This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Accounting Anomalies and Information Uncertainty

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Francis, Jennifer (Duke University)
LaFond, Ryan (University of Wisconsin)
Olsson, Per () (Fuqua School of Business)
Schipper, Katherine (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Abstract

We examine whether rational investor responses to information uncertainty explain properties of and returns to accounting-based trading anomalies. We proxy for information uncertainty with two measures of earnings quality: the standard deviation of the residuals from a Dechow and Dichev (2002) model relating accruals to cash flows, and the absolute value of performance-adjusted abnormal accruals from a modified Jones (1991) model. Over 1982-2001, we find that accounting-based trading anomalies (post-earnings announcement drift, value-glamour, and accruals strategies) are correlated with earnings quality. Specifically, extreme anomaly portfolios have poorer earnings quality than non-extreme portfolios, and within the extreme anomaly portfolios, poor earnings quality securities are more prevalent and earn larger abnormal returns than good earnings quality securities. Consistent with greater resolution of uncertainty for poor earnings quality securities, the abnormal returns to poor quality securities converge to the abnormal returns to good quality securities as the post-portfolio formation period lengthens. Taken as a whole, these results indicate that information uncertainty plays an important role in explaining accounting anomalies.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.sifr.org/PDFs/flos.pdf
Our checks indicate that this address may not be valid because: 404 Not Found. If this is indeed the case, please notify (Anki Helmer)
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for Financial Research in its series SIFR Research Report Series with number 13.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 53 pages
Date of creation: 15 Jun 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:sifrwp:0013

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Institute for Financial Research Drottninggatan 89, SE-113 60 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46-8-728-5120
Fax: +46-8-728-5130
Email:
Web page: http://www.sifr.org/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Anki Helmer).

Related research
Keywords: Information; Cost of capital; Returns anomalies; Trading strategies;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information
G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies
M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Accounting - - - Accounting

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Kothari, S. P. & Warner, Jerold B., 1997. "Measuring long-horizon security price performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 301-339, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Stephen Morris, 1996. "Speculative investor behavior and learning," Working Papers 96-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. David Easley & Soeren Hvidkjaer & Maureen O'Hara, 2002. "Is Information Risk a Determinant of Asset Returns?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 2185-2221, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Chan, Wesley & Frankel, Richard & Kothari, S.P., 2002. "Testing Behavioral Finance Theories Using Trends and Sequences in Financial Performance," Working papers 4375-02, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. [Downloadable!]
  5. Nicholas Barberis & Richard Thaler, 2002. "A Survey of Behavioral Finance," NBER Working Papers 9222, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Loughran, Tim & Ritter, Jay R., 2000. "Uniformly least powerful tests of market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 361-389, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Christine A. Botosan, 2002. "A Re-examination of Disclosure Level and the Expected Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 21-40, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Alon Brav & J.B. Heaton, 2002. "Competing Theories of Financial Anomalies," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(2), pages 575-606, March.
  9. Merton, Robert C, 1987. " A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Bernard, Victor L. & Thomas, Jacob K., 1990. "Evidence that stock prices do not fully reflect the implications of current earnings for future earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 305-340, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Mitchell, Mark L & Stafford, Erik, 2000. "Managerial Decisions and Long-Term Stock Price Performance," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(3), pages 287-329, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Timmermann, Allan G, 1993. "How Learning in Financial Markets Generates Excess Volatility and Predictability in Stock Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(4), pages 1135-45, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. " Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Ball, Ray, 1992. "The earnings-price anomaly," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2-3), pages 319-345, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Bixia Xu, 2006. "R&D Progress, stock price volatility, and post-announcement drift: An empirical investigation into biotech firms," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 391-408, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? RePEc data is maintained by each archive holder on its own website. Nothing is held centrally.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-22.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.