The New Form 8-K Disclosures

39 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2008 Last revised: 10 Apr 2017

See all articles by Alina Lerman

Alina Lerman

University of Connecticut - Department of Accounting

Joshua Livnat

New York University; Prudential Financial - Quantitative Management Associates

Date Written: December 19, 2008

Abstract

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated new disclosure requirements in Form 8-K, which became effective on August 23, 2004. The SEC expanded the list of items that have to be reported and accelerated the timeliness of these reports. This study examines the market reactions to 8-Ks filed under the new SEC regime and investigates whether periodic reports (10-K/Qs) became less informative under the new 8-K disclosure rules. We observe that the newly required 8-K items constitute over half of all filings and that most firms disclose the required items within the new shortened period (four business days). We find that all disclosed items (old and new) are associated with abnormal volume and return volatility around both the event and the SEC filing dates, and some items have significant return drifts after the SEC filings. Surprisingly, we find that the information content of periodic reports has not diminished by the more expansive and timely 8-K disclosures under the new guidance, possibly indicating that investors may use periodic filings to interpret the effects of material events that had been disclosed earlier.

JEL Classification: G14, G18, M48

Suggested Citation

Lerman, Alina and Livnat, Joshua, The New Form 8-K Disclosures (December 19, 2008). Review of Accounting Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1126816 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1126816

Alina Lerman (Contact Author)

University of Connecticut - Department of Accounting ( email )

School of Business
Storrs, CT 06269-2041
United States

Joshua Livnat

New York University ( email )

44 West 4th Street, Suite 10-76
Stern School of Business
New York, NY 10012-1118
United States
212-998-0022 (Phone)
212-995-4004 (Fax)

Prudential Financial - Quantitative Management Associates ( email )

2 Gateway Center
6th Fl.
Newark, NJ 07102
United States

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