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Regulation and financial disclosure: The impact of plain English

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  • Tim Loughran
  • Bill McDonald

Abstract

In October 1998, the SEC implemented a rule requiring firms to use plain English in their prospectus filings. In addition to the rule, the SEC encouraged the use of plain English in all filings and communication with shareholders. Did the SEC rule significantly impact managers’ disclosure style? And, more interestingly, did the SEC’s recommendations lead managers to change their disclosure style in filings not under the plain English mandate? Our textual analysis of Form 424, IPO prospectus, and 10-K filings over 1994–2009 finds that the SEC’s implementation of the plain English rule substantively impacted managerial behavior. When we focus on 10-K filings, we find that after the 1998 rule, firms are more likely to improve the stylistic components of their filing before an equity issuance and firms with better corporate governance policies are more likely to comply with the rule. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Loughran & Bill McDonald, 2014. "Regulation and financial disclosure: The impact of plain English," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 94-113, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:regeco:v:45:y:2014:i:1:p:94-113
    DOI: 10.1007/s11149-013-9236-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Zhenhua & Loftus, Serena, 2019. "Multi-method evidence on investors’ reactions to managers’ self-inclusive language," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Asay, H. Scott & Libby, Robert & Rennekamp, Kristina, 2018. "Firm performance, reporting goals, and language choices in narrative disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 380-398.
    3. Ramiro Losada, 2022. "La información pública periódica de los fondos de inversión: como influyen en las decisiones de los inversores," CNMV Documentos de Trabajo CNMV Documentos de Trabaj, CNMV- Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores - Departamento de Estudios y Estadísticas.
    4. Chan, C.S. Richard & Park, Haemin Dennis & Huang, Julie Y. & Parhankangas, Annaleena, 2020. "Less is more? Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between readability and screening evaluations across pitch competition and crowdfunding contexts," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    5. Ramiro Losada, 2022. "Periodic public information on investment funds and how it influences investors´ decisions," CNMV Working Papers CNMV Working Papers no. 7, CNMV- Spanish Securities Markets Commission - Research and Statistics Department.
    6. Leonard Kostovetsky & Jerold B. Warner, 2020. "Measuring Innovation and Product Differentiation: Evidence from Mutual Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(2), pages 779-823, April.
    7. Farrell, Michael & Murphy, Dermot & Painter, Marcus & Zhang, Guangli, 2023. "The complexity yield puzzle: A textual analysis of municipal bond disclosures," Working Papers 338, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    8. Buehlmaier, Matthias M. M. & Zechner, Josef, 2016. "Financial media, price discovery, and merger arbitrage," CFS Working Paper Series 551, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    9. Huynh, Thanh D. & Nguyen, Thu Ha & Truong, Cameron, 2020. "Climate risk: The price of drought," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Kate Suslava, 2021. "“Stiff Business Headwinds and Uncharted Economic Waters”: The Use of Euphemisms in Earnings Conference Calls," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 7184-7213, November.
    11. Samuel B. Bonsall & Brian P. Miller, 2017. "The impact of narrative disclosure readability on bond ratings and the cost of debt," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 608-643, June.
    12. Rachappa Shette & Sudershan Kuntluru, 2018. "Readability of Initial Public Offering Prospectus and Earnings Performance," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(3), pages 68-74.
    13. Xu, Zhaoxia, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty, cost of capital, and corporate innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    14. Bonsall, Samuel B. & Leone, Andrew J. & Miller, Brian P. & Rennekamp, Kristina, 2017. "A plain English measure of financial reporting readability," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 329-357.
    15. Paul, Samit & Sharma, Prateek, 2023. "Does earnings management affect linguistic features of MD&A disclosures?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Risk management committees and readability of risk management disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).
    17. Agarwal, Arvind & Gupta, Aparna & Kumar, Arun & Tamilselvam, Srikanth G., 2019. "Learning risk culture of banks using news analytics," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 277(2), pages 770-783.
    18. Xiao Wu, Dong & Yao, Xiao & Luan Guo, Jian, 2021. "Is Textual Tone Informative or Inflated for Firm’s Future Value? Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 513-525.
    19. Alex Kim & Maximilian Muhn & Valeri Nikolaev, 2023. "Bloated Disclosures: Can ChatGPT Help Investors Process Information?," Papers 2306.10224, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2024.
    20. Kelly Wilkinson & Alan B. Czyzewski, 2015. "Can Anyone Read Accounting Footnotes Well Enough to Understand Them?," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(2), pages 123-123, May.
    21. D. Scheld & O. Stolper & A. Walter, 2021. "Double Dutch Finally Fixed? A Large-Scale Investigation into the Readability of Mandatory Financial Product Information," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 151-178, June.
    22. Renee Weiss & John Shon, 2017. "Information Asymmetry and Voluntary SFAS 157 Fair Value Disclosures by Bank Holding Companies During the 2007 Financial Crisis," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 169-203, September.
    23. Walid Ben‐Amar & Ines Belgacem, 2018. "Do socially responsible firms provide more readable disclosures in annual reports?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 1009-1018, September.
    24. Senave, Elseline & Jans, Mieke J. & Srivastava, Rajendra P., 2023. "The application of text mining in accounting," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    25. Fahd Alduais & Nashat Ali Almasria & Abeer Samara & Ali Masadeh, 2022. "Conciseness, Financial Disclosure, and Market Reaction: A Textual Analysis of Annual Reports in Listed Chinese Companies," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Plain English; Market regulation; Disclosure; Textual analysis; G12; G14; G18; M41;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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