Abnormal returns, risk, and financial statement data: The case of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

This paper examines abnormal returns and changes in risk for transportation firms immediately around the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Further, it tests whether the variation in the abnormal returns can be explained cross-sectionally with standard financial and industry-descriptive variables. The results indicate that transportation firms suffered a −2.09% abnormal return and increases in unsystematic risk. The cross sectional regression explains 31% of the variation in the abnormal returns, with firm size, liquidity, leverage, percentage of sales to the Department of Defense, and dummy variables denoting firms producing recreational vehicles or owning oil-producing subsidiaries contributing significantly to the regression

Achieving AECC outcomes through the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education

Although the Accounting Education Change Commission\u27s (AECC) Position Statement No. 1 provides numerous educational outcomes that accounting educators are to achieve, the accounting profession has not provided guidance on how to achieve those outcomes. The American Association of Higher Education developed seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education that provide guidance to accounting educators by focusing on student motivation and active learning. This article reviews experiential and cooperative learning methods and provides examples applying each method to accounting classes. Both methods provide a variety of classroom techniques that, in combination, fulfill the seven principles and achieve the AECC out-comes

Competitive and Information Effects of Cross‐Border Stock Listings

We examine the effect of 269 cross-border listings on rivals in the listing and domestic markets and find that U.S. rivals experience significant gains whereas domestic rivals do not. Both competitive and information effects are important in explaining the reaction of U.S. rivals. Regarding the competitive effects, the reaction of rivals is less favorable when listings originate in developed countries and more favorable when listing firms do not have prior operating presence in the United States. Regarding the information effects, the reaction is less favorable when listings are combined with equity offerings and more favorable when the listing is the first to occur within an industry

Preemption of compliance costs and the voluntary adoption of SFAS no. 123 (R)

Purpose - The paper studies a preemption proposition for the compliance costs associated with stock option expensing under SFAS 123(R) by examining whether early adopters used their discretion over option pricing model inputs to mitigate the adoption effect. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses a matched sample approach of firms that voluntarily adopted stock option expensing during the 2002-2004 period and similar firms that waited until the mandatory expensing. The paper empirically examines some determinants of voluntary adoption, and the changes in option pricing model inputs during the period leading to mandatory expensing. Findings - The paper reports evidence that voluntary adopters of stock option expensing during the 2002-2004 period have used the period leading to mandatory expensing to preempt its compliance cost effect. They exercised their discretion by decreasing estimates for stock price volatility and time-to-maturity to preempt or minimize the reduction in earnings before mandatory adoption date. Originality/value - Results of this paper are useful to accounting regulators in understanding the reaction of financial statement preparers to deliberations, effective dates, and voluntary early adoption terms of the accounting standards setting process

Investigating the importance of sediment resuspension in Alexandrium fundyense cyst population dynamics in the Gulf of Maine

© The Author(s), 2013. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 103 (2014): 79–95, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.10.011.Cysts of Alexandrium fundyense, a dinoflagellate that causes toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine, spend the winter as dormant cells in the upper layer of bottom sediment or the bottom nepheloid layer and germinate in spring to initiate new blooms. Erosion measurements were made on sediment cores collected at seven stations in the Gulf of Maine in the autumn of 2011 to explore if resuspension (by waves and currents) could change the distribution of over-wintering cysts from patterns observed in the previous autumn; or if resuspension could contribute cysts to the water column during spring when cysts are viable. The mass of sediment eroded from the core surface at 0.4 Pa ranged from 0.05 kg m−2 near Grand Manan Island, to 0.35 kg m−2 in northern Wilkinson Basin. The depth of sediment eroded ranged from about 0.05 mm at a station with sandy sediment at 70 m water depth on the western Maine shelf, to about 1.2 mm in clayey–silt sediment at 250 m water depth in northern Wilkinson Basin. The sediment erodibility measurements were used in a sediment-transport model forced with modeled waves and currents for the period October 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011 to predict resuspension and bed erosion. The simulated spatial distribution and variation of bottom shear stress was controlled by the strength of the semi-diurnal tidal currents, which decrease from east to west along the Maine coast, and oscillatory wave-induced currents, which are strongest in shallow water. Simulations showed occasional sediment resuspension along the central and western Maine coast associated with storms, steady resuspension on the eastern Maine shelf and in the Bay of Fundy associated with tidal currents, no resuspension in northern Wilkinson Basin, and very small resuspension in western Jordan Basin. The sediment response in the model depended primarily on the profile of sediment erodibility, strength and time history of bottom stress, consolidation time scale, and the current in the water column. Based on analysis of wave data from offshore buoys from 1996 to 2012, the number of wave events inducing a bottom shear stress large enough to resuspend sediment at 80 m ranged from 0 to 2 in spring (April and May) and 0 to 10 in winter (October through March). Wave-induced resuspension is unlikely in water greater than about 100 m deep. The observations and model results suggest that a millimeter or so of sediment and associated cysts may be mobilized in both winter and spring, and that the frequency of resuspension will vary interannually. Depending on cyst concentration in the sediment and the vertical distribution in the water column, these events could result in a concentration in the water column of at least 104 cysts m−3. In some years, resuspension events could episodically introduce cysts into the water column in spring, where germination is likely to be facilitated at the time of bloom formation. An assessment of the quantitative effects of cyst resuspension on bloom dynamics in any particular year requires more detailed investigation.Research support to Donald M. Anderson and Bruce A. Keafer provided through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health; National Science Foundation Grants OCE-0430724 and OCE-0911031; and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Grant 1-P50-ES012742-01; the ECOHAB Grant program through NOAA Grants NA06NOS4780245 and A09NOS4780193; the MERHAB Grant program through NOAA Grant NA11NOS4780025; and the PCMHAB Grant program through NOAA Grant NA11NOS4780023. Research support to all other authors was provided by U.S. Geological Survey

Misplaced Cervical Screws Requiring Reoperation.

STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, retrospective case series. OBJECTIVE: In the past several years, screw fixation of the cervical spine has become commonplace. For the most part, this is a safe, low-risk procedure. While rare, screw backout or misplaced screws can lead to morbidity and increased costs. We report our experiences with this uncommon complication. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective case series was undertaken at 23 institutions in the United States. Patients were included who underwent cervical spine surgery from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2011, and had misplacement of screws requiring reoperation. Institutional review board approval was obtained at all participating institutions, and detailed records were sent to a central data center. RESULTS: A total of 12 903 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There were 11 instances of screw backout requiring reoperation, for an incidence of 0.085%. There were 7 posterior procedures. Importantly, there were no changes in the health-related quality-of-life metrics due to this complication. There were no new neurologic deficits; a patient most often presented with pain, and misplacement was diagnosed on plain X-ray or computed tomography scan. The most common location for screw backout was C6 (36%). CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the largest series to tabulate the incidence of misplacement of screws following cervical spine surgery, which led to revision procedures. The data suggest this is a rare event, despite the widespread use of cervical fixation. Patients suffering this complication can require revision, but do not usually suffer neurologic sequelae. These patients have increased cost of care. Meticulous technique and thorough knowledge of the relevant anatomy are the best means of preventing this complication