http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/8488/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31623/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Abstract: We examine financial analysts’ views on corporate financial reporting issues by means of a survey among 306 analysts and interviews among 21 analysts and compare their views with that of CFOs. Since CFOs believe that meeting or beating analysts’ forecasts and managing earnings to achieve this benchmark can enhance firm value, examining analysts’ perspectives on these actions improves our understanding on whether CFOs’ beliefs are rational or heuristic. Our findings suggest that CFOs’ beliefs tend to be rational regarding their focus on earnings and their views on earnings management and smoothing. The main reason is that analysts have difficulty in unraveling certain types of earnings management in a specific firm even though they anticipate earnings management in general. Yet, CFOs are heuristic in their optimism about the consequences of managing earnings, which potentially has negative implications for the value of their firm. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6876/ 2001-02-12T00:00:00Z Using US data from June 1984 to July 1999, we show that the impact of firm-specific characteristics like size and book-to-price on future excess stock returns varies considerably over time. The impact can be either positive or negative at different times. This time variation is partially predictable. We investigate whether the partial predictability signals security mispricing or risk compensation by formulating alternative modeling strategies. The strategies are compared empirically, In particular, we allow for a state-dependent choice of investment styles rather than a once-and-for-all choice for a particular style, for example based on high book-to-price ratios or small market cap values. Using alternative ways to correct for risk, we find significant and robust excess returns to style rotating investment strategies. Business cycle oriented approaches exhibit the best overall performance. Purely statistical models for style rotation or fixed investment styles reveal less robust behavior. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/149/ 2001-01-19T00:00:00Z We empirically investigate dividend and share repurchase policies of Canadian firms. We have sent a questionnaire to the 500 largest non-financial Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, of which 191 usable responses were returned. These data are used to measure firm characteristics. We use several logit regression analyses to test the structure and determinants of the dividend and share repurchase choice. Our results are consistent with a structure in which the company first decides whether it wants to pay out cash to its shareholders or not. In the second stage the firm decides on the form of the payout: dividends, share repurchases or both. Payout is determined by free cash flow. The choice for dividends and repurchases depends on behavioral and tax preferences. Furthermore, the payout is less likely to be dividends if the company has executive stock option plans. Finally, we find evidence for the Brennan and Thakor (1990) model. According to this model the existence of asymmetric information amongst outsiders is associated with a preference for dividend payments over share repurchases.