风险资本的“价值增值”功能分析——基于网络信息披露的视角

互联网环境下企业的网络信息披露行为降低了外部投资者的信息成本,本文基于信息成本的变化探讨了风险资本对企业的"价值增值"功能。本文对Ue d a提出的初创企业融资决策模型[1]进行拓展,分析风险资本提升企业经营业绩的作用机制以及信息披露在风险资本"价值增值"过程中所发挥的积极作用。在实证检验中,以新三板挂牌企业为样本考察了风险资本对企业经营业绩的促进作用,检验结果表明,风险资本的"价值增值"功能在网络信息披露水平高的情况下更为强烈。基于风险资本"价值增值"机理的分析显示,风险资本显著降低企业投资—现金流敏感度,这表明风险资本有利于缓解企业融资约束,从而提高企业投资效率。本文研究对风险资本"价值增值"功能的相关文献进行了有益的拓展,同时也对发展我国多层次资本市场和健全企业信息披露机制具有一定的借鉴意义。

从重庆啤酒来看上市公司概念性的信息披露对股价的影响

文章从引入重庆啤酒案例入手,论述了重庆啤酒异常股价波动的主要原因,分析了上市公司概念性信息披露的现状及危害,并对完善上市公司的信息披露提出了相关建议。

企业社会责任会计及其信息披露

企业在追求利润最大化的同时,也应兼顾社会责任。本文从社会责任会计的概念和基本内容出发,结合国外及我国社会责任会计应用现状及存在的问题,探讨社会责任会计信息的披露方式。

矿产资源企业社会责任信息披露问题探析

随着我国经济的快速发展,公众在重视企业创造经济财富的同时,对企业履行社会责任的关注程度也越来越高。对于矿产资源这个特殊行业,高能耗、高污染的缺点已经成为行业发展的瓶颈。企业社会责任信息的披露将帮助企业提升自身国际地位、改善形象、加强竞争力以及塑造可持续性发展,有助于解决发展过程中企业履行社会责任与社会对此要求之间的信息不对称问题。

Annual Reports of Non-profit Organizations （NPOs）： An Analysis

Non-profit organizations （NPOs） in Malaysia are not subjected to statutory requirement to follow the accounting standards when preparing their annual reports. This study analyzed the annual reports of 100 NPOs registered with the Registry of Society （ROS） under the charity and religious categories. The objectives of this study are： （1） to determine the current state of reporting practices by NPOs; and （2） to describe the contents of a set of annual reports and the financial statement presentation of NPOs. This study found that there were variations in reporting practices among the charity and religious categories of NPOs. On average, the results show that NPOs do not focus on the disclosing information required by the ROS, the governing body of NPOs. This indicates that the regulators need to strongly practice enforcement to strengthen the compliance of the annual reports submission. Overall, the findings of this study provide useful information to regulators as a basis for preparing and presenting NPOs＇ annual report framework in the future.

The Extent of Voluntary Information in the Annual Report and the Share Price Volatility： Application of DEA and SFA on the French Market

In the current paper, the authors investigate empirically the relationship between the share price volatility and the amount of voluntary information disclosed in the corporate annual report. The authors use the data envelopment analysis （DEA） and the stochastic frontier analysis （SFA） models on a sample of 50 listed French firms belonging to the Soci6t6s des Bourses Fran^aises （SBF250） index from 2004 to 2008. The authors focus on the extent of voluntary disclosure in the annual reports that have been measure by using a composite disclosure index. Then, the authors study the relevance of disclosure policies through the ability of the voluntary disclosure level to effectively reduce the share price volatility. The findings of DEA and SFA provide, in average, highly efficient scores of the sample, reveal the several dispositions taken by the French Exchange Market authorities and the initiative of French firms to improve the market stability. In addition, the findings highlight, in average, stability of the firms＇ efficiency scores over the studied period. The authors explain these findings by the stability of corporate disclosure policy as suggested in previous literature （e.g., Botosan, 1997）. However, there are some differences between the findings of SFA and DEA models.

Investigations and thoughts of the ethics in genetic discrimination

A questionnaire research in ethics was conducted to get the view of students of medical universities in Shanghai on genomics and genetic discrimination. We find that 66% respondents indicated their willingness to understand the genetic information and 79% of respondents mind their own genetic information be aware of by other people. In contrast, 77% of the respondents believe that medical organization are not able to protect personal genetic information from disclose. Hence, it is significant to take some measures to preserve citizen's genetic information privacy. Depending on our results, we put forward our suggestion to this problem.

Voluntary Disclosure and the Type of Product Market Competition： Capacity vs. Price

This paper investigates empirically the effect of different types of product market competition on levels of voluntary disclosure of proprietary information in financial markets. The author proposes that there are two types of strategic interaction settings relevant to disclosure： capacity competition and price competition. Capacity competition drives firms to disclose more information to attain financial market valuation-related benefits, while price competition drives them to disclose less to protect long-term product market advantages. The author finds that the type of product market competition affects the level of voluntary disclosure over and above the finn＇s external financing needs documented in the previous literature. That is, firms engaged in capacity competition disclose relatively more information than those in price competition. Further analysis shows that capacity competition firms disclose more information than no-strategic-interaction benchmark firms but that price competition firms do not disclose less information than the benchmark firms.

Corporate governance and financing decisions by Saudi companies

This paper aims to contribute to the corporate governance literature in emerging economies by examining the effect of some corporate governance mechanisms on financing decisions in Saudi Arabian listed companies. A multiple regression model is used to examine the association between financing decisions and corporate governance mechanisms for a sample of 37 listed Saudi companies. In particular, we examine the effect of board size, ownership concentration and corporate governance reporting on the debt-to-equity ratio. Corporate governance reporting is measured by the content analysis approach. After controlling for companies＇ profitability and their growth opportunities, we found that both board size and ownership concentration are positively associated with debt-to-equity ratio. We limit our analysis to a small sample of firms that use the internet to communicate corporate governance information between October 2005 and January 2006. The findings suggest that managers are likely to choose higher financial leverage when they have stronger corporate governance （large number of directors on the board and higher ownership concentration）. However, we did not find any statistical association between corporate governance disclosure and debt-to-equity ratio. This suggests that firm＇s asymmetric information is not an important driver of the financing decision of Saudi Arabian companies. This might be due to the nature of the Saudi business environment. We strongly believe that this paper provides a novel contribution to the existing literature as we are the first to examine this issue in Saudi Arabia.

Study on the environmental information disclosure of Chinese forestry enterprises

Environmental accounting is a kind of accounting which focuses on the compensation for the resources spending. It combines the theories of environmental economics and traditional accounting and uses scientific as well as systematic ways to coordinate the development of economics and the protection of environment. It is just in the primary process for forestry enterprises in China to introduce the research and practice of environmental accounting. Based on discussion about the principle of environmental information disclosure and analysis on the current situation of the environmental information disclosure of the forestry enterprises, this paper attempted to propose that the supplementary report mode of information disclosure should be appropriate for the forestry enterprises, which provide the balance sheet of environment, the income statement of environment besides the original three financial report to reflect the general environmental information of the enterprise.

Empirical Research on Factors Influencing Level of Environmental Protection Information Disclosure in Annual Reportsby Listed Companies

Taking 248 A-share manufacturing listed companies in 2006 Shanghai Stock Exchange as example, using "index method" to measure level of environmental protection infor-mation disclosure, this paper examines the factors influencing level of environmental protection information disclosure. The findings show that the disclosure level has improved, but the overall level is still low and unable to satisfy information users; there is positive correlation between corporate size, industry type, accounting firm's type and corporate environmental dis-closure index. The companies of large scale and heavy pollu-tion and those audited by international "Big 4" and domestic "Big 10" accounting firms have a high level of environmental disclosure, while the profitability and financial leverage has no impact on the disclosure level. Finally some suggestions are put forward to establish environmental information disclosure sys-tem in China.

Environmental Disclosure of Chemical Industry:Evidencefrom Chinese A-Share Market

Environmental pollution and environmental reporting have increasingly drawn the attention of the countries around the world. The paper selects A-share listed companies of chemical industry in China. Using logistic model, we research the impact of financial performance of listed companies upon environmental reporting. The conclusion of the study shows that the total number of enterprises which disclosed environmental information (EI) has increased year by year, and EI content and volume disclosed by heavy pollution corporations have increased annually. And the more profitability the listed companies attain, the more EI they are inclined to disclose. Moreover, companies will have an ability to disclose EI so as to reduce the agency costs arising from informa-tion asymmetry. Furthermore, the development capability of com-panies is of negative correlation to environmental reporting, and the liabilities degree of listed companies is of negative correlation to environmental reporting, but it is not significant. This paper also offers policy recommendations that enhance EI transparency and regulate EI reporting of listed companies.

Delivering bad news to patients——the necessary evil

Delivering bad news regarding patient's health is an unavoidable task for physicians and medical students in their careers.This is especially difficult for beginners.Disclosing undesired medical information to patients is technically and mentally demanding.Only with proper communication skills and sufficient patient-contact practice can medical practitioners smoothly cope with this stressful mission.There are a number of common mistakes we fall into when delivering bad news,which might induce or exacerbate patients' anxiety.Sometimes we are prone to disclose medical information in a "straight-to-the-point" manner.This is often a futile attempt made on the physician's part to ease his or her own uncomfortableness when delivering bad news,but unfortunately it does no good to facilitate patients' acceptance of the actual condition.Instead of using medical jargons,physicians are obliged to use "layman's terms" that make better sense to their patients.Declaring a clinical diagnosis without corresponding explanation on the prognosis and the discussion of treatment can also bring much confusion and anxiety to patients.Another even worse situation might be that we finish the "lecture" in our own words without confirming the patient's comprehension and addressing their questions.Professionals have recommended a six-step protocol on delivering bad news to patients:"SPIKES":S-Setting up the interview;P-assessing the patient's Perception;I-obtaining the patient's Invitation;K-giving Knowledge and information to the patient;E-addressing the patient's Emotions with Empathic responses;S-Strategy and Summary.

Do auditors perform governance functions？ A research on the change of performance notice

Whether auditors provide high-quality audit services has been a concern of academics for a long time, but it has not clear answer. In this paper the author studies this problem from the real basis of audit activities, in view of an endless stream of the performance of listed companies notice ＂change＂ phenomenon. The author finds that auditing is the important reasons of listed companies notice ＂change＂, auditor can improve disclosure quality, is the gatekeeper to accounting information. The author also finds that there may be exist collusion of listed company with auditor, SEC should enhance inspection of the implementation of listed companies notice of earnings.

Corporate Internet Disclosure in the Arabian Gulf： An Empirical Examination of Determinants and Attributes

This paper investigates and reports on the extent and nature of corporate internet disclosure and the determinants of internet financial disclosure （IFD） by companies listed in three Gulf Corporation Council （GCC） countries. This paper uses data from 207 listed companies in Muscat Securities Market （MSM）, Dubai Financial Market （DFM）, and Qatar Exchange （QE）. Binary logistic regression analysis is used to examine the determinants of IFD. Kruskal-Wallis test is used to examine the differences in disclosure characteristics among the three countries. The results of this study reveal that firm size is the major factor influencing intemet financial reporting in the GCC. The results reveal that the three countries differ significantly in all the disclosure attributes with the exception of the existence of email link. This paper extends the stream of research that confirms the widespread use of internet in disclosing financial information. The results are consistent with previous literature that corporate size is a major determinant of internet financial reporting. This paper provides insights into corporate internet disclosure in the GCC that will benefit all stakeholders with an interest in corporate reporting in this important region of the world.

Assessing Disclosure Quality： A Methodological Issue

The voluntary disclosure studies conducted until today, in social accounting and related fields, use different approaches to evaluate the so-called ＂disclosure quality＂. Disclosure quality is not so easy to measure, and it is derived from the application of different methodologies. In particular, the methodologies to assess the level of disclosure could be classified as subjective or objective. To the first category belong all the ＂tools＂ that are used directly without relying on the analysis of the original source of the information studies （Imhoff, 1992; Coleman ＆ Eccles, 1997; Welker, 1995）. The objective measurements used to assess the disclosure quality are, instead, based on the direct study of the original information source in order to obtain the information required （Krippendorff, 1980; Weber, 1985; Botosan, 1997; Lang ＆ Lundholm, 2000）. The aim of the paper is to give scholars and researchers a brief framework to understand the different methodologies used in accounting literature to assess the disclosure quality, providing examples of the application of the same in different research contexts.

New European Union＇s Requirements and IFRS Practice Statement ＂Management Commentary＂： Does MD＆A Disclosure Quality Affect Analysts＇ Forecasts？

The Management Discussion and Analysis （MD＆A） is a mandatory document under the European Union＇s （EU） law. In 2003, the EU issued Directive 2003/51/EC, which broadened the information that firms have to provide in their MD＆A, and in 2010 the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） issued the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） Practice Statement ＂Management Commentary＂, a non-binding guidance for the presentation of this document. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between MD＆A disclosure quality and properties of analysts＇ forecasts. In fact, although most studies found that financial analysts mainly refer to financial statement data in forecasting earnings, there are few researches highlighting the importance of MD＆A disclosures for financial analysts. On this basis, Ramnath, Rock, and Shane （2008） called for researches in order to better understand the relationship between the information really used by analysts and their forecasts. To assess the quality of MD＆A disclosures, we developed a multidimensional measure on the basis of the EU requirements and the IFRS Practice Statement, and then we regressed this variable on both forecast accuracy and dispersion. The findings show that our measure of MD＆A disclosure quality is significantly and positively related to forecast accuracy. We conducted other analyses in order to better understand the previous relationship and we found that, if we analyze the different information contained in the MD＆A statement, financial analysts consider useful accounting and financial data in forecasting earnings. These results enhance our understanding of the role of MD＆A disclosures in the wide set of information that firms provide to financial statement users.

Fair Value Disclosure, External Appraisers, and the Reliability of Fair Value Measurements

By developing an analytical model, this paper examines the role of the ＂external appraiser＂ as a tool to face the informational asymmetry issue related to fair value measurements. A comparison between such a signaling mechanism and a ＂full fair value disclosure＂ is firstly carried out, highlighting variables affecting the efficiency and the effectiveness of both information strategies. Then, recovering the traditional distinction between ＂protective disclosure＂ （hard information） and ＂informative disclosure＂ （soft information）, this paper demonstrates how the former could significantly increase the positive effects associated to an employment of an independent valuer, reaching some conclusions useful to the standard setting process.

Usefulness and Effectiveness of Related Party Transactions （RPTs） Disclosure： Empirical Evidence From Italy

Related party transactions （RPTs） can be used by corporate insiders （e.g., managers, controlling shareholders） to expropriate corporate outsiders （e.g., minority shareholders）. We argue that effective disclosure of RPTs can eliminate or at least reduce expropriation phenomena by letting corporate outsiders assess the fairness of the transactions and identify the underlying conflicts of interest. We consider a sample of large RPTs carried out by listed corporations in Italy, a country that has been affected by significant corporate scandals in recent years. In particular, we analyse the content of several compulsory informative documents, required by CONSOB （the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission）, concerning large RPTs. The focus of our content analysis is on the ＂warnings＂ sections of these documents that should convey clear and comprehensive information on potential risks and conflicts of interest. Our empirical results show that, while the ＂warnings＂ sections of the studied documents generally contain all the information required by existing rules, the depth of the information provided is often unlikely to be sufficient to communicate the implications of the RPTs. Thus, readers may not find the disclosed information adequate to evaluate the fairness of the transactions. Moreover, visual representations are rarely used in the informative documents. The use of such representations could allow companies to convey the structures and features of complex RPTs in a simpler and more direct way.

The market reaction on the human resources information disclosure in Chinese listed companies

In this paper, the author uses the listed company＇s annual report and financial statements to do the empirical research, the selected areas are information technology industries. The results show that the average age of employees, professional proportion, and the average assesses and executives＇ shareholdings have no significant impact with P/B. The industry statistics revealed no significant impact between average age and P/B because each group of age has its own advantages. By using these indicators, the author can improve the human resources information voluntary disclosure, make the disclosure of information comparable, and provide the empirical reference to the listed companies.