Search results

Following the optimal contracting hypothesis, this study investigates the issue of whether the board of director's ex ante choice to incorporate individual performance evaluation (IPE) measures into the CEO bonus plan rewards managerial decisions not reflected in measures of the firm's current financial performance. Empirical results provide evidence that the use of IPE in the CEO bonus plan is an increasing function of the proportion of outsider directors on the board and a decreasing function of the informativeness of financial performance measures. This study also demonstrates how the use of IPE in incentive contracting can explain CEO cash compensation that is not explained by the firm's current performance and governance variables. Finally, the CEO incentive cash compensation not explained by observable performance measures or governance structure is positively associated with firm future performance one year after its award. Overall, results support the optimal contracting hypothesis. IPE appears to be used to increase the informativeness of CEO actions and determine the level of current CEO cash incentive compensation.

This paper aims to explain the extent of social responsibility disclosure by Brazilian philanthropic higher education institutions (PHEIs). This paper assumes that there is information asymmetry between these organizations and their stakeholders.

The presence of indicators on the organizations’ webpage generated a disclosure index for each PHEI of the sample. Afterwards, this paper performed regression tests, which identified the determinants of PHEIs social responsibility disclosure extent.

The results support the legitimacy theory as a theoretical basis for social responsibility disclosure extent. The evidenced indicators and the non-rejected hypotheses, related to complexity, diversification, regional factor, specific event and quality, confirm the concern with transparency and accountability of commitments assumed by the social contract.

This research is limited to social responsibility disclosure related to the legitimacy theory and the interests of some stakeholders and to Brazilian PHEIs and their webpages. These limitations mean opportunities for future research studies addressing different information disclosure, foundations of other theories, interests of each specific stakeholder or other stakeholders in other communication channels and other countries, which enable comparisons of results.

The disclosure of extent determinants serve as the basis for the establishment of disclosure and accountability policies for PHEIs.

The originality of this research consists of analyzing the determinants of disclosure from the information of the stakeholders’ interest. They are able to legitimize organizations, allowing them to remain in the community where they operate.

This study investigates the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) overconfidence and financial reporting complexity in Iran, a context characterized by weak corporate governance and heightened managerial discretion.

The sample consists of 1,445 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2021. CEO overconfidence (CEOOC) is evaluated using an investment-based index, specifically capital expenditures. Financial reporting complexity (Complexity) is measured through textual features, particularly three readability measures (Fog, SMOG and ARI) extracted from annual financial statements. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is employed to test the research hypothesis.

Results suggest that CEOOC is positively related to Complexity, leading to reduced readability. Additionally, robustness analyses demonstrate that the relationship between CEOOC and Complexity is more distinct and significant for firms with lower profitability than those with higher profitability. This implies that overconfident CEOs in underperforming firms tend to increase complexity. Also, firms with better financial performance present a more positive tone in their annual financial statements, reflecting their superior performance. The findings remain robust to alternative measures of CEOOC and Complexity and are consistent after accounting for endogeneity issues using firm fixed-effects, propensity score matching (PSM), entropy balancing approach and instrumental variables method.

This study adds to the literature by delving into the effect of CEOs' overconfidence on financial reporting complexity, a facet not thoroughly investigated in prior studies. The paper pioneers the use of textual analysis techniques on Persian texts, marking a unique approach in financial reporting and a first for the Persian language. However, due to the inherent challenges of text mining and feature extraction, the results should be approached with caution.

The insights from this study can guide investors in understanding the potential repercussions of CEOOC on financial reporting complexity. This will assist them in making informed investment decisions and monitoring the financial reporting practices of their invested companies. Policymakers and regulators can also reference this research when formulating policies to enhance financial reporting quality and ensure capital market transparency. The innovative application of textual analysis in this study might spur further research in other languages and contexts.

This research stands as the inaugural study to explore the relationship between CEOs' overconfidence and financial reporting complexity in both developed and developing capital markets. It thereby broadens the extant literature to include diverse capital market environments.