Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).

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

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-71). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-71). Also available on the Internet.

Empirical studies have found that managers choose debt rather than equity to avoid EPS dilution and buy back outstanding shares to boost EPS, I thus explore the resulting effect of EPS on leverage. A firm’s leverage is negatively influenced by the level of its EPS. I also find that fluctuations in EPS have large effects on leverage and these effects persist for at least a decade. Besides, the negative impact of EPS on leverage becomes much stronger after the passage of SOX, in which period managers engage in more actions of debt-equity choices or stock repurchases with the sole purpose of manipulating EPS. Furthermore, managers’ equity incentives and corporate governance are two economic mechanisms through which EPS negatively influences leverage.

This paper extends the scope of Earnings per share ("EPS") studies by incorporating Bushman et al. (2004)'s conceptual framework of corporate transparency to illustrate how the disclosure requirement of an accounting rule governing EPS could have far-reaching effects on the information environment in US. Informed participants are having a keener edger over average investors in using EPS as a guide to investment value. EPS signals a summary measure of firm performance to market participants. The market reactions to EPS and change in per share earnings provide a distinct opportunity to gauge the informativeness of earnings. The information role will nevertheless derail whenever there is an equity change. The accounting rule stipulates the use of a theoretical construct, the weighted average number of shares, in the denominator for EPS, which the average investor is unable to interpret as the number of shares at the reporting date is the actual, not average number of shares. Relative to the actual-share EPS, the average-share EPS will either inflate or deflate the per share earnings. The informed investors, who can substitute actual number of shares for the theoretical construct, are hence bestowed by the accounting rule an information advantage over the average investors. Earnings response coefficient is significant with denominator of EPS substituted while the explanatory power of theoretical-denominator EPS abates when it is contemporary with the denominator substituted EPS. Financial analysts' expertise in the provision of idiosyncratic information to the market has been compromised by the average-share EPS, which is reflected heretofore in proforma earnings forecasts errors. Proforma earnings use a numerator different from accounting rules and to further temper the denominator with the actual number of shares will make pro-forma EPS forecast unintelligible to users. The unintended consequence of inflating or deflating the per share earnings misleads average investors in their decision-making process. Analysts should not issue proforma earnings forecast while researchers should abstain from using theoretical-denominator EPS for sample firms with equity change as their policy prescriptions may further aggravate the problem. A simple remedy to change the accounting rule, SFAS No. 128 is eminently anticipated, if not warranted.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verskeie navorsingsprojekte is oor die jare gedoen ten opsigte van die voorspellingsmoontlikhede van kontantvloei en winste, met teenstrydige resultate. Daar is egter weinig navorsing gedoen oor die verhouding wat tussen winste en kontantvloei bestaan. Hierdie navorsingsverslag beoog om ondersoek in te stel na die verhouding tussen kontantvloei en winste, dus om te poog om te bepaal watter een die drywer is, maar ook om te bepaal of die een veranderlike ingespan kan word om vooruitskattings ten opsigte van die ander te kan doen. Aangesien finansiële tydreekse die meeste van die tyd nie-stasionêr is, moet dit in ag geneem word wanneer die kousale verwantskap tussen die twee veranderlikes bepaal word, asook wanneer regressie-analise met die oog op vooruitskatting gedoen word. Daar word egter vermoed dat die aspek van stasionariteit weinig aandag geniet in menige navorsing wat ten opsigte van finansiële tydreekse gedoen word. Die feit dat weinig tydreekse stasionêr is, is bevestig deur te toets vir die bestaan van eenheidswortels in die veranderlikes. Die beste resultate vir stasionariteit is verkry deur die tweede verskille van die veranderlikes te bereken. Daar kon egter nie met sekerheid vasgestel word of winste kontantvloei dryf of andersom nie. Die gevaar van skyn-korrelasie is ook bewys, aangesien 'n groot aantal pare veranderlikes beduidende korrelasies tussen mekaar aandui, maar wanneer hulle stasionariteit en kousaliteit in ag geneem word, is weinig van die pare veranderlikes kousaal verwant aan mekaar. Die toets vir ko-integrasie is ingespan om steun te verleen by die regressie-analise en vooruitskatting van die tydreekse. Die regressie analise van die geko-integreerde tydreekse het in die meeste gevalle 'n hoë R2 en aangepaste R2 gelewer. Die vooruitskattings was egter teleurstellend onakkuraat. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Throughout the years a variety of research projects have been done about the predictive ability of cash flow and earnings, with contradictory results. However, limited research has been done about the relationship between cash flow and earnings. The aim of this research report is to investigate the relationship between cash flow and earnings, thus attempting to determine which one is the driver, but also to investigate the ability of one variable to predict the other. Because financial time series are non-stationary most of the time, this fact has to be taken into account when the causal relationship between the two variables is determined, as well as when regression analysis is done with forecasting in view. It is, however, suspected that the fact of stationarity has been neglected in much of the research that has been done on financial time series. The fact that very few time series are stationary has been established by testing for the existence of unit roots in the variables. The best results for stationarity were obtained by calculating the second differences of the variables. It could not be established beyond doubt whether earnings cause cash flows or vice versa. The danger of spurious correlation has been proved, because a vast number of pairs of variables indicates a significant correlation with one another, but when stationarity and causality are taken into account, only a few pairs of variables are truly significantly correlated to one another. The test for co-integration was used to assist in the regression analysis and forecasting of non-stationary time series. The regression analysis of most of the co-integrated variables resulted in a high R2 and adjusted R2. The forecasted values, however, were disappointingly inaccurate. / cmc2010

As a consequence of financial analysts' joint role as information intermediaries and firm monitors, I investigate analysts' responses to opportunistic corporate earnings management as firm mispricing increases. While firms' management have capital markets and executive equity incentives to manage earnings, financial analysts have trading volume, investment banking, and management information incentives which result in analysts' optimism bias. However, prior research also finds that analysts have reputational incentives, which motivate them to provide accurate and profitable outlooks. Using a generalized linear model (GLM), I estimate analysts' stock recommendation (price targets) responses for earnings management firms. I use the residual income model to compute fundamental value and I add proxies for earnings management to my analyst-responses models.... The main implications of my findings are that analysts use corporate earnings management and firm fundamental value in their stock recommendations (price targets) responses. In addition, my results provide evidence that, after controlling for earnings quality, analysts' stock recommendations (price targets) are consistent with strategies based on residual income models. These findings will be of interest to shareholders, regulators, and researchers as well as to finance and accounting practitioners. / by Jomo Sankara. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This dissertation examines Earning per share (EPS) as a disclosure requirement for listed companies by investigating firstly, EPS disclosures in annual reports of certain selected JSE listed companies and secondly, the attitudes of the preparers of those annual reports to a number of issues relating to EPS. The three mandatory EPS disclosures - Basic EPS, Diluted EPS and Headline EPS - are discussed with a view to determining their information content and reporting framework. This study also considers whether cash based measures of performance are better than earnings based measures. Due to the reliance placed on reported EPS numbers this study attempts, by an examination of annual reports, to provide evidence as to whether or not South African companies are correctly calculating and disclosing the various EPS measures. By means of a questionnaire survey into the attitudes of the preparers of annual reports, this study also attempts to provide evidence as to the importance of the EPS measures as well as the preparers' perceptions on the appropriateness of the Headline earnings definition. The annual report survey into EPS disclosures revealed that South African companies are correctly calculating and disclosing Basic EPS. Even-though all companies correctly calculate Diluted EPS, most companies do not properly disclose Diluted EPS information. As far as Headline EPS is concerned, the annual report survey revealed that many South African companies make disallowed Headline earnings adjustments with most offenders disclosing higher Headline EPS numbers as a result. The survey into the attitudes of preparers of company reports towards various matters concerning EPS revealed that preparers of annual reports consider Headline EPS to be the most important earnings based measure of performance and the adopted Headline earnings definition as being appropriate. It is therefore important that companies calculate and disclose Headline EPS correctly. / Thesis (M.Acc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.