Pro Forma Accounting Reconciliation Disclosures: The Effect of Financial Reporting Knowledge and Information Viewing Behavior on Judgments of Nonprofessional Investors

This study extends prior research by examining the extent to which financial reporting knowledge and information viewing behavior affect the influence of reconciled non-GAAP, or “pro forma” earnings disclosures on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. We find that the effects of pro forma earnings information on participants’ judgments differ, depending on their level of financial reporting knowledge and the amount of time they spent viewing the earnings reconciliation relative to other earnings information. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of financial reporting regulation may be dependent on characteristics of the general investing public that vary across investors. Regulators and standard setters need to be aware of the possible differential effects of financial reporting knowledge and investor type as they consider non-GAAP earnings reporting requirements

It\u27s just a game, or is it? Real money, real income, and real taxes in virtual worlds

Virtual worlds like Second Life offer players opportunities to earn real-world income through their activities in the game. It will not be long before governments begin to establish policies and regulations regarding the income generated by players of these game environments. This paper examines the issue of taxes in virtual world games. Two alternative places for recognizing income could be established by regulators: 1) at the point when in-game transactions take place; or 2) when players convert game assets into real-world currency. We argue for realization of income, and therefore taxation, at the exchange. We expect that burdensome policies such as requiring game operators to monitor and report taxable activities to the authorities will dissuade game play and likely result in the collapse of these vibrant economies. Therefore, our recommendation is that the IRS should establish specific rules that inform players about how they should calculate income and work with game operators to inform participants of both the rules and consequences for non-compliance

The influence of a good relationship between the internal audit and information security functions on information security outcomes

Given the increasing financial impact of cybercrime, it has become critical for companies to manage information security risk. The practitioner literature has long argued that the internal audit function (IAF) can play an important role both in providing assurance with respect to information security and in generating insights about how to improve the organization\u27s information security. Nevertheless, there is scant empirical evidence to support this belief. Using a unique data set, this study examines how the quality of the relationship between the internal audit and the information security functions affects objective measures of the overall effectiveness of an organization\u27s information security efforts. The quality of this relationship has a positive effect on the number of reported internal control weaknesses and incidents of noncompliance, as well as on the numbers of security incidents detected, both before and after they caused material harm to the organization. In addition, we find that higher levels of management support for information security and having the chief information security officer (CISO) report independently of the IT function have a positive effect on the quality of the relationship between the internal audit and information security functions

Investor Attitudes, Investment Screen Use, and Socially Responsible Investment Behavior

There is an increasing demand for socially responsible investment (SRI), and SRI screens are an important source of information for investors. Yet, little is known about the relationship between investors’ attitudes, use of SRI screens, and actual SRI behavior. To examine this relationship, we gathered data on investors’ environmental attitudes, use of SRI screens, and SRI behavior. We find that four out of five components of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, a measure of basic environmental attitudes, are associated with specific attitudes towards environmentally responsible investment. These specific attitudes in turn are positively associated with SRI screen use, and SRI screen use is positively associated with the percentage of investors’ portfolio held in SRIs. There is also a significant direct relationship between specific environmentally responsible investment attitudes and SRI holdings. Our results suggest that there are complex, multi-dimensional relationships between investor attitudes, SRI screen use, and investment behavior

Do environmental responsibility views influence investors’ use of environmental performance and assurance information?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate whether investor views regarding the benefits of corporate environmental responsibility moderate the influence of environmental performance and assurance information on their judgments. Specifically, the authors examine the effects of two broad views: environmental responsibility is more important than financial performance, regardless of investment returns (i.e. environmental responsibility importance) and positive environmental performance will increase investment returns (i.e. environmental performance return). Design/methodology/approach – Nonprofessional investors completed an online study where environmental performance (high or low) and assurance on environmental performance information (present or absent) were varied. Participants’ corporate environmental responsibility views were assessed using a series of questions adapted from Cheah et al.’s (2011) study. Findings – Environmental performance and assurance information had a greater influence on the investment judgments of investors with strong environmental responsibility views. In contrast, participants’ environmental performance return views did not moderate the influence of environmental performance and assurance information on their judgments. Supplemental analysis indicates that these contrasting results are due to the fact that the two investor views have differing influences on the relative importance that investors place on financial vs environmental performance information. Research limitations/implications – This study presented participants with summarized financial and environmental performance information to maintain scale compatibility between financial and environmental measures. However, the information was presented in a format similar to those used by online brokerages. Practical implications – This study suggests that financial statement preparers should consider investors’ views regarding the importance and value of environmental performance information when making decisions to disclose and obtain assurance on this information. Social implications – Standard setters should consider individual differences among investors when developing guidance regarding the disclosure and assurance of environmental performance information. Originality/value – There is limited prior research which examines how investors’ views of the importance of environmental performance information may influence investment judgments. This research indicates that the strength of investors’ environmental responsibility importance moderates the previously reported influence of environmental performance and assurance information on investment judgments

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Information representation, scaling, and experience in inherent risk judgments / 91-0113

Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51)

Information evaluation in a competitive environment : context and task effects / BEBR 1513

Bibliography: p. [36-38]

Communication structures, incentive systems and coordinated decision making / 1609

Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-24)

Information evaluation behavior in a competitive environment : context and task effects / 1435

Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-31)