Corporate Disclosures

Spanning over two millennia of time and five continents of space, this book narrates the unfolding of financial and business reporting. The first part of the book traces the origin of the 'company' as a form of organization and the evolution of bookkeeping. The second part: The Accounting Edifice, depicts events that led to the disclosure of the balance sheet, the profit and loss account, cash flow statements and the practice of auditing. In the third part: Reaching out to the Shareholders, the author explores the need for governance, reporting of intangible assets and the emergence of annual reports. Indian Corporate Disclosures, the fourth and the last part, sketches the panorama of post-independent dvelopments in Indian corporate disclosures using heritage IT companies, Wipro and Infosys as examples. The last chapter of the book contrasts disclosures by the Indian Sensex companies in 2007 with the best global practices.

Effective corporate reporting and disclosure are critical in financial markets to promote vigorous competition, optimal performance, and transparency. This book examines whether existing disclosure frameworks in eight countries with the world's most significant securities exchanges achieve these objectives, and then, drawing on extensive empirical findings, identifies the policies and practices that contribute most to improving the overall quality of listed company reporting and communication. Contending that public disclosure of listed company information is an essential precondition to the long-term efficient operation of financial markets, the book provides analysis of such issues and topics as the following: - arguments for and against mandatory disclosure regimes; - key principles of periodic and continuous disclosure regulation; - tensions between direct and indirect investment in financial markets; - assumptions concerning the need to maintain a privileged role for financial intermediaries; - intermediary, analyst, and research incentives; - protection of individual investors; - selective disclosure; - disclosure of bad news; - the role of accounting standards; - public access to company briefings; - long term performance reporting and analysis; and - company reporting developments. A significant portion of the book provides an overview of disclosure regulation and practice in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore. A highly informative survey looks at company reports, disclosures, and websites of large listed companies, including Microsoft, Citigroup, Teck Resources, Deutsche Bank, BP, Sony, PetroChina Company, BHP Billiton, and Singapore Telecommunications. The book discusses common disclosure issues that arise across jurisdictions, provides valuable insights on the efficacy of existing disclosure regulation and practice, and highlights the important principles, processes, and practices that underpin best practice company disclosure frameworks. It will be welcomed by company boards and executives and their counsel, as well as by policymakers and scholars in the areas of corporate, securities, banking and financial law, accounting, economics and finance.

Spanning over two millennia of time and five continents of space, this book narrates the unfolding of financial and business reporting. The first part of the book traces the origin of the 'company' as a form of organization and the evolution of bookkeeping. The second part: The Accounting Edifice, depicts events that led to the disclosure of the balance sheet, the profit and loss account, cash flow statements and the practice of auditing. In the third part: Reaching out to the Shareholders, the author explores the need for governance, reporting of intangible assets and the emergence of annual reports. Indian Corporate Disclosures, the fourth and the last part, sketches the panorama of post-independent dvelopments in Indian corporate disclosures using heritage IT companies, Wipro and Infosys as examples. The last chapter of the book contrasts disclosures by the Indian Sensex companies in 2007 with the best global practices.

This book, first published in 1986, is a close analysis into management’s financial disclosure practices of the first half of the twentieth century. With criticisms of existing financial disclosure practices continuing to today, this study aims to make sense of the present through an examination of past practices, difficulties and solutions.

This publication links information asymmetries and decision processes of financial investors through quantitative models. The aim is to analyze empirical observations and synthesize outputs in order to add new academic insights with practical pertinence. Multivariate scoring models and statistical analyses investigate situations on the market level that enables corporations to lower their capital costs if specific conditions are met. Scenario techniques and further econometrical models are applied to research the microeconomic level.

The Regulation of Corporate Disclosure, Third Edition is a complete and up-to-date handbook on the issue of corporate disclosure, covering the impact of the federal securities laws on both informal communications and the process of communicating with shareholders. The Third Edition expands topics previously covered, addressing the legal issues and practical concerns surrounding implementation of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The book also has an in-depth treatment of managementand’s discussion and analysis (MDand&A), something that, although appearing in required SEC filings, involves many of the same difficult and complex issues raised by the informal disclosure process. Also addressed are: SEC reforms of the periodic reporting process; issues pertaining to stock research analysts and conflicts of interest; and various relevant corporate governance requirements and their disclosure implications. Critical areas analyzed include ;Disclosure requirements and anti-fraud provisions The duty to disclose Dissemination Issues involving materiality Disclosure of bad news Negotiations Dealing with analysts And much more!