scholarly journals The Cost to Firms of Cooking the Books

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Karpoff ◽  
D. Scott Lee ◽  
Gerald S. Martin

AbstractWe examine the penalties imposed on the 585 firms targeted by SEC enforcement actions for financial misrepresentation from 1978–2002, which we track through November 15, 2005. The penalties imposed on firms through the legal system average only $23.5 million per firm. The penalties imposed by the market, in contrast, are huge. Our point estimate of the reputational penalty—which we define as the expected loss in the present value of future cash flows due to lower sales and higher contracting and financing costs—is over 7.5 times the sum of all penalties imposed through the legal and regulatory system. For each dollar that a firm misleadingly inflates its market value, on average, it loses this dollar when its misconduct is revealed, plus an additional $3.08. Of this additional loss, $0.36 is due to expected legal penalties and $2.71 is due to lost reputation. In firms that survive the enforcement process, lost reputation is even greater at $3.83. In the cross section, the reputation loss is positively related to measures of the firm's reliance on implicit contracts. This evidence belies a widespread belief that financial misrepresentation is disciplined lightly. To the contrary, reputation losses impose substantial penalties for cooking the books.

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sweeney

Capital budgeting decisions generally involve the commitment of resources in the current period to secure positive cash flows over time that generate a rate of return in excess of the cost of the funds invested. The most common techniques used to perform this analysis are the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR).Conceptually, these two techniques are substitutable; i.e. the resulting decision from a NPV analysis is identical to the decision from an IRR analysis. In practice, however, the NPV and the IRR can, on occasion, produce conflicting decisions. Specifically, when analyzing mutually exclusive assets the Net Present Value can support one asset while the Internal Rate of Return supports the other. The purpose of this paper is twofold; first, to highlight structural deficiencies in the conventional application of the NPV and the IRR, and second, to demonstrate a procedure to correct for these structural errors.


With the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code firmly in place, India’s distressed project finance assets are turning out to be attractive to institutional investors. Project finance assets need asset-and deal-specific financing solutions in order to achieve successful turnarounds. The turnaround solution must ensure optimum risk allocation and mitigation leading to the buildup of future cash flows. This will, in turn, lead to deleveraging of stressed balance sheets. The authors present a conceptual model and argue that even now the political and regulatory risks for infrastructure project loans in India have not been completely mitigated. This has resulted in a situation of a debt overhang, wherein even economically viable projects may not attract fresh funding. To address this, the article suggests the possible use of priority funding structures, where existing lenders cede charge of the assets in favor of a new lender as a way to reduce the cost of debt and unlock shareholder value. This solution will also ensure that the restructuring package is properly priced (from the project finance lender’s perspective), resulting in the efficiency and viability of the restructured asset.


Author(s):  
Christian Gollier

This chapter shows that the cost-benefit analysis can be used only if the actions under scrutiny are marginal, that is, if implementing them has no macroeconomic effects. Otherwise, one needs to go back to the basics of public economics to evaluate these actions. The chapter examines the error that one makes by following the classical discounting approach when evaluating non-marginal projects. The evaluation of non-marginal projects must be done by measuring their impact on the social welfare function. A non-marginal investment project with positive future cash flows will have an impact on welfare that is smaller than when estimated by using the standard discounting method.


Author(s):  
Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez ◽  
Maria J. Martínez-Romero ◽  
Teresa Mariño-Garrido

AbstractThe discounted cash flow model (DCFM) views the intrinsic value of common stock as the present value of its expected future cash flows. This paper analyses whether the equity terminal value (EqTV) of the firm calculated by fundamentals is appreciated by the market. It also studies the impact of variations in EqTV and the extent to which the market perceives these variations. Using a sample of 62 Spanish listed companies, this paper shows that EqTV and its variations are positively and significantly correlated with EqTV assigned by the market and its corresponding variations. It therefore corroborates the validity and relevance of the valuation model.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Du ◽  
John E. McEnroe ◽  
Kevin Stevens

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine whether a less precise (or imprecise) estimate may increase investors’ confidence and improve investors’ perceptions of fair value reliability. The main criticism of fair value accounting has been its lack of reliability perceived by investors. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 × 3 randomized experiment was used where management incentive and information precision are manipulated. Findings – The results from this study indicate that perceived reliability is jointly affected by management’s incentives and information precision. Reliability rating is the highest for fair value stated as a point estimate with a specified confidence level attached to it. Further analysis indicates that higher perceived reliability is related to its representational faithfulness because participants perceive that a point estimate with a specified confidence level better matches uncertainty in measuring future cash flows. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine whether a less precise (or imprecise) estimate may increase investors’ confidence and improve investors’ perceptions of fair value reliability. Because of the subjectivity and uncertainty in fair value estimates, less precise fair value estimates may not be viewed as less reliable. In fact, using a precise format to represent fair value estimates may not be appropriate (neither reliable nor credible), because a precise point estimate fails to capture its underlying uncertainty in future cash flows. A less precise format could represent a credible choice for fair value because it reflects uncertainty and subjectivity and effectively communicates management’s assessments of variability in future cash flows.


Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Josefa López-Marín ◽  
Amparo Gálvez ◽  
Francisco M. del Amor ◽  
Jose M. Brotons

Greenhouse peppers are one of the most important crops globally. However, as in any production activity, especially agricultural, they are subject to important risk factors such as price fluctuations, pests, or the use of bad quality water. This article aims to evaluate the viability of these types of crops by using discounted cash flows. Risk evaluation has been carried out through the analysis of pepper plantations for 2016 and 2017. The traditional application of this tool has significant limitations, such as the discount rate to be used or the estimation of future cash flows. However, by using discount functions that decrease over time in combination with decoupled net present value, these limitations are expected to improve. The use of decoupled net present value has permitted an increase in the accuracy and quantification of risks, isolating the main risks such as price drops (EUR 3720 ha−1 year−1) and structural risks (EUR 1622 € ha−1 year−1). The use of decreasing discount functions has permitted a more realistic investment estimation. Finally, the sensitivity analysis shows that decoupled net present value (DNPV) is little affected by changes in interest rates in contrast to traditional net present value (NPV).


2000 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Guenther ◽  
Richard C. Sansing

This study uses an analytical model to investigate the value of the firm when there are temporary differences between when revenue and expense items are recognized for tax- and financial-reporting purposes. The model shows that deferred tax assets and liabilities transform book values of underlying liabilities and assets into estimates of the after-tax cash flows on which the firm's market value is based. The analysis shows that if tax deductions are taken on a cash basis, and if the underlying assets and liabilities are recorded at the present value of their associated future cash flows, then the value of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities is their recorded amount, regardless of when the asset will be realized or when the liability will reverse. If tax deductions are not taken when the expenditure is made (e.g., depreciation) or if underlying assets and liabilities are recorded at more than the present value of their associated future cash flows (e.g., warranty liabilities), then the market value of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities is less than their recorded values. The value of the deferred tax account is independent of when that account will reverse.


1988 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H Thaler ◽  
William T Ziemba

Economists have given great attention to stock markets in their efforts to test the concepts of market efficiency and rationality. Yet wagering markets are, in one key respect, better suited for testing market efficiency and rationality. The advantage of wagering markets is that each asset (bet) has a well-defined termination point at which its value becomes certain. The absence of this property is one of the factors that has made it so difficult to test for rationality in the stock market. Since a stock is infinitely lived, its value today depends both on the present value of future cash flows and on the price someone will pay for the security tomorrow. Indeed, one can argue that wagering markets have a better chance of being efficient because the conditions (quick, repeated feedback) are those which usually facilitate learning. However, empirical research has uncovered several interesting anomalies. While there are numerous types of wagering markets, legal and otherwise, this column will concentrate on racetrack betting and lotto-type lottery games.


Author(s):  
Syrgak Kydyraliev ◽  
Anarkül Urdaletova

One of the most widespread problems on a securities market is the problem of definition of an estimated stock value. It is necessary to note, that the stock price as well as the price of any good in the market is defined as the result of supply and demand interaction. Our task is to offer the mechanism, which allows making decision on purchase or sale. For this purpose the method of asset estimation by future cash flows will be used – i.e. we believe that the estimated value of an asset is equal to present value of the future cash flows which are provided by the asset. In our paper we will introduce methods for the valuation of stocks with arithmetic and pseudo-arithmetic growth of dividends.


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