This paper presents preliminary evidence of the effect of Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) on the quantity and quality of firm-specific information released to the market by comparing analyst forecast data from pre-FD to post-FD time periods. By prohibiting selective disclosure of material information to privileged individuals, the Securities and Exchange Commission intends to provide a level playing field to all investors. However, opponents argue that FD has a negative impact by decreasing the quantity and quality of publicly available information. Consistent with this argument, we document a decrease in analyst following and an increase in forecast dispersion following the passage of FD.
SYNOPSIS
This study investigates the impact of job complexity and firm, as well as CFO-specific performance, on CFO compensation. We find job complexity and overall firm performance affects both CFO salary and bonus, while CFO-specific performance affects CFO bonus. Specifically, we find that CFOs are not only rewarded when their firms meet or beat earnings targets, but they get incremental rewards for managing earnings and/or expectations to allow their firms to meet or just beat those targets.
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