No abstract

No abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether other information included with management earnings forecasts can help analysts to formulate better earnings predictions.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses ordinary least squares regression analysis of 373 management earnings forecasts and compares changes in analyst forecast characteristics surrounding the release of a management forecast of earnings from the same firms which sometimes include other information with their forecasts and sometimes do not.FindingsAnalysts make larger forecast revisions when other information is included with a surprising management earnings forecast, especially if the forecast contains good news. This information reduces subsequent analyst forecast error for firms with negative earnings.Research limitations/implicationsResults of this study may not extend to smaller firms or to firms that have disclosure policies of always including other information with their forecasts.Originality/valuePrior research has yielded mixed results on whether other information included with management forecasts of earnings is useful to the market directly by examining stock market reactions to forecast announcements. This study reveals that this information may be useful to the market through the filter of financial analysts since they are able to use the other information in management forecasts to improve their own predictions.

Informed by theories of technological innovation, this paper develops and empirically tests a web disclosure adoption model. In order to test the model, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 775 organizations in an eight-county regional area in the Northeastern United States. Results reveal that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and organizational characteristics are related to web disclosure adoption. Specifically, there is more disclosure of performance information online when the CEO believes that the web is useful for promoting transparency and accountability, when the organization views the web as a communication or strategic tool, when more employees have technical expertise, and when the board of directors is more supportive of web technology. We found more web disclosure of financial information when the organization possesses the technological readiness for web disclosure. This paper contributes to research by identifying the main factors that facilitate web disclosure adoption in nonprofit contexts.

No abstract