Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Foreign Funds Spy Hidden Bounties In Indian Distressed Assets, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Foreign funds are garnering a sizable presence in India's nascent market for distressed assets, which is currently estimated between $45 billion and $55 billion. India's economic boom offers pockets of opportunity for investors to buy underperforming assets such as cement and sugar plants, revive them with fresh capital or liquidate them to profit handsomely. A big driver for this growing market is the government's move to purge the financial system of sick assets accumulated over decades, but obstacles include the absence of a developed corporate debt market, limits on foreign investments and procedural bottlenecks. India Knowledge@Wharton spoke to key participants …

Why Hedge Funds Are Looking To India For Greater Upside Potential, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

A few years ago, hedge funds were barely on the radar screen in the Indian marketplace, and they were highly secretive investment vehicles even in the U.S. Today, it's a different story. As big returns are no longer easy to come by in domestic markets, international hedge funds are increasingly looking to countries like India and evaluating investment opportunities and the potential gains to be made. To understand what factors affect their success, India Knowledge@Wharton talked to experts from Wharton and elsewhere about the attractiveness -- as well as the risks -- of the Indian marketplace for hedge funds.

Why Global Banks Are Banking On India, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Foreign banks are aggressively expanding in India, both organically and through acquisitions. After playing along the sidelines in the country for more than 100 years, they have galvanized themselves to secure their share -- and more -- of the new action in the rapidly growing economy and a boom in high-profit consumer lending. India's central bank has outlined the roadmap for foreign players to grow, while the banking industry's robust fundamentals and crisis-free track record are other draws. To be sure, the entrenched public sector banks don't relish the charge of foreign banks. But the real rivals on the competing …

Was The Accounting Profession Really That Bad?, Elizabeth K. Jenkins, W. Donnelly, T. Black

Faculty Publications

To gain insight into the extent of malpractice in the State of California prior to the Passage of Sarbanes-Oxley, we examined the nature and magnitude of complains filed with the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) against both licensed and unlicensed accountants during the fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002. The CBA currently licenses and regulates over 73,000 licenses, with 1,431 complaints filed during the period reviewed. Disciplinary actions were taken against 283 different licensees for the three fiscal years reviewed. SEC issues were involved in 19 cases, theft or embezzlement 46 cases, public accounting malpractice 146 cases, improper retention of …

Do Bulls And Bears Listen To Whispers?, Janis K. Zaima, M. A. Harjoto

Faculty Publications

A post-earnings announcement drift associated with the market reaction to analyst forecasts errors remains a puzzle. This study suggests that whispers help to explain part of the puzzle. The study examines the market reaction to whispers and analysts in bull and bear markets, and finds that investors listen to whispers in the bull market and whispers help explain the post-announcement drift. In a bear market, reaction to whispers is significantly positive prior to announcement despite a down market, indicating optimism by investors who follow whispers. However, in the bear market, both whispers and analysts contribute to the post-announcement drift.

2006-2007 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2006-2007 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Valuation And Classification Of Company Issued Cash And Share-Puts, William D. Terando, Wayne Shaw, David Smith

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This paper examines whether investors’ valuations of cash and share-put warrants are influenced by their potential differential effect on firm solvency. It is motivated by the enactment of SFAS 150, which requires that all contingent put warrant obligations be classified as balance sheet liabilities regardless of put type. Consistent with the critics of SFAS150, we show that market participants differentially value cash and share-puts based on their solvency characteristics beyond the firm’s recorded assets and liabilities. Our results add to existing capital structure literature by suggesting that complex financial instruments (such as cash and share-puts) be reported separately from each …

What's Ahead For 2007? Knowledge@Wharton Network Surveys The Globe, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

On the financial front, 2006 has been a pretty good year all around. Stock markets in many countries have rallied, energy prices have fallen, inflation is relatively low and growth in GDP ranges from respectable to robust. But the economies of most countries also face a number of threats -- some predictable, some not -- that could derail recent gains in our increasingly connected global markets. What's ahead for 2007 in the U.S., India, Europe, Latin America, China and other parts of the world? We offer a roundup of reports from the Knowledge@Wharton Network, including India Knowledge@Wharton, Universia Knowledge@Wharton and …

The Association Between Earnings Quality And Regulatory Report Opinions In The Accounting Industry, Tracey Chunqi Zhang, Katherine Gunny

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We compare the outcome of two different information systems – self regulation versus private sector regulation – in the accounting industry. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspections replaced American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) peer reviews of auditors. Peer review opinions are useful with respect to decisions about hiring and firing of auditors (Hilary and Lennox, 2005); therefore, the question remains what are the benefits of incurring the cost to replace a selfregulatory system with a private regulatory agency. We examine the usefulness of these two information systems at distinguishing earnings quality at firms …

Loss Function Asymmetry And Forecast Optimality: Evidence From Individual Analysts' Forecasts, Stanimir Markov, Min Yen Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the optimality of quarterly earning forecasts issued by individual analysts. When we conduct Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Least Absolute Deviations (LAD) analyses, which assume loss function symmetry, we reject the null of forecast optimality at 5% significance level more than 5% of the time. Relaxing the symmetry assumption reduces the frequency of rejections below 5%. We demonstrate that the cross-sectional variation in the asymmetry parameter of the loss function is related to analyst employment. Overall, our evidence is consistent with the joint hypothesis of asymmetric loss and forecast optimality rather than the alternative of symmetric loss and …

Anheuser-Busch And The Eu, Keith Tolbert

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The following paper provides analysis of Anheuser-Busch, its current position within the European Union (EU), and its opportunities/threats that exist in the EU. Included is background information about Anheuser-Busch containing its products, financial condition, and major competitors within the EU. I have provided extensive analysis o f the areas of concern for Anheuser-Busch in the EU as well as recommendations for the company to consider. The major market for opportunity covered is Germany. Anheuser-Busch is not a current competitor in Germany, however, possible expansion opportunities into the country is addressed. Additionally, a realistic outlook of Anheuser-Busch’s future other EU countries …

2005-2006 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2005-2006 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

A Note On The Instability Of The Unprojected Individual Level Premium Cost Method, Pierre Devolder, Valerie Goffin

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We compare the unit credit and the unprojected individual level premium cost methods in a continuous time environment and show that the latter may produce unstable contribution rates in a dynamic environment. Specifically, assuming there are no unfunded liabilities, we prove that the unprojected individual premium cost method may produce non-bounded contributions if benefits change too close to the normal retirement age.

Journal Of Actuarial Practice - Volume 13 (2006) - Contents And Masthead

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

Contents

Editorial Policy: Topics suitable for this journal include AIDS, annuity products, asset-liability matching, cash-flow testing, casualty rate making, credibility theory, credit insurance, disability insurance, expense analysis, experience studies, FASB issues, financial reporting, group insurance, health insurance, individual risk taking, insurance regulations, international issues, investments, liability insurance, loss reserves, marketing, pensions, pricing issues, product development, reinsurance, reserving issues, risk-based capital, risk theory, social insurance, solvency issues, taxation, valuation issues, and workers' compensation

Review Process

Editor - Colin Ramsay, University of Nebraska

Associate Editors: Robert Brown, University of Waterloo ○ Cecil Bykerk, Mutual of Omaha ○ Ruy Cardoso, Actuarial Frameworks ○ …

Estimation Of Large Insurance Losses: A Case Study, Tine Buch-Kromann

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

This paper demonstrates an approach to analyzing liability data recently developed by a Danish insurance company. The approach is based on a Champernowne distribution, which is corrected with a non-parametric estimator. The correction estimator is obtained by transforming the data set with the estimated modified Champernowne cdf and then estimating the density of the transformed data set by using the classical kernel density estimator. Our approach is illustrated by applying it to an actual data set.

Solvency Of Life Insurance Companies: Methodological Issues, Rosa Cocozza, Emilia Di Lorenzo

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

The paper deals with solvency assessment for life insurance business; some methodological issues concerning the solvency of life insurance companies, particularly connected to the investment risk, are suggested. Considerations about the technical equilibrium of an insurance portfolio and the financial regulation lead to a dynamic system involving risk measure and solvency assessment. The formal model is applied to a life annuity cohort in a stochastic context in order to exemplify the potential of the model, especially referred to the need to frame solvency assessment in a dynamic perspective.

On Some Risk-Adjusted Tail-Based Premium Calculation Principles, Edward Furman, Zinoviy Landsman

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

This paper explores two tail-based premium calculation principles, the tail standard deviation (TSD) premium and the tail conditional expectation (TCE) premium, in their risk-adjusted and unadjusted forms. They are risk-adjusted using so-called distortion functions. We prove that the proportional hazard (PH) risk-adjusted TCE premium is larger than the unadjusted TCE premium. Additionally, given a risk distribution with location and scale parameters, we prove that the PH risk-adjusted TCE premium reduces to the unadjusted TSD premium.

Bayesian Analysis Of A Health Insurance Model, Helio S. Migon, Edison M.O. Penna

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We consider the problem of determining health insurance premiums based on past information on size of loss, number of losses, and size of population at risk. The size of loss and the number of losses are treated as mutually independent random variables. The number of losses is assumed to follow a Poisson process, and the loss sizes are independent and identically distributed non-negative random variables, and the population at risk is assumed to follow a non-linear growth model. An expression for the premium is obtained through maximization of the insurer's expected utility under a Bayesian model. The parameter estimation process …

Analysis Of An Insurance Risk Model With Thinning Dependence And Common Shock, Lai Mei Wan, Kam Chuen Yuen, Wai Keung Li

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We consider a continuous-time insurance risk model with m dependent classes of business with dependent claim number processes due to thinning dependence and a common shock. The impact of the dependence is studied via the adjustment coefficient. The case m = 2 is investigated analytically for exponential claim distributions and via simulation for non-exponential claim distributions.

Pricing Insurance Policies With A Distribution-Free Financial Pricing Model, Min-Ming Wen

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

The highly skewed and heavy tailed distributions used to model insurance losses (claims) raise a concern about the validity of the applications of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to insurance pricing when market risks are essential. This paper provides an alternative pricing model, called the Rubinstein-Leland model, which can be used to price insurance contracts. The Rubinstein-Leland model has a distribution-free feature that can fully capture the asymmetry embedded in insurance losses. Thus, this model is better able to derive fair prices for insurance policies than is the CAPM.

Bivariate Archimedean Copula Models For Censored Data In Non-Life Insurance, Michel Denuit, Oana Purcaru, Ingrid Van Keilegom

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We describe a methodology based on Archimedean copulas for analyzing nonlife insurance data with censoring present. Specifically, we propose a graphical selection procedure for the nonparametric estimation of the generator. An actual loss-ALAE data set is used for the numerical illustrations and for comparisons of our approach to a few others.

Consistent Assumptions For Modeling Credit Loss Correlations, Jan Dhaene, Marc J. Goovaerts, Robert Koch, Ruben Olieslagers, Olivier Romijn, Steven Vanduffel

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We consider a single period portfolio of n dependent credit risks that are subject to default during the period. We show that using stochastic loss given default random variables in conjunction with default correlations can give rise to an inconsistent set of assumptions for estimating the variance of the portfolio loss. Two sets of consistent assumptions are provided, which it turns out, also provide bounds on the variance of the portfolio's loss. An example of an inconsistent set of assumptions is given.

Bayesian Analysis Of Insurance Losses Using The Buhlmann-Straub Credibility Model, Abraham J. Van Der Merwe, Kobus N. Bekker

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We propose a Bayesian analysis to develop credibility estimates of the well known Biihlmann-Straub model. We describe simple numerical methods to obtain exact posterior distributions and predictive densities under this model. These distributions are obtained through Monte Carlo simulations that generate independent samples from the joint posterior distribution. Our methods are therefore preferable to methods such as Gibbs sampling, which generates dependent samples from the joint distribution. The methods discussed also can be extended to more complicated credibility models.

Spatial Distribution Of Frequency And Severity Of Water Claims In California, Gurbhag Singh, Max Tang, Don Mcneill, Lyn Hunstad

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We examine the frequency and severity of water loss claims for homeowners insurance across the state of California for the experience years 2000, 2001, and 2002. The spatial distribution patterns of frequencies and severities are mapped and analyzed at the zip code level. The maps reveal the pockets of high frequencies and severities. The information provided in this paper will assist actuaries and policy makers in their quest to set accurate rates for homeowners insurance.

Journal Of Actuarial Practice, Volume 13, 2006, Colin Ramsay , Editor

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

ARTICLES

Bivariate Archimedean Copula Models for Censored Data in Non-Life Insurance • Michel Denuit, Dana Purcaru, and Ingrid Van Keilegom 5

Bayesian Analysis of Insurance Losses Using the Biihlmann-Straub Credibility Model • Abraham J. van der Merwe and Kobus N Bekker . 33

Bayesian Analysis of a Health Insurance Model • Helio S. Migon and Edison M. O. Penna 61

Solvency of Life Insurance Companies: Methodological Issues • Rosa Cocozza and Emilia Di Lorenzo . 81

Pricing Insurance Policies with a Distribution-Free Financial Pricing Model • Min-Ming Wen . 103

A Note on the Instability of the Unprojected Individual Level …

Empirical Evidence On Jurisdictions That Adopt Ifrs, Ole-Kristian Hope, Justin Jin, Tony Kang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have recently been adopted in a number of jurisdictions, including the European Union. Despite the importance of IFRS in the context of global accounting standards harmonization, little is known regarding what institutional factors influence countries' decisions to voluntarily adopt IFRS. This issue is relevant to standard-setters because a better understanding of the motivations for adoption will enable them to promote IFRS more effectively to countries that currently do not employ IFRS. Consistent with bonding theory, we find that countries with weaker investor protection mechanisms are more likely to adopt IFRS. Our evidence also shows that …

Separating The Effects Of Asymmetric Incentives And Inefficient Use Of Information On Financial Analysts' Consensus Earnings Forecast Errors, Stanimir Markov, Min Yen Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Prior research on financial analysts’ consensus earnings forecast errors has tended to explore either incentives-based or inefficient information use-based explanations for the properties of the analysts’ forecast errors. This has limited our understanding of financial analysts’ expectation formation process as incentives and cognitive biases are likely to simultaneously affect the properties of the analysts’ consensus forecast errors. Our main contribution is in separating these two effects. In particular, using consensus quarterly earnings forecast data, we document that analysts have asymmetric loss function and that they do not fully use information about past earnings and forecast errors in minimizing their expected …

Full-Time Faculty Salaries By College By Rank & By Gender, Wku Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate

Report of full-time faculty salaries by college by rank and by gender for FY 2005-2006.

Valuation Effects Of Earnings Restatements Due To Accounting Irregularities, Tan Xu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation studies three financial topics using earnings restatement data. In the first topic, we discriminate between the market efficiency hypothesis and the underreaction hypothesis by examining their predictions on the stock performance of restating firms in the post-announcement period. Three approaches are used, namely, the cumulative abnormal return (CAR), buy-and-hold abnormal return (BHAR), and calendar time portfolio approaches. Consistent with the market efficiency hypothesis, we do not find significant abnormal performance in the post-restatement period. In the second topic, we test the extrapolation model (LSV, 1994) by examining the relationship between stock price reaction to earnings restatement and the …

Seek Ways To Minimize The Mushrooming Alternative Minimum Tax, James Trebby, George Kutner

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is reaching a broader segment of individuals. Yet, many of these taxpayers are not aware of the implications of this tax. Even worse, some of their tax advisors are not as informed as they should be. By identifying items that trigger the individual AMT, taxpayers and their advisors have greater opportunities to develop strategies to avoid the special tax. The AMT is essentially a parallel tax system that involves a separate tax calculation from the regular income tax. The AMT calculation is then compared to the income tax figured under the normal manner. The taxpayer …