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Managers’ Compensation And Misreporting: A Costly State Verification Approach

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  • ANGELO BAGLIONI
  • LUCA COLOMBO

Abstract

We look for the optimal shareholder‐manager contract leading to high effort and truthful revelation of firm performance. This twofold incentive compatibility constraint calls for a convex compensation scheme (a fixed wage plus a stock option) coupled with a state contingent audit. In order to reduce expected verification costs, an optimal stock option plan assigns the manager a large number of options with high strike price. It is suggested that focusing the audit activity (and supervision) on the exercise of stock option packages is a better solution to the problem of misreporting than giving up stock options as a compensation tool. (JEL D82, G30, M40, M52)

Suggested Citation

  • Angelo Baglioni & Luca Colombo, 2009. "Managers’ Compensation And Misreporting: A Costly State Verification Approach," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(2), pages 278-289, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:47:y:2009:i:2:p:278-289
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-7295.2007.00114.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Andergassen, Rainer, 2008. "High-powered incentives and fraudulent behavior: Stock-based versus stock option-based compensation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 122-125, November.
    2. Andergassen, Rainer, 2016. "Managerial compensation, product market competition and fraud," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-15.
    3. Loyola, Gino & Portilla, Yolanda, 2020. "Managerial compensation as a double-edged sword: Optimal incentives under misreporting," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 994-1017.
    4. Baglioni, Angelo & Colombo, Luca, 2011. "The effects of imperfect auditing on managerial compensation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 542-548, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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