laundering. We show that traditional models of FDI are not able to account for these investment flows and that our results are robust when additional explanatory variables such as host country tax rates, governance, corruption, and cultural differences between the …

Corporate Financial Strategy, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, Kristen Callahan, Yong-Chul Shin

Financial Services Forum Publications

No abstract provided.

Capital Market Consequences Of Managers' Voluntary Disclosure Styles, Holly I. Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper studies the capital market consequences of managers establishing an individual forecasting style. Using a manager-firm matched panel dataset, I examine whether and when manager-specific credibility matters. If managers' forecasting styles affect their perceived credibility, then the stock price reaction to forecast news should increase with managers' prior forecasting accuracy. Consistent with this prediction, I find that the stock price reaction to management forecast news is stronger when information uncertainty is high and when the manager has a history of issuing more accurate forecasts, indicating that individual managers benefit from establishing a personal disclosure reputation.