Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Erlangen.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. James S. Ang, Florida State University, College of Business, Dept of Finance. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 92 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Cornell University, August, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-42). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (MAcc)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Scrip dividends have become increasingly popular in South Africa SInce the introduction of secondary tax on companies (STC) in the 1993 budget. There is more than one approach to the treatment of scrip dividend schemes for accounting purposes, i.e. the reinvestment approach and the capitalisation issue approach. Unfortunately guidance in the form of a statement or guideline from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants has not been forthcoming. Companies in the United States of America account for stock dividends (capitalisation issues) in a variety of ways and several studies have analysed the effect of these accounting treatments on retained earnings and the retained earnings hypothesis. Several empirical studies in the United States of America and the United Kingdom have documented marked differences in the ability of companies in these countries to make distributions to shareholders. For this reason the accounting treatment of stock dividends and scrip dividends in these countries was examined and compared to the methods used in South Africa. Earnings per share is often used by financial analysts to analyse and compare companies. The methods used in South Africa to account for scrip dividends result in different calculations of earnings per share and therefore the effect of the different methods was examined. This study concludes that the reinvestment approach is theoretically the most acceptable accounting treatment of scrip dividend schemes In South Africa. A representative sample of companies which declared scrip dividends in the period 1993 to 1999 was selected to determine how these schemes are implemented in the South African economy. These companies' financial statements were analysed to determine if the scrip dividend schemes were treated in terms of the accounting method proposed in this study and if the necessary information was disclosed in the financial statements. This study finds that different accounting approaches are used in South Africa, that earnings per share and secondary tax on companies are not calculated consistently for accounting purposes and that the information disclosed to the users of the financial statements differs from company to company. It is recommended that the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants issue accounting guidelines to the drafters of financial statements regarding scrip dividend schemes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verklaring van skripdividende het in Suid-Afrika in gewildheid begin toeneem met die inwerkingstelling van sekondere belasting op maatskappye (SBM) in die 1993-begroting. Daar is meer as een metode om skripdividendskemas rekeningkundig te verantwoord, naamlik die herbeleggingsbenadering en die kapitalisasieuitgiftebenadering. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut vir Geoktrooieerde Rekenmeesters het egter op hierdie stadium nog nie 'n rekeningkundige standpunt of riglyn oor die rekeningkundige verantwoording van skripdividendskemas uitgereik nie. In die Verenigde State van Amerika kan maatskappye kapitalisasie-uitgifte op verskillende maniere rekeningkundig verantwoord en verskeie studies het die invloed ondersoek wat hierdie metodes op verdeelbare reserwes en die behoue wins-hipotese het. Verder het studies wat in die Verenigde State van Amerika en die Verenige Koningkryk gedoen is, bevind dat hierdie lande se beperkings op verdelings aan aandeelhouers baie van mekaar verskil en om die rede is die metodes wat in die lande toegepas word om kapitalisasie-uitgifte en skripdividendskemas rekeningkundig te verantwoord, ondersoek en met die metodes vergelyk wat in Suid-Afrika toegepas kan word. Aangesien verdienste per aandeel dikwels deur finansiele ontleders gebruik word om maatskappye te ontleed en met mekaar te vergelyk en omdat die metodes wat in Suid- Afrika toegepas kan word verskillende berekeninge van verdienste per aandeel tot gevoIg het, is die uitwerking wat die verskillende metodes op die berekening van verdienste per aandeeI het ook ontleed.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / In the past it was believed that the payment of dividends would decrease the funds available to finance growth, and would therefore lead to lower future earnings growth. This belief was challenged in recent years with research that tested the relationship between dividend payout and future earnings growth, both on the individual company and aggregate market level in different countries. The results contradicted popular belief, and showed that companies with high payout ratios tend to realise stronger future earnings growth. This study tested the same relationship in South Africa and concluded that even in a developing country, dividend payout will still lead to higher future earnings growth.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2015. / Dividend policy establishes the distribution of a company’s profit whether they could pay out to the stockholders as dividends or retain the profit for re-investments in the company. There are several theories which explain the dividend behaviour, and the empirical studies suggest evidence for one over the other, however the belief concerning corporate dividend theories are different. There are two conflicting theories; those who believe in dividend relevance theory (Lintner & Gordon) and those who believe in dividend irrelevance theory (Miller & Modigliani). The key part of the study is related to the evaluation of which theory is suited for dividend policy of companies in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE). So far numerous researchers have make an effort to solve the dividend puzzle. The main aim of this study was to establish whether there is a relationship between dividend policy and stock return of companies listed in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. In particular, the study focuses on three main aspects, namely; investigating the association between stock returns and dividend yield, stock price reaction to dividend announcements and identifying the factors influencing dividend policy decisions. The empirical findings confirmed that dividend yield has a strong impact on stock returns and it is statistically significant. The finding of this study supported the dividend relevance theory. The event study found that dividend announcements have an impact on share prices and the significance of the abnormal around event date confirms that the DSE market supports dividend relevance and signaling theory. Finally, the study concluded that debt ratio and age of the firms have a strong influence on the dividend policy on firms on the DSE.

Essay I: Governance surrounding dividend initiation. According to the free cash flow hypothesis, managers prefer to invest surplus cash, even in value reducing projects, rather than release it to shareholders. Yet, previous studies of dividend payout conclude that managers pay more in dividends when they are entrenched, supporting the substitute model... The results indicate that initiating firms have stronger shareholder rights, in contrast with much of the prior research on continuous divident payout. Firms with lower entrenchment index are more likely to initiate dividends... Essay II: Earnings management surrounding dividend initiation. Prior research tests earnings management surrounding changes in dividend payout and researchers conclude that the earnings management is a means of amplifying the dividend signal to the market. However, dividend initiation is a unique event. If initiation represents signaling, similar to a dividend increase, then management will manage earnings upward. If, on the other hand, divident initiation is better explained by the free cash flow hypothesis, then initiation may be entered into with caution or reluctance by management. / by Deborah Drummond Smith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

In this thesis I investigate whether two clear and simple indicators, dividends and franking credits, provide users with useful information to assess earnings persistence. Persistence is an important attribute of earnings (Dechow and Schrand 2004). I argue and show earnings persistence is a function of firm life-cycle. Firms can generally be divided into three life stages: establishing profitability, sustainable profitability and declining profitability. Using a simple one-period persistence model I demonstrate that dividends and higher franking credits identify firms in the different stages of the life-cycle. Dividends provide an inherent signal of firms that are in the mature phase of the life-cycle, and hence provide information about earnings persistence. I show firms that pay dividends have persistent profits and losses that reverse. However dividend paying firms are not homogenous. Firms that pay franked dividends have significantly more persistent earnings than firms that pay unfranked dividends. Consistent with higher franking credits identifying more mature firms, fully franked dividend paying firms have significantly less persistent losses than partially franked dividend paying firms. Importantly, my primary results provide an alternative explanation to Hanlon (2005) and add to our understanding of the accrual anomaly. Both Hanlon and my study investigate the informativeness of tax on earnings persistence. I demonstrate that firms that have large differences between the level of franking and accounting income (i.e., pay unfranked dividends while reporting a profit) have large book-tax differences. Such differences in tax and accounting income are a function of the firm life-cycle. Large book-tax differences are not necessarily the result of opportunism (or earnings management). Thus firms with large book-tax differences are typically establishing profitability or entering the declining phase. These firms have less persistence profits, accruals and cash flows than firms with small book-tax differences. I conclude the accrual anomaly is a function of inherent firm characteristics associated with different phases of the life-cycle rather than being a function of earnings management.