The role of information is central to the study of corporate finance. In the real world where one party usually has more and better information, information asymmetry forms the basis of analysis in many key aspects of modern economics including contract theory and principle-agent problems. Although technology facilitates information flow, information continues to play an important role because we live in an environment in which there is more information and information that is more complex. Moreover, we are experiencing a fundamental shift towards a knowledge-based economy in which ideas and concepts, both in the form of information, gain importance. This thesis examines the role of information as we make this transition in two separate settings: First in a “real impact” setting where knowledge generated at leading research universities spills over into firms nearby, and second, in a "traditional market" setting where analysts help disseminate information. In the post-industrial economy of the 21st century, innovation is the engine of economic growth. As a result, we increasingly value human capital and knowledge. Chapter 2 looks at the location of firms relative to knowledge centers and its impact on stock volatility. I argue that knowledge spillovers foster firm R&D and find supporting evidence. My evidence is consistent with the classic models on the impact of human capital on economic growth (Nelson and Phelps, 1966). Chapter 3 examines the impact of knowledge and innovation on firms’ cash management policies. Bates, Kahle, and Stulz (2009) find that the average cash-to-assets ratio for firms more than doubles in the past decades and attribute it to changing firm characteristics. I identify innovation as a driving force behind these changes, resulting in firms holding more cash as a precaution. In Chapter 4, I study the investment value of information from analysts, or more specifically, analyst target prices. Due to potential conflicts of interest problems, the value that analysts provide to investors remains controversial. Moreover, since the information age is characterized by information overload, it is harder for investors to identify relevant information. I find that institutions trade in the same direction as the consensus target price movement. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2012-03-07 14:20:20.178

Bakgrund: Affärspressen publicerar dagligen rekommendationer och riktkurser från aktieanalytiker och dess analyser kan anses ligga till grund för investeringsbeslut hos såväl privata som institutionella investerare. Aktieanalytikers förmåga att prognostisera aktiekurser är ett outforskat område med endast ett fåtal publicerade studier på variabeln riktkurs. Tidigare studier fokuserar på att utvärdera träffsäkerheten i prognoserna men få av dessa bidrar till förståelse kring vad som påverkar prognosfelens storlek. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera aktieanalytikers förmåga att prognostisera framtida aktiekurser. Genomförande: Studiens deduktiva ansats gör att resultat från tidigare studier ligger till grund för formulering av forskningsfrågor och utformning av tänkbara påverkansfaktorer för träffsäkerhet. Träffsäkerheten i riktkurserna analyseras via regressionsanalys där det absoluta prognosfelet är beroende variabel medan de formulerade påverkansfaktorerna är förklarande variabler. Vidare studeras en eventuell närvaro av överoptimism i prognoserna genom att undersöka fördelningen av det relativa prognosfelet via T-test. Resultat: Aktieanalytikers riktkurser påverkas av flertalet faktorer, där ett bolags storlek och beta uppvisar tydligast samband med träffsäkerheten. Variablerna uppvisar ett positivt samband med träffsäkerheten i prognoserna. Indikationer återfinns på att aktieanalytiker inte agerar fullständigt rationellt och att psykologiska påverkansfaktorer kan förekomma. Köprekommendationer influeras av en överoptimism medan säljrekommendationer uppvisar en överdriven pessimism. / Background: On a daily basis, the business press publishes stock recommendations and earnings estimates that stock analysts’ produce. These recommendations can be viewed as an integral part of both private and institutional investors’ investment decisions. Stock analysts’ ability to predict stock prices is an unexplored area with only a few studies on the variable target price. Previous studies focus on evaluating the accuracy of the forecasts but few of them contribute to the understanding of which factors influence the size of the forecast errors. Aim: The aim of the thesis is to analyze stock analysts’ ability to predict future stock prices. Completion: A deductive approach is used which allows the formulation of research questions and the identification of possible influencing factors on accuracy to be derived from previous studies. The accuracy is analyzed using regression analysis, where the absolute forecast error is the dependent variable while the formulated influencing factors are used as explanatory variables. Furthermore an analysis of the relative forecast errors is conducted to examine whether overoptimism influences the forecasts. This is carried out by examining the distribution of the relative forecast errors using T-tests. Results: Stock analysts’ price targets are influenced by several of the examined factors. A company’s size and its beta value exhibit the strongest influence on target price accuracy. The variables display a positive relationship with the accuracy of the forecasts. The results indicate that stock analysts’ do not act completely rational and that psychological biases may affect the target prices. Buy recommendations are influenced by an overoptimism whereas sell recommendations show an exaggerated pessimism.

There has been an increasing interest in the finance literature regarding the impact of transactions costs on US equity markets. The US empirical evidence indicates that transactions costs influence both trading volume (Atkins and Dyl (1997)) and asset returns (Amihud and Mendelson (1986)). Additionally, the theoretical finance literature also indicates that transactions costs affect equilibrium asset returns (Fisher (1994)). In this thesis we assess the impact of transactions costs on the UK equity markets, from four aspects. Firstly, we provide empirical support to the hypothesis that transactions costs affect the "holding period" of an asset in the portfolio of an investor. Secondly, we provide robust results showing that transactions costs affect equilibrium asset returns. Thirdly, we explain the variability of transactions costs with the use of information asymmetry, proxied by the variance of analysts' forecasts, in the spirit of Kim and Verrecchia (1994, 2001). Finally, we find that stock price and trading volume reaction to changes in the FTSE 100 list can be explained by liquidity effects, as proxied by the bid-ask spread. We provide overwhelming evidence, suggesting that transactions costs are important in UK equity markets.

O estudo investiga os efeitos da adoção obrigatória das IFRS sobre a qualidade do ambiente informacional e confirma a hipótese de que os incentivos econômicos associados aos fatores institucionais são mais relevantes do que os padrões contábeis para explicar a qualidade do ambiente informacional. Foi utilizada uma amostra de 15 países que não passaram por reformas significativas na estrutura de enforcement legal, proporcionando uma estratégia de identificação econométrica mais robusta. Os países analisados adotaram as IFRS em momentos diferentes a partir de 2006. Foram utilizadas quatro métricas de qualidade dos accruals e três métricas de performance dos analistas para operacionalizar a variável dependente qualidade do ambiente informacional. Além disso, foram utilizadas como variáveis mediadoras diversas características institucionais com potencial de afetar os incentivos à elaboração e divulgação de demonstrações financeiras. Os resultados indicam que a adoção obrigatória das IFRS afetou de forma negativa a qualidade dos accruals e a performance dos analistas. No entanto, esses resultados são contingentes à qualidade da infraestrutura institucional da jurisdição que adotou as IFRS como modelo contábil obrigatório. Os efeitos das IFRS foram significativamente mais positivos (ou menos negativos) para os países com origem legal common law, estrutura de enforcement legal mais forte, mercado de capitais mais desenvolvido, menor diferença entre padrões contábeis locais e padrões internacionais, maior grau de liberdade econômica, menor corrupção percebida e instituições mais sólidas. Foram realizados testes de robustez para verificar a sensibilidade desses resultados. Os resultados permaneceram qualitativamente iguais após serem aplicados diferentes critérios de amostragem, controlados os efeitos da crise financeira de 2008 e levado em conta o possível efeito aprendizado dos responsáveis pela elaboração e análise das demonstrações financeiras no primeiro ano de adoção. O estudo contribui com a literatura da área de contabilidade financeira e com os órgãos reguladores da indústria contábil ao fornecer evidências de que a adoção obrigatória das IFRS, quando não acompanhada por reformas econômicas e institucionais, não causará os benefícios informacionais esperados / This study investigates the effects of mandatory IFRS adoption on information environment quality and confirms the hypothesis that states that the reporting incentives related to institutional factors are more relevant than accounting standards in determining the quality of information environment. I exploit a sample of 15 countries that did not substantially change their enforcement mechanisms, providing a better identification strategy. The sample countries adopted IFRS at different moments from 2006. I use four measures of accruals quality and three measures of analysts\' performance in order to quantify the information environment variable. Moreover, I use several institutional factors that have the potential to affect reporting incentives as mediating variables. The results show that the mandatory IFRS adoption decreases both accruals quality and analysts\' performance. However, these finds depend on the institutional features of the country that adopted the IFRS mandatorily. The IFRS effects are significantly more positive (or less negative) in countries with common law origin, stronger legal enforcement, more developed capital market, fewer differences between prior local accounting standards and IFRS, greater economic freedom, lower corruption and better institutions. I perform robustness tests to check the sensitivity of the results. The results hold the same after changing sample criteria, controlling for the 2008 financial crisis and considering the financial reporting preparers and analysts\' learning curve in the first adoption. This study contributes to financial accounting literature and financial reporting regulators in the extent to which it provides evidence that the mandatory IFRS adoption without changing the economic and institutional environment will not generate the expected benefits in terms of higher financial reporting quality and better analysts\' performance

A presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de avaliar o grau de acurácia dos modelos de avaliação baseado em informações contábeis e do preço-alvo indicado pelos analistas de mercado, quando comparados ao valor real da ação. Somado a este objetivo, o estudo busca verificar, via aplicação de questionário, a importância dos modelos de apreçamento contábeis e da contabilidade sob a ótica dos acadêmicos e dos analistas de mercado que atuam no Brasil. Para chegar às conclusões do trabalho, foram utilizadas abordagens qualitativas, através do envio de questionários a acadêmicos e analistas de mercado, e uma análise quantitativa que, por meio de testes estatísticos, buscou verificar qual dos resultados, dentre o indicado pelo Modelo de apreçamento contábil Ohlson-Juettner (OJ) e o fornecido pelos analistas de mercado, ficou mais próximo ao valor real da ação. Para a análise qualitativa, a amostra do estudo compreendeu alunos dos cursos de graduação e pós-graduação das áreas correlatas às finanças, e analistas de mercado que cobrem as empresas brasileiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo (BM&FBOVESPA). Na parte quantitativa, a amostra continha as empresas listadas no Índice Brasil (IBrX), com o banco de dados formado por informações financeiras no período de 2004 a 2011. Os resultados da pesquisa qualitativa indicaram conformidade entre os dois questionários de que os modelos de avaliação baseados em informações contábeis poderiam ser mais utilizados pelo mercado financeiro, assim como as áreas do conhecimento mais importantes para a formação do preço da ação são a administração, contabilidade e economia. Os testes estatísticos mostraram uma maior similaridade entre o valor da ação e o modelo de precificação contábil OJ quando comparado ao preço-alvo indicado pelos analistas de mercado, o que corrobora a opinião dos respondentes dos questionários de que os modelos de avaliação baseados em informações contábeis poderiam ser mais utilizados no mercado de capitais. / This research was developed to evaluate the degree of accuracy of accounting based valuation models and target price indicated by market analysts as compared to the actual value of the action. Added to this goal by questionnaire to verify the importance of accounting pricing models and accounting from the perspective of academics and analysts who work in Brazil. To reach the conclusions of the study, we used qualitative approaches, by sending questionnaires to academics and market analysts and quantitative analysis, which by statistical tests aimed to verify which of the results from the accounting based valuation model Ohlson-Juettner (OJ) or the results provided by market analysts was closer to the actual value of the action. The study sample for the qualitative part consisted of undergraduate students and graduate of the areas related to finance and market analysts covering Brazilian companies listed on the Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo (BM&FBOVESPA). In the quantitative part of the sample contained in Índice Brasil (IbrX) listed companies, the database consists of financial information for the period 2004 to 2011.The results of qualitative research indicated consistency between the two questionnaires that accounting based valuation models could be mostly used by financial markets as well as areas of knowledge most important for the formation of the share price are the administration, accounting and economics. Statistical tests showed a greater similarity between the stock price and accounting OJ pricing model when compared to the target price indicated by market analysts, which corroborates the opinion of the respondents that the accounting models could be used more in the capital markets.

Bakgrund: För att förklara olika händelser på den finansiella marknaden använder sig många forskare av aktiemarknadspsykologi med bakgrund i att aktörerna är människor. Konsensus är aktieanalytikers sammanställda estimat som ska motsvara marknadens aggregerade, fundamentala förväntningar. Det faktum att aktieanalytiker är människor gör att även dessa influeras av psykologi, vilket i sin tur både påverkar konsensus, investerare och till slut även marknaden. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera och belysa vad som ligger bakom konsensusestimaten för att sedan kunna redogöra för hur aktörer på aktiemarknaden kan förhålla sig till detta. Fokus kommer att ligga på faktorer som, till skillnad från fundamentala och tekniska analyser, har sin utgångspunkt i aktiemarknadspsykologi. Metod: Med en kvalitativ ansats genomfördes intervjuer med tio olika aktieanalytiker. Intervjuerna ligger sedan till grund för analysen där den teoretiska referensramen bestående av aktiemarknadspsykologiska faktorer användes för att dra slutsatser. Slutsats: Resultatet visar på att konsensus inte fullt motsvarar aktieanalytikernas egentliga åsikter och att investerare och analytiker därför snarare bör förhålla sig till konsensus som en referenspunkt än som en riktlinje för investeringar. / Background: To explain certain events that transpires on the stock market a lot of scientists use behavioral finance. They use this due to the fact that the market participants are human after all. Consensus estimates is the compiled estimates of sell side analyst which is supposed to be equivalent to the markets fundamental expectations. The fact that sell side analysts are human infers that they also get influenced by psychology, which in turn affect consensus, investors and lastly the market. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze and shed light on the elements that affect consensus estimates to clarify how stock market participants can relate to them. The focus will be on elements that, unlike fundamental and technical analysis, originates from behavioral finance. Method: Ten different stock analysts have been interviewed with a qualitative research approach. The interviews then acted as a basis for the analysis where the theory, originating from behavioral finance, is used to come to a conclusion. Conclusion: In conclusion, the result exhibits proof that consensus estimates doesn’t, to a full extent, truly reflect the sell side analysts’ true beliefs. Investors and other stock analysts should therefore relate to consensus as a reference point rather than a guideline for investment decisions.

The aim of the article is to find the relationship between the growth and decline in the share price during the promulgation period of quarterly results of companies and surprise, either positive or negative in the quarterly results. Quarterly results are compared with the forecasts of analysts who publish their forecasts for quarterly results at Thomson Reuters. Relationship is confirmed statistically, where stock returns in the period is the dependent variable, independent variables are three -- return of the corresponding market index, excess impact -- measure of surprise in quarterly results in comparison with analysts' estimates and VIX index. Linear regression is used for testing of return and GARCH model is used for testing of volatility, there is focus on adaptation of actual volatility to the long-term average volatility after accidental shock.

The effectiveness of behavioral interventions for the treatment of young children with autism has been well documented in professional literature. The success of these procedures, however, depends on the fidelity of implementation and proper training of the therapist. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 125-skill, comprehensive staff training package that involved a graduated sequence of teaching. In addition to changes in skills, social validity and training time were also assessed. Results indicate that correct demonstration of skills increased following training, incorrect implementation decreased, teachers rated the procedures favorably, and the total training took between 20 and 32.5 hours for over 120 skills to reach mastery criteria. A discussion of the results as well as implications for future research is also provided.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Information Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Informatics / unrestricted

Knowledge workers are an important resource for the typical modern business firm, yet financial reporting ignores such resources. Some researchers contend that the accounting profession has stressed reliability in order to make the accounting appear objective. Others concur, noting that accounting is an insecure profession and adopts strict rules when faced with uncertainty. Accountants have promulgated a strict rule to expense human resource costs, although many know that such resources have future benefits. Some researchers suggest that any discipline must modify its language in order to initiate change toward providing useful social ameliorations. If accounting theorists extend this idea to the accounting lexicon.s description of investments in human resources, investors and other accounting user groups might gain greater insight into how a firm fosters and nourishes human capital. I tested three hypotheses related to this issue by administering an experiment designed to assess financial analysts. perceptions about alternative financial statement treatments of human resources in an investment recommendation task. I predicted that (1) analysts' perceptions of the reliability (relevance) of the information they received would decrease (increase) as the treatment of human resources increasingly violated GAAP (became more current-oriented), (2) analysts exposed to alternative accounting treatments would report a lower likelihood of recommending that their clients invest in the company in the task, and (3) financial analysts who ranked reliability (relevance) as a more important information quality would be less (more) likely to recommend that their clients buy the stock represented in the case because the treatment of human resources on the financial statements violated GAAP (was more current-oriented) as compared to analysts who ranked reliability (relevance) as being lower (higher) in importance. Analysts receiving financial statements with accounting treatments of human resource costs that violated GAAP judged such information as less reliable and were also less likely to recommend that their clients buy the stock in the task than analysts receiving financial statements that conformed to GAAP. Also, analysts who perceived reliability as a more important information quality reacted more negatively to a replacement cost approach to accounting for human resources than participants who perceived reliability as being less important. A potential confounding explanation of the results is the varied language used in the audit opinions included with the treatment financial statements. Whether explained by the audit opinion language or the actual differences contained in the financial statements, the results suggest that an important user group, financial analysts, may be subject to the aura of objectivity suggested by Porter in 1995.