Skip to main content
Log in

Bridging the Information Gap: Quarterly Conference Calls as a Medium for Voluntary Disclosure

  • Published:
Review of Accounting Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper uses the quarterly conference call as a disclosure metric to examine whether firms with less informative financial statements are more likely to respond by providing additional voluntary disclosure. After controlling for other characteristics of a firm's information environment, I find a significant inverse relation between measures of the informativeness of a firm's financial statements and the likelihood that the firm will use a quarterly conference call. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis in Verrecchia (1990) that the probability of disclosure of management's private information is negatively related to the precision of prior public information on firm value.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amir, E., and B. Lev. (1996). “Value-Relevance of Nonfinancial Information: The Wireless Communications Industry.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 22, 3–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Association of Investment Management and Research. (1995). An Annual Review of Corporate Reporting Practices. Charlottesville, VA: Association of Investment Management and Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsley, D., E. Kuh, and R. Welsch. (1980). Regression Diagnostics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botosan, C. (1997). “Disclosure Level and the Cost of Equity.” Accounting Review 72, 323–349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrd, J. W., M. F. Johnson, and M. S. Johnson. (1996). “CEO Presentations to Security Analyst Societies.” Working paper, University of Michigan.

  • Clarkson, P., J. Kao, and G. Richardson. (1994). “The Voluntary Inclusion of Forecasts in the MD&A Section of Annual Reports.” Contemporary Accounting Research 11, 423–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis, J., and K. Schipper. (1996). “Have Financial Statements Lost Their Relevance?” Working paper, University of Chicago.

  • Francis, J., D. Philbrick, and K. Schipper. (1994). “Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Disclosures.” Journal of Accounting Research 32, 137–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, R., M. Johnson, and D. Skinner. (1998). “An Empirical Examination of Conference Calls as a Voluntary Disclosure Medium.” Working paper, University of Michigan.

  • Frankel, R., M. McNichols, and G. Wilson. (1995). “Discretionary Disclosure and External Financing.” The Accounting Review 70, 135–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Froot, K., A. Perold, and J. Stein. (1992). “Shareholder Trading Practices and Corporate Investment Horizons.” Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 5, 42–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, R., and K. Murphy. (1992). “Optimal Incentive Contracts in the Presence of Career Concerns: Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Political Economy 100, 468–505.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, M. (1998). “The Association Between Competition and Manager's Business Segment Reporting Choices.” Journal of Accounting Research 36, 111–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healy, P., A. Hutton, and K. Palepu. (1998). “Stock Performance and Intermediation Changes Surrounding Sustained Increases in Disclosure.” Contemporary Accounting Research, forthcoming.

  • Healy, P., and K. Palepu. (1993). “The Effect of Firms' Disclosure Strategies on Stock Prices.” Accounting Horizons 7, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healy, P., and K. Palepu. (1995). “The Challenges of Investor Communications: The Case of CUC International, Inc.” Journal of Financial Economics 38, 111–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • I. R. Update. (1995). Vienna, VA: National Investor Relations Institute.

  • Lang, M., and R. Lundholm. (1993). “Cross-Sectional Determinants of Analyst Ratings of Corporate Disclosures.” Journal of Accounting Research 31, 246–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, M., and R. Lundholm. (1996a). “Corporate Disclosure Policy and Analyst Behavior.” The Accounting Review 71, 467–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, M., and R. Lundholm. (1996b). “Voluntary Disclosure and Gun-Jumping During an Equity Offering.” Working paper, University of Michigan.

  • Lev, B. (1992). “Information Disclosure Strategy.” California Management Review 34, 9–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lev, B. (1996). “The Boundaries of Financial Reporting and How to Extend Them.” Working paper, University of California at Berkeley.

  • National Investor Relations Institute. (1996). Standards and Guidance for Disclosure. Vienna, VA: National Investor Relations Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohlson, J. (1995). “Earnings, Book Values and Dividends in Security Valuation.” Contemporary Accounting Research 11, 661–687.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, D. (1995). “Earnings, Disclosures and Shareholder Lawsuits.” Working paper, University of Michigan.

  • Tasker, S. (1998). “Technology Company Conference Calls: A Small Sample Study.” Journal of Financial Statement Analysis, 4, 6–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verrecchia, R. (1983). “Discretionary Disclosure.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 5, 179–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verrecchia, R. (1990). “Information Quality and Discretionary Disclosure.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 12, 365–380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall Street Journal. (1995). “Conference Calls to Big Investors Often Leave Little Guys Hung Up.” June 21, C1.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tasker, S.C. Bridging the Information Gap: Quarterly Conference Calls as a Medium for Voluntary Disclosure. Review of Accounting Studies 3, 137–167 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009684502135

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009684502135

Keywords

Navigation