This article examines the factors that determine IPO success in raising equity capital, and how this success translates into investor success. The study is based on a sample of IPOs on the Warsaw Stock Exchange from 1998 to 2011. We find that pre-IPO profitability is a strong and positive signal for investors that translates into a higher offer price and therefore determines the success of the issuance. However, companies with high IPO success do not provide investors with better performance after going public, nor do they provide protection before the common phenomenon of long-term underperformance. A large-scale value migration between shareholders occurs in companies that achieve IPO success. The investor belief that pre-IPO profitability is a signal of the future earnings potential of an IPO firm indicates that they probably use simple heuristics and have a representativeness bias. ARTICLE HISTORY

With the purpose of reporting high-quality, transparent, and comparable information in financial statements, there is a strong, visible trend towards the implementation and use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which represent the Anglo-American accounting model. According to IFRS, the fair value has become a dominant measurement paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the implementation of the mark-to-model fair value measures for asset impairment tests on the relevance and reliability of information presented in financial reports. Among the three levels of the fair value hierarchy, mark-to-model is most controversial because it is susceptible to manipulation and has poor verifiability. After a systematic literature review and a synthesis of high-quality contributions in this field, we conclude that the implementation of asset impairment tests, that use the mark-to-model fair value measures, is not promising for increasing the quality and reliability of the information presented in financial statements. Unfortunately, research has shown that companies are using that tool to manage their earnings and promote managers' unethical behaviour. Furthermore, capital markets' reaction to asset impairment announcements is negative. Performed analysis can provide valuable pointers for standard setters, accounting policy makers, and researchers.

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The purpose of the study is the analysis of the relationship between the par value (also known as nominal value or face value) and the parameters influencing a company’s financing. Additionally, the utility of the par value as a manipulation tool for equity offerings is examined. The study is based on a sample of IPO firms which went public on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The study finds that an excess supply of shares has a negative impact on their valuation. In contrast, decreasing the par value prompts perceptual biases among investors beneficial to the success of the issuance. Moreover, share capital is found to be a useful signaling tool to improve the company’s position on the financial market.