Impression Management and Non-GAAP Disclosure in Earnings Announcement
Forthcoming - Journal of Business Finance and Accounting
53 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2012 Last revised: 20 Jan 2017
There are 2 versions of this paper
Impression Management and Non-GAAP Disclosure in Earnings Announcement
Impression Management and Non-GAAP Reporting in Earnings Announcements
Date Written: January 1, 2017
Abstract
We study the market’s reaction to the disclosure of non-GAAP earnings measures that are combined with high impression management. We construct an impression management score that captures several communication techniques that managers often use to positively bias investors’ perceptions of firm’s performance. We hand-collect and code both quantitative and qualitative information from earnings announcement press releases of large European firms. Our results indicate that non-GAAP measures are informative to capital markets. However, non-GAAP adjustments are more persistent when accompanied by higher levels of impression management. This evidence is consistent with managers attempting to distort users’ perceptions when non-GAAP adjustments are of lower quality. Market reaction tests suggest that investors are able to see through managers’ intentions and discount non-GAAP information that is accompanied by high impression management. Moreover, investors in more sophisticated markets penalize non-GAAP measures communicated with high impression management. Our results are robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including using a machine-coded tone measure.
Keywords: pro forma, disclosure tone, investor protection, sophisticated markets
JEL Classification: M41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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