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Firms can use dividends and/or share repurchases to distribute cash to shareholders. Jagannathan, Stephens, and Weisbach (2000) argue that managers tend to use dividends to pay out permanent cash flows and repurchases to pay out temporary cash flows. This paper examines Korean firms’ decisions on their choices between paying out cash flows in the form of dividends or share repurchases. We focus on the permanence of cash flows. To complete this analysis, we decompose cash flows into a transitory component and a permanent one of each firm, employing the approach of Beveridge and Nelson (1981). We find that higher permanent cash flows increase the probability of a dividend increase, while higher temporary cash flows increase the probability of repurchases. And Korean firms tend to choose both dividend change and repurchases when temporary cash flows increase, rather than to choose only repurchases without dividend change. These empirical results show that Korean firms take into consideration of permanence of cash flows in the choice of their payout methods.

The paper seeks to examine changes in daily return volatility associated with open market share repurchases.

Univariate analyses, control sample analyses, and multiple regression analyses are employed to explore relations between daily return volatility and a number of variables.

This study finds evidence that an open market share repurchase firm, by actively buying back its shares when the share price falls, reduces daily return volatility. The results suggest that it is the subsequent actual buyback trading activity, not the announcement, that is significantly negatively associated with changes in daily return volatility. CAPM beta, a measure of systematic risk, decreases only when the firm is in the market actively repurchasing its shares.

To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is probably the first to connect changes in daily return volatility to actual buyback trading activities of share repurchase announcing firms. Changes in daily return volatility, or total risk, not only affect systematic risk, but also are important to underlying option holders, arbitrageurs, and investors who hold undiversified portfolios.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether firms engage in earnings decreasing management before share repurchases to mislead investors or to smooth earnings and improve earnings informativeness.

The authors examine discretionary accruals and cash flows around open-market share repurchases. The primary discretionary accruals measure is industry- and performance-adjusted discretionary current accruals estimated from cash-flow data.

Results show that, firms experience temporary increases in operating cash flows and use negative discretionary accruals to smooth earnings before share repurchases. Firms with the highest pre-repurchase cash flows use the lowest pre-repurchase discretionary accruals. Moreover, pre-repurchase discretionary accruals reflect expectations about future operating cash flows. Firms with the strongest deterioration in operating cash flows after repurchases use the lowest pre-repurchase discretionary accruals. These findings suggest that repurchasing firms use earnings management to increase smoothness and predictability of reported earnings rather than to mislead investors.

This paper provides an alternative explanation to the finding of negative discretionary accruals before share repurchases. It adds to the literature on repurchases and earnings smoothing by showing that firms use earnings management around share repurchases to smooth earnings.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between book‐tax differences and earnings quality for commercial banks in Taiwan. The paper focuses on the banking industry because industry‐specific accrual models of accounting discretion in the loan loss provisions are available to develop powerful tests of earnings management related to book‐tax differences. In addition, the paper replicates the analysis of book‐tax differences that previous studies conducted on a heterogeneous sample of nonfinancial firms, to ascertain whether prior inferences also hold in the study's sample of banks in an emerging economy.

This paper estimates the magnitude of discretionary loan loss provisions as a proxy for earnings quality (positively correlated with earnings management; therefore, inversely correlated with earnings quality). Then, the study partitions the sample into three subsamples (large positive book‐tax differences, large negative book‐tax differences, and small book‐tax differences) to set the regression models.

This paper finds that bank‐years with large positive or negative temporary book‐tax differences have discretionary loan loss provisions that are greater than bank‐years with small temporary book‐tax differences. The paper also finds that bank‐years with large temporary book‐tax differences have one‐year‐ahead persistence of current earnings and accruals that are less than those with small temporary book‐tax differences. Additionally, the study does not find a significant relation between permanent book‐tax differences and earnings quality. Overall, the evidence is consistent with the supposition that large temporary book‐tax differences are associated with lower earnings quality.

The study contributes to the literature on book‐tax differences and earnings quality in two ways. First, the paper provides evidence to ascertain prior inferences that the association between book‐tax differences and earnings quality also hold in the banking industry, it may generalize to the banking sector in other emerging countries. Second, the study utilizes a banking‐specific accrual model to construct more powerful tests of information in book‐tax differences for earnings quality. The study has an inherent limitation arising from small sample size of the banking industry in an emerging economy. Future tax accounting researchers should develop appropriate country‐specific measures of book‐tax differences.

The study focuses on the banking industry because industry‐specific accrual models of accounting discretion in the loan loss provisions are available to develop powerful tests of earnings management related to book‐tax differences. In addition, the study replicates the analysis of book‐tax differences that previous studies conducted on a heterogeneous sample of nonfinancial firms, to ascertain whether prior inferences also hold in the sample of banks in an emerging economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence the free cash flow (FCF) motive for stock repurchases. Specifically, it examines whether the positive association between FCF and open-market repurchases is partially driven by abnormal cash flows, and whether external analyst monitor and financial crisis influence the association.

The study employs a tobit regression model to test the hypotheses.

First, the results suggest that the positive association between FCF and stock repurchases is partially driven by abnormal cash flows. Second, the association between pre-managed FCF and stock repurchases is strengthened as more analyst following the firms. Third, firms repurchase less when they report more negative abnormal cash flows, and that tendency is more pronounced during the 2008 financial crisis period. Further analysis shows that during the crisis period, the effect of negative abnormal cash flows on operating performance gets stronger.

The study makes several contributions to the literature. This paper is the first to show that managers use abnormal cash flows to fulfill the share buy-backs. In addition, it shows that analysts provide effective external monitoring by strengthening the association between pre-managed FCF and repurchases. Furthermore, it finds that firms adjust their strategy in times of financial crisis period in response to the increased risk. Finally, it contributes to the earnings management literature by showing the differential effects of accruals management and cash flow management on earnings performance.

This paper aims to develop hedging strategies using both futures and forward contracts and issuing risky debt when financially constrained firms are forced to operate in long horizon.

The authors present a model for developing hedging strategies using both futures and forward contracts and issuing risky debt. A theoretical model employing stochastic differential equations for forward hedging is illustrated with a numerical example over parameter values consistent with the literature.

A financially constrained firm with limited cash balance must hedge its liquidity with both future and forward contracts and issue risky debt to support its long-term operations. The firm can issue a minimal amount of risky debt by adding forward contracts into hedging and can increase its value higher than that when hedging with only futures contracts. We show numerically that hedging with both futures and forward contracts allows the firm to issue minimal risky debt in increasing its firm value.

When Metallgesellschaft nearly collapsed in 1993, it offered long-term forward contracts to its customers and attempted to hedge its risk by rolling over series of short-term futures contract. It created the situation of inherent mismatch in maturity structure. A financially constrained firm operating in a long horizon appears to commit its liquidity as long-term forward contracts, which cannot be fully hedged with series of futures contacts. The firm should hedge its liquidity with both futures and forward contracts and avoid liquidation with deadweight costs in its long-term operation.

This is the first study examining hedging strategies with both futures and forward contracts.

The present research explores capital requirement models used in medium‐size, private construction firms. The decision‐maker of a contracting firm can implement a cash flow forecasting model as an early warning system by using a model to identify likely cash‐flow problems in advance of the occurrence of these difficulties. Arrangements for acquiring any needed funds from other sources can then be made to avoid the possibility of financial problems in the corporation. In the present research, a model for financial decisionmaking is developed which, as demonstrated in a case study, provides a method of solving borrowing decision problems. The model includes the ability to evaluate qualitative and fuzzy circumstances. The model also assists in the selection of sources of funding, taking into consideration the capital structure ratio, the period of cash requirements, the borrowing limits and the tax conditions of the firm. The purpose of the model is to provide the decision‐maker with a tool kit to analyse her/his financial options.

Tax policymakers are currently navigating a path through a delicate dialectic of macro- and micro-level policy responses to the economic dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to examine initial tax measures that are aimed at helping taxpayers needing liquidity, solvency and income support.

This study undertakes a review of key tax policy responses of six jurisdictions across the globe that have similar tax regimes and virus mitigation strategies (albeit with different outcomes). Key initiatives implemented from February to April 2020 by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK are examined.

This study indicates that tax concessions are a crude and mostly ineffective way of assisting individuals and enterprises in difficulty. In the longer term, if the crisis prompts desirable reforms such as extending the recognition of tax losses, the income tax system will emerge fairer and more efficient.

An investigation of the short-term reforms announced relating to asset write-offs, tax deferral, tax losses and goods and services tax/value-added tax rates in light of the liquidity, income support and stimulus objectives shows that in some cases the policies may have been misguided. The findings can be used by policymakers as the basis for designing better targeted alternative non-tax responses.

Jurisdictional responses to tax policy reforms during a modern period of significant economic dislocation have yet to be documented in the literature. Specifically, this paper highlights the limitations of tax policy initiatives as a response to financial hardship.

The primary teaching objective is to discuss the capital raising efforts of a firm under financial distress. It also provides supporting data to calculate cost of capital, DuPont/modified DuPont values and Altman’s Z-Score that can appropriately be incorporated into the discussion. Case-B provides information and data of the company’s recent performance and to changes in bankruptcy law in India. Overall, this case study provides ample scope to discuss, understand and provide the solution to the following key corporate finance themes as follows: 1. Analyzing accounting statements and examine potential earnings quality issue. 2. Predicting default and bankruptcy using qualitative analysis, financial ratios, traditional and modified DuPont models and Altman’s Z score model. 3. Examining the capital raising efforts of a distressed firm, which has already defaulted on borrowings. 4. To explore the impact of changes in regulation on the turnaround efforts of the firm as well as on the promoters of the firm.

Since 2005, Amtek Auto moved at a breathtaking speed with the goal of reaching $10bn in sales, from the current level of about $1.2bn. The group had acquired more than a dozen companies spending about Rs.5,000cr. ($850m) during this period primarily through borrowed funds. However, the market and business expansion was not happening as expected. The company’s capacity utilization was just about 40% (approx.) during much of this period. The mounting fixed costs of operation and debt servicing grew to the level of unsustainability, led the firm to default on its borrowing. Now the company had to quickly recapitalize itself to run its operations and retain the premier position in auto component industry. The company and its promoters were considering various methods of debt restructuring, asset sale and further equity infusion.

Introductory and elective level corporate finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

This study investigates whether corporations consider shareholder-level taxes when setting corporate distribution policy. I investigate the relation between the tax-rate differential on dividend and capital gains income and its effect on firms’ distribution policies. I find that firms consider shareholder-level taxes and that this association varies with the percentage of the firm owned by individual shareholders. Hence, firms increase share repurchases and decrease the percentage of total corporate payout in the form of a dividend as the tax-rate differential increases. Thus, an increased substitution effect occurs as capital gains become relatively more tax-advantaged compared to dividends. Furthermore, I find a positive association between the percentage of the firm owned by individual investors and the percentage of total corporate payout distributed as a repurchase. These findings are consistent with personal income taxes influencing managerial decisions regarding the payout of excess corporate funds.