The Effect of CEO IT Expertise on the Information Environment: Evidence from Earnings Forecasts and Announcements

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Z. Haislip ◽  
Vernon J. Richardson

ABSTRACT Firms depend on information technology to provide high-quality internal information, but prior research suggests that IT is underutilized. Prior research suggests that when CEOs have experience with IT, then IT is more likely to be accepted throughout their firms. We take these arguments a step further by asserting that CEOs with IT expertise are more likely to encourage the utilization of IT throughout the firm, thus improving the information environment that is revealed through numerous outputs of the firm. We first investigate whether firms that employ CEOs with IT expertise make forecasts that are more accurate, even if they already use an enterprise system (Dorantes, Li, Peters, and Richardson 2013). Overall, we find that CEOs with IT expertise do make forecasts that are more accurate. We also find that firms with IT-expertise CEOs announce earnings on a timelier basis than firms with non-IT-expertise CEOs. Data Availability: The data used are publicly available from sources cited in the text.

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangwan Kim ◽  
Andrew P. Schmidt ◽  
Kelly Wentland

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the extent to which analysts incorporate tax-based earnings information into their earnings forecasts relative to other earnings information. We find that analysts' misreaction to tax-based earnings information is distinct from their misreaction to other (nontax) accounting information, on average. We then show that analysts differ in their misestimation of tax and other (nontax) earnings components only when firms have weak information environments; when firms have strong information environments, analysts' forecasts fully incorporate tax-based earnings information and exhibit no difference incorporating tax-based earnings information relative to other accounting information. Our evidence suggests that, on average, forecasting tax-based earnings information is more difficult for analysts relative to forecasting other accounting information. However, access to appropriate information and resources enables analysts to better process tax information. Overall, we contribute to the literature by providing a more complete understanding of the source of analysts' tax-related forecast errors. JEL Classifications: H25; M41; D82; G14. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources identified in the text.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Xin Luo ◽  
Fan Zhang

This study investigates the relation between internal information environment and labor investment efficiency. We argue that better internal information quality allows managers to obtain more timely and accurate information from subordinates and therefore make better decisions in labor investments. Our results suggest that the labor investments of firms with high quality internal information have less deviation from the optimal level. This association holds for both companies in industries with high and low union coverage.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
John L. Abernathy ◽  
Brooke Beyer ◽  
Jimmy F. Downes ◽  
Eric T. Rapley

ABSTRACT We examine the effect of high-quality information technology (IT) on management's capital investment decisions. Evaluating capital investment decisions with contemporary investment efficiency and long-term measures of investment effectiveness, we document a positive relation between high-quality IT and capital investment decision quality. In particular, we find high-quality IT is associated with more optimal levels of investment as well as fewer future fixed asset write-downs. We also disaggregate investment efficiency and find the relation with IT quality holds for investment decisions related to capital expenditures and acquisitions, but not research and development expenditures. Overall, our results suggest managers equipped with better internal information from higher-quality IT are able to make superior capital investment decisions. Our study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of a significant determinant of capital investment decision quality and documenting a specific mechanism that mediates the indirect effect of IT quality on future performance. JEL Classifications: D83; E22; G31; M15; M41. Data Availability: We thank InformationWeek for providing annual rankings that were previously published. All other data are publicly available from regulatory filings; we obtained data from the Compustat, Execucomp, and I/B/E/S databases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Driskill ◽  
Marcus P. Kirk ◽  
Jennifer Wu Tucker

ABSTRACT We examine whether financial analysts are subject to limited attention. We find that when analysts have another firm in their coverage portfolio announcing earnings on the same day as the sample firm (a “concurrent announcement”), they are less likely to issue timely earnings forecasts for the sample firm's subsequent quarter than analysts without a concurrent announcement. Among the analysts who issue timely earnings forecasts, the thoroughness of their work decreases as their number of concurrent announcements increases. In addition, analysts are more sluggish in providing stock recommendations and less likely to ask questions in earnings conference calls as their number of concurrent announcements increases. Moreover, when analysts face concurrent announcements, they tend to allocate their limited attention to firms that already have rich information environments, leaving behind firms in need of attention. Overall, our evidence suggests that even financial analysts, who serve as information specialists, are subject to limited attention. JEL Classifications: G10; G11; G17; G14. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from the sources identified in the paper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 131-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Hurley ◽  
Brian W. Mayhew

SUMMARY We insert an automated high-quality (HQ) auditor into established experimental audit markets to test the impact of high-quality competition on other auditors' supply of and managers' demand for audit quality. Theory predicts that managers will demand high levels of audit quality to avoid investors' price-protecting behavior. This demand should result in the HQ auditor dominating the market and increase other auditors' audit quality provision to compete with the HQ auditor. However, we find that the HQ auditor does not dominate the market—despite holding audit costs constant and investors placing a premium on HQ auditor reports. We also find that adding an HQ auditor results in other auditors lowering audit quality. Additional analyses indicate some managers demand lower audit quality to avoid negative audit reports, consistent with loss aversion as a potential explanation. Our findings indicate a need to develop a more comprehensive theory of the demand for auditing. Data Availability: The laboratory market data used in this study are available from the authors upon request.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. C1-C9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veena Looknanan Brown ◽  
Paul J. Coram ◽  
Sean A. Dennis ◽  
Denise Dickins ◽  
Christine E. Earley ◽  
...  

SUMMARY On July 16, 2018, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (the Board or IAASB) issued a request for comment on its Exposure Draft, Proposed International Standard on Auditing 315 (Revised): Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement and Proposed Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other ISAs (ED-315). Major enhancements proposed include explicit recognition of the auditor's use of automated tools and techniques, requiring an understanding of an auditee's use of information technology relevant to financial reporting, acknowledging the influence of an entity's complexity on the audit plan, and increasing the emphasis on the need for professional skepticism. The comment period ended on November 2, 2018. This commentary summarizes the participating committee members' views on selected questions posed by the IAASB. Data Availability: ED-315, including questions for respondents, is available at: https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/exposure-draft-isa-315-revised-identifying-and-assessing-risks-material.


Author(s):  
Sylvia Fettry ◽  
Hamfri Djajadikerta ◽  
Gery Raphael Lusanjaya

Objective – The role of Indonesia Regional Development Bank (RDB) as an agent of development in each specific operational area is expected to give a significant contribution to regional economics. The Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB started since 2015 is created to optimize the RDB’s role. This study is aimed to gain some description about the level of information quality in Indonesian RDB, to obtain real situation on the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB, and to test whether the high-quality information will accelerate the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB.Design/methodology – The study was conducted using data from the annual report of Indonesian RDBs and additional in-depth interview with RDB practitioners. The technique of purposive sampling is used in this study with the data availability criteria. The statistic analysis uses multiple regression with t-test and F-test to test the influence of information quality and some control variables on the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB. Results – The Indonesian RDBs’ quality of information still cannot be perceived at a high level. The implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDBs has already run in the first phase of foundation building with various obstacles. The high-quality information produced by financial reporting of RDB is proven can accelerate the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDBs. Research limitations/implications – The theoretical contribution of this study is giving empirical evidence that the information quality accelerates the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB. The managerial  implication is that Indonesian RDBs must improve their financial reporting system and create some innovations for the successful Transformation Program. The main limitation of this research is the limited scope of study. It is recommended to make further relevant research on the same issue in a wider context to get more enriched findings.Novelty/Originality – The area of implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDBs has been insufficiently examined currently. Thus, this study contributes to this area by examining whether high-quality information produced by financial reporting will accelerate the implementation of Transformation Program in Indonesian RDB.Keywords Information Quality, Financial Reporting, Banking Transformation.


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