Equity Incentives and corporate fraud in China

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this recordThis paper explores how managers’ and supervisors’ equity incentives impact the likelihood of committing corporate fraud in Chinese-listed firms. Previous research has shown that corporate fraud in China is a widespread phenomenon and has severe consequences for affected firms and executives. However, our understanding of the reasons that fraud is committed in a Chinese setting has been very limited thus far. This is an increasingly important topic, because corporate governance is rapidly changing in China, and it is unclear whether adopting the executive compensation practices of the West is appropriate for Chinese firms. We show that managers’ equity incentives increase their propensity to commit corporate fraud. We also find that this effect is more pronounced for state-owned firms. However, we find a negative but not significant relationship between the equity incentives of the supervisory board and the incidence of fraud

Foreign Experience and CEO Compensation

This paper investigates the relationship between a CEO’s foreign experience and CEO compensation. Our analysis is based on the constituent firms of the UK FTSE 350 index from 1999 to 2015. We find that foreign CEOs and national CEOs with foreign working experience receive significantly higher levels of total compensation compared to similar UK CEOs without such characteristics. The results are robust to the endogenous CEO selection using propensity score matching methods, as well as other modelling approaches. Our results show that pay premiums are attributable to the specialized foreign expertise and foreign networks of CEOs, which stem from foreign experience rather than broader general managerial skills

Presenilin Controls CBP Levels in the Adult Drosophila Central Nervous System

Background: Dominant mutations in both human Presenilin (Psn) genes have been correlated with the formation of amyloid plaques and development of familial early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, a definitive mechanism whereby plaque formation causes the pathology of familial and sporadic forms of AD has remained elusive. Recent discoveries of several substrates for Psn protease activity have sparked alternative hypotheses for the pathophysiology underlying AD. CBP (CREB-binding protein) is a haplo-insufficient transcriptional co-activator with histone acetly-transferase (HAT) activity that has been proposed to be a downstream target of Psn signaling. Individuals with altered CBP have cognitive deficits that have been linked to several neurological disorders. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a transgenic RNA-interference strategy to selectively silence CBP, Psn, and Notch in adult Drosophila, we provide evidence for the first time that Psn is required for normal CBP levels and for maintaining specific global acetylations at lysine 8 of histone 4 (H4K8ac) in the central nervous system (CNS). In addition, flies conditionally compromised for the adult-expression of CBP display an altered geotaxis behavior that may reflect a neurological defect. Conclusions/Significance: Our data support a model in which Psn regulates CBP levels in the adult fly brain in a manner that is independent of Notch signaling. Although we do not understand the molecular mechanism underlying th

Studies on p53, BAX and Bcl-2 protein expression and microsatellite instability in stage III (UICC) colon cancer treated by adjuvant chemotherapy: major prognostic impact of proapoptotic BAX

We evaluated the expression patterns of proapoptotic BAX, antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and p53, the proposed upstream effector of these molecules, as potential prognostic markers in UICC stage III colon cancer by immunohistochemical staining. To identify high-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI+) individuals, we performed single-strand conformation polymorphism-based analysis for BAT26. A total of 188 patients who had received 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy (5-FU/folinic acid or 5-FU/levamisole) were enrolled. Median follow-up was 84.5 months. We found that BAX, Bcl-2 and p53 protein expressions were high or positive in 59, 70 and 50% of 188 cases, respectively. MSI+ tumours were detected in 9% of 174 evaluable patients. BAX or Bcl-2 was correlated with a higher degree of differentiation or left-sided tumours (P=0.01 or P=0.03, respectively); MSI was correlated with right-sided tumours (P<0.0001). In contrast to p53, Bcl-2, or MSI, low BAX, advanced pN category, low grade of differentiation and treatment with 5-FU/levamisole were univariately associated with poorer disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.0005, P=0.001, P=0.005 and P=0.01, respectively) and poorer overall survival (OS) (P=0.002, P=0.0001, P=0.003 and P=0.02, respectively). Besides pN category and treatment arm, BAX was an independent variable related to both OS and DFS (P=0.003 and P=0.001, respectively). In both univariate and multivariate analysis, the p53−/BAX high in comparison with the p53+/BAX high subset conferred a significantly improved DFS (P=0.03 and P=0.03, respectively) as well as a marginally improved OS (P=0.07 and P=0.08, respectively). BAX protein expression may be of central significance for clinical outcome to 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer, and bivariate analysis of p53/BAX possibly may provide further prognostic evidence

Does venture capital backing improve disclosure controls and procedures? Evidence from management’s post-IPO disclosures

This is the author accepted manuscriptFirm managers make ethical decisions regarding the form and quality of disclosure. Disclosure can have long-term implications for performance, earnings manipulation, and even fraud. We investigate the impact of venture capital (VC) backing on the quality and informativeness of disclosure controls and procedures for newly public companies. We find that these controls and procedures are stronger, as evidenced by fewer material weaknesses in internal control under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, when companies are VC-backed. Moreover, these disclosures are informative and are more likely to be followed by subsequent financial statement restatements than are disclosures made by non-VC-backed IPO companies.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaUniversity of Tennesse