Investor protection and disclosure. Quantitative evidence

The paper surveys research in the area of measuring the level of accounting disclosure and of exploring various issues associated with accounting disclosure. In particular, the ques-tion of how the disclosure is connected to investor protection is investigated. This issue is shown in the context of the countries’ legal systems and in the relation to corporate govern-ance. New results presented in the paper include composition and application of Polish Corpo-rate Disclosure Index (PCDI). PCDI has been evaluated for 48 companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. Subsequently PCDI was used as the re-gressor variable in a number of models explaining various investor protection measures. The outcome of this research is that PCDI is significantly associated with the variables represent-ing investor protection. Higher values of PCDI are linked with the lower variability of stock prices, with the better the category of auditor as well as with the better management and the better perception of the company by the market.accounting disclosure, corporate disclosure, investor protection, accounting re-search

Quantitative methods in accounting research

Quantitative methods are in frequent use in modern accounting research. The evidence may be found e.g. in the journals like “Journal of Accounting Research”, “European Accounting Review”, “Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting” or in the Accounting Research Network in SSRN base. Paper presents a brief survey of research areas and statistical-econometric approaches in accounting research. Particular reference goes to research on corporate disclosure. Methodological component of the paper includes remarks on the use of binary response models with choice-based and matched samples as well as comments on the sample selection approaches.accounting research, corporate disclosure, binary response, choice-based samples, matched samples, sample selection

Corporate governance ratings and the performance of listed companies in Poland

Recent ratings of corporate governance for the companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange are presented: the Polish Corporate Governance Forum (PFCG) ratings and Polish Institute of Directors (PID) ratings. The association between PFCG and PID ratings, measured by the rank correlation coefficient, is significant for the years 2004 and 2005 with the indication of stronger association for 2005 than for 2004. This may mean that rating criteria and the assessment methods for the two ratings are converging. It can also be confirmed that PID ratings are more stable and more rigid in assessing the corporate governance level in Polish listed companies. Results of the attempt to find out the relationship between the financial performance of companies and their ratings are mixed and disappointing. The representative ordered logit models for explaining the rating level of companies in terms of financial indicator variables have been estimated, with reasonable interpretation and, as expected, poor ex post forecast accuracy. The inconclusive results are mainly due to small sample sizes and the heterogeneity of samples. It is also possible that currently, and probably temporarily, Poland does not experience significant connection between the corporate governance level and the financial performance of companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.corporate governance, rating, ordered logit

Financial microeconometrics in corporate governance studies

Quantitative research on corporate governance is mostly rooted in microeconometrics. Paper debates the financial edge of microeconometrics and its relevance to corporate governance. The considerations are illustrated with the examples from Central and Eastern Europe.corporate governance, microeconometrics

Crime in Enlarged Europe: Comparison of Crime Rates and Victimization Risks

assault, comparison of crime statistics, police statistics, robbery, victimization risk,

Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Companies in Poland

C10, O57, G30,

New bankruptcy prediction models for Polish companies

New logit models for predicting bankruptcy of Polish companies are presented. Major features of these approaches are: (1) selection of appropriate companies to the sample as the key step of the research, (2) well defined samples, (3) the reasoning based on the unified financial state-ments and (4) acceptable results of prediction – within samples as well as for the hold-out sam-ples. In addition, the presented models of Stepien and Strak [2004], Ciesielski [2004] and Dom-eracki [2004] have been validated for the best companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The validation principle states that the estimate of the probability of bankruptcy for such company shall be less than 0.5. New models for predicting bankruptcy of Polish companies well fit into the current research in the field of financial applications of microeconometrics.bankruptcy, financial distress, financial indicators, binomial logit