The influence of family firm dynamics on voluntary disclosures

We examine the voluntary disclosure practices of family firms. Family firms have longer investment horizons and lower agency conflicts between owners and managers. However, they also exhibit higher agency conflicts between controlling and non-controlling shareholders, and greater concerns about their own reputations. We therefore hypothesize that the previously documented association between stock-based incentives and voluntary disclosures is dampened for family firms. In comparison to non-family firms, we find that family firms are less likely to provide management earnings forecasts when their CEO\u27s wealth (linked to the firm) is higher. We note this influence only in larger firms, which is consistent with the finding that larger firms have a significantly higher number of stock-based incentives than smaller firms. Additionally, the main result continues to hold when a family member serves as CEO or on the board of directors. We contribute to the literature by extending the research on stock-based incentives and voluntary disclosure, linking this research to family firms, and providing insight on the conflicting results found in prior family firm research

Challenges and opportunities in cross-country accounting research

A concurrent session at the 2011 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting featured the panel discussion Results, Challenges, and Opportunities in CrossCountry Accounting Research. The panelists summarized major contributions from prior research in international settings, factors a researcher should consider when motivating and designing cross-country studies, and topical areas that could potentially contribute to future international accounting research. This paper summarizes the panelists\u27 prepared remarks, develops a framework for designing cross-country research projects, and provides illustrations of the framework

Teaching Teachers to Teach

A doctoral degree is the standard credential for teaching at the university level, but are we adequately preparing our future teachers to teach? Several authors who recently published on this topic in Issues in Accounting Education will provide their insights and discuss what some universities are doing to address this concern