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  • Journal of Financial Reporting

Creating Firm Disclosures

By: Amir Amel-Zadeh, Alexandra Scherf and Eugene F. Soltes
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Abstract

Managers expend significant time and effort preparing disclosures about firm performance and strategy. Although prior literature has explored how variation in the style and presentation of disclosures impacts investors' perceptions of firms, little is known about how firms actually create these disclosures and how this process impacts presentation. Based on field data collected from nearly 200 firms, we show that there is considerable variation in who prepares disclosures, when they are prepared, and the amount of effort expended by different types of managers (e.g., legal, public relations/marketing, finance, investor relations, senior leadership). We find that these differences in organizational processes are associated with differences in the structure, style, and tone of 10-Ks and conference calls. Ultimately, our investigation begins to illuminate how individual managerial efforts vary across firms and contribute to differences in public disclosures.

Keywords

Disclosure; Earnings Conference Call; Field Study; MD&A; Textual Analysis; Corporate Disclosure

Citation

Amel-Zadeh, Amir, Alexandra Scherf, and Eugene F. Soltes. "Creating Firm Disclosures." Journal of Financial Reporting 4, no. 2 (Fall 2019): 1–31.
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About The Author

Eugene F. Soltes

Accounting and Management
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More from the Authors
  • Paul Weiss: Fighting or Negotiating with POTUS By: Eugene Soltes and Anthea Brady
  • What Makes Managers’ Private Disclosures Informative? Evidence from Professional Investors By: Michael Durney, Hoyoun Kyung, Jihwon Park and Eugene F. Soltes
  • Corporate Misconduct’s Relevance to Society through Everyday Misconduct By: Eugene Soltes
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