Indicators Of Managers? Motivations For Issuing Forecasts Of Revenue And Earnings

This paper examines potential motivations for managers to include a revenue forecast with their earnings forecast by studying the characteristics of firms that make an earnings forecast with or without a revenue forecast and the news of the earnings forecasts. The main test is a multivariate logit regression analysis that is performed on a large sample of firms that issue earnings forecasts, some of which are accompanied by a revenue forecast. In accordance with hypotheses, firms that forecast both earnings and revenue are smaller, have more external financing needs, are more likely to be from a high technology industry, and disclose earnings forecasts with better news than firms that forecast earnings only. On the other hand, in contrast to what is hypothesized, there is no significant difference between those two groups of firms with respect to industry concentration. Initially, firms that forecast both earnings and revenue are found to be younger and have higher earnings volatility. However, further analysis shows these potential determinants to be subsumed by other firm characteristics

Positive and negative information transfers from management forecasts

We examine positive and negative information transfers associated with management earnings and revenue forecasts. Positive information transfers are due to industry commonalities whereas negative information transfers are caused by competitive shifts. We argue that positive and negative intra-industry information transfers offset each other and lead to an overall finding of no information transfers even though they exist. We also conjecture that the type of information transfers from the same management forecast can be positive or negative based on the characteristics of the information receiver. We hypothesize positive information transfers to non-rival firms and negative information transfers to rivals. Consistent with our prediction, we find negative (positive) information transfers between forecasting firms and non-forecasting rival (non-rival) firms in the same industry. Through analyses using competitors identified by Hoover\u27s and 10-K reports, we show more general evidence of negative information transfers to rival firms

THE CONTINUITY OF SPECIAL ITEMS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF INCOME CLASSIFICATION SHIFTING

Income classification shifting is identified as the third form of earnings management that managers use, in addition to accrual-based and real earnings management. Income classification shifting is arguably less costly than the other two forms of earnings management (McVay 2006; Abernathy et al. 2014). However, there is a potential cost of classification shifting - the higher likelihood of missing the market expectations in subsequent periods because shifted core earnings of the current period 1) could bias upward analysts' forecasts for the subsequent periods and 2) would recur as core expenses unless firms can continuously shift their core expenses to special items in future periods. This paper hypothesizes that when firms have special items that allow them to shift income consecutively, they are more likely to engage in classification shifting by consecutively shifting, reducing potential costs. Consistent with expectations, the findings show that firms which report special items that tend to continue over multiple quarters (continuous special items) are more likely to classification shift than firms that report special items which tend not to continue over multiple quarters (non-continuous special items). Furthermore, this study documents that the difference in the likelihood of shifting between continuous and non-continuous special items is more pronounced for the first but not the last occurrence of a series of the same special item across time. The findings highlight the potential cost of classification shifting and its impact on a firm’s shifting behavior and offer valuable insight for investors and auditors when they assess the likelihood of classification shifting and the quality of earnings

The global burden of injury: Incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the global burden of disease study 2013

Background The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors study used the disabilityadjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region and by country. Methods Injury mortality was estimated using the extensive GBD mortality database, corrections for illdefined cause of death and the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient data sets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories, and seven follow-up studies with patient-reported long-term outcome measures. Results In 2013, 973 million (uncertainty interval (UI) 942 to 993) people sustained injuries that warranted some type of healthcare and 4.8 million (UI 4.5 to 5.1) people died from injuries. Between 1990 and 2013 the global age-standardised injury DALY rate decreased by 31% (UI 26% to 35%). The rate of decline in DALY rates was significant for 22 cause-of-injury categories, including all the major injuries. Conclusions Injuries continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed and developing world. The decline in rates for almost all injuries is so prominent that it warrants a general statement that the world is becoming a safer place to live in. However, the patterns vary widely by cause, age, sex, region and time and there are still large improvements that need to be made

Accounting conservatism, firm growth, earnings persistence, and earnings -based valuation

This paper examines how accounting conservatism, firm growth, and earnings persistence are related to the estimation of firm value from the Ohlson (1995) earnings-based valuation framework. The study tests the associations between the three aforementioned factors and both model-based valuation errors and a measure which stems from the Ohlson (1995) framework and represents the perpetual growth in cum-dividend abnormal earnings. The valuation errors are the difference between firm stock price (which is used as a proxy for firm intrinsic value) and estimated firm value from an Ohlson (1995) valuation model within the framework. Signed valuation errors are used in the tests. The proxy for the perpetual growth in cum-dividend abnormal earnings is calculated three different ways. First, it is computed as a finite time period cum-dividend growth in abnormal earnings. Also, it is imputed two different ways using one of the models from the Ohlson (1995) framework. The proxies for accounting conservatism, firm growth, and earnings persistence are derived using measures from the financial statements or parameters from a linear information model developed by Feltham and Ohlson (1995). The results show that accounting conservatism, firm growth, and earnings persistence cause the Ohlson (1995) earnings-based valuation framework to underestimate firm value relative to stock price. Also, the results show that accounting conservatism and firm growth are positively related to the proxy for the perpetual growth in cum-dividend abnormal earnings

Dividend Initiations by High-Tech Firms

We study the stock price and trading volume reactions to dividend initiations by high-tech firms relative to those by non-high tech firms. We find significant positive cumulative abnormal returns and abnormal trading volume for both high-tech and non-high tech firms surrounding dividend initiations. However, when we control for variables such as size and dividend yield, stock returns and trading volume around dividend initiations are higher for high-tech firms than for non-high tech firms. We also find evidence that stock returns and trading volume for high-tech firms are higher with increases in liquid assets, although the volume reaction to increases in liquid assets is stronger than the return reaction, perhaps indicating clientele shifts. Overall, our findings convey stronger investor reaction to dividend initiations by high-tech firms, especially those with sufficient liquid assets.Dividend initiation, high-tech firm, abnormal returns, trading volume, liquid assets, JEL Classification: G35, JEL Classification: G14

Effect of Plant Species on the Performance and Bacteria Density Profile in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands for Domestic Wastewater Treatment in a Tropical Climate

International audienceBacteria are frequently studied due to their involvement in pollutants transformation processes during wastewater treatment. In this study, the treatment efficiency, bacteria densities and their vertical profile were investigated in pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) planted with different plant species under a tropical climate in west Africa. Five beds were planted with local plant species, i.e., Andropogon gayanus, Chrysopogon zizanioides, Echinochloa pyramidalis, Pennisetum purpureum and Tripsacum laxum, while one bed remained unplanted. These species have been rarely used in CWs while some (e.g., T. laxum) are tested for the first time. After a 7-month trial, bacteria densities were measured in substrate samples separated into six layers along the bed depth. Plants presence enhanced the bacterial density and VFCW efficiency; the removal rates of organic matter (90.9-95.9%; COD and 95.2-98.5%; BOD5), nitrogen (74.3-84%; TN and 76-84%; NH4-N) and phosphorus (77.4-96.9%; PO4-P) were higher by 5.9-24.1% compared to the control bed, providing an overall excellent treatment performance for a single-stage VFCW system. Small numbers of anaerobic bacteria were obtained in the VFCWs, explaining the low-to-zero NO3-N removal, except for the VFCWs with T. laxum and P. purpureum. Aerobic bacteria decreased from the upper to bottom layers from 17.4 to 0.1 x 10(6) CFU/g in the planted beds, while anaerobic bacteria increased from 0.1 to 2.1 x 10(6) CFU/g. Anaerobic bacteria were more abundant in the unplanted than in the planted beds. The total bacteria count was dominated by aerobic bacteria, and decreased from the surface towards the bottom. Overall, the VFCW with P. purpureum demonstrated the highest efficiency, indicating that this design is an effective and sustainable nature-based solution for wastewater treatment in a tropical climate

Innovative in situ remediation of mine waters using a layered double hydroxide-biochar composite

International audienceThe current demand for alternative water sources requires the incorporation of low-cost composites in remediation technologies; these represent a sustainable alternative to more expensive, commercially used adsorbents. The main objective of this comprehensive field-scale study was to incorporate the layered double hydroxides (LDHs) into the hybrid biochar-based composites and apply an innovative material to remediate As/Sb-rich mine waters. The presence of hydrous Fe oxides (HFOs) within the composite enhanced the total adsorption efficiency of the composite for As(V) and Sb(V). The kinetic data fitted to a pseudo-second order model. Equilibrium experiments confirmed that the composite had a stronger interaction with As(V) than with Sb(V). The efficient removal of As(V) from mine water was achieved in both batch and continuous flow column systems, reaching up to 98% and 80%, respectively. Sb(V) showed different behavior to As(V) during mine water treatment, reaching adsorption efficiencies of up to 39% and 26% in batch and column experiments, respectively. The migration of Sb(V) in mine water was mostly attributed to its dispersion before it was able to show affinity to the composite. In general, the proposed column technology is suitable for the field remediation of small volumes of contaminated water, and thus has significant commercial potential

Doppler evaluation of homograft valved conduits in children

To assess the flow characteristics of homograft valved conduits in the immediate postoperative period, 69 children with 71 homograft conduits underwent 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic examination at 1 to 40 days (mean 8) after surgery. Of the 71 conduits studied, 19 were aortic and 52 were pulmonary homograft valved conduits. Two aortic homograft valved conduits were inserted in the aortic position, whereas all remaining homografts were placed in the pulmonary position. On the immediate postoperative echocardiogram, 25 (35%) of the conduit valves had no regurgitation and 44 (62%) had 1+ (mild) regurgitation. Two pulmonary valved conduits (3%) in the pulmonary position had 2+ (moderate) regurgitation and right ventricular dimensions >95% for body surface area. The peak velocity across the homograft valve was normal (2.6 m/s in the immediate postoperative period.To assess the fate of homograft valved conduits in the intermediate-term follow-up period, 38 children with 38 conduits had a repeat echocardiogram at 6 to 25 months (mean 15 +/- 6) after surgery. Of the 38 conduits examined, 10 (26%) had no regurgitation, 25 (66%) had 1+ regurgitation and 3 (8%) had 2+ regurgitation. Progression of the amount of regurgitation occurred in 11 (29%) patients.At the follow-up examination, peak velocity was 2.6 m/s across 1 valve. This latter patient had a 3.2-m/s jet across the proximal insertion of the conduit and no further increase across the valve itself. Thus, no patient had evidence of conduit valve stenosis. Of the 38 patients, 9 had Doppler evidence of obstruction at the conduit insertion (8 at the distal end and 1 with the aforementioned proximal obstruction). Most obstructions were of mild to moderate severity and only 2 patients (5%) had severe conduit stenosis.Thus, in the immediate postoperative period, normally functioning homograft valved conduits frequently have mild regurgitation (62%) and rarely have moderate or severe regurgitation (3%), with peak velocities reaching Thus, in the immediate postoperative period, normally functioning homograft valved conduits frequently have mild regurgitation (62%) and rarely have moderate or severe regurgitation (3%), with peak velocities reaching <2.6 m/s. In the intermediate follow-up period, homograft valved conduits may develop an additional degree of regurgitation (29%), frequently continue to have conduit peak velocities <2.6 m/s (97%) and uncommonly develop hemodynamically significant obstruction, usually at the ends of the conduit (5%).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27831/1/0000237.pd