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We examine the relation between capital structure decision and the incentive power of executive compensation that contains both cash and equity components. Our analytical model shows that executive...

In this paper, we argue that accounting curricula should be expanded to cover the topic of real options. Our argument relies on reference to the [American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1999) ( Core Competency Framework , New York, NY: AICPA Accessed 21.08.08], the framework for curriculum change espoused by [Arya, A., Fellingham, J. C., & Schroeder, D. A. (2003). An academic curriculum proposal. Issues in Accounting Education , 18 (1) 29–35], a global study of core competencies for management accountants [International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), (2002). Competency profiles for management accounting practice and practitioners. New York, NY: International Federation of Accountants], a global capital-budgeting “best practices statement” [International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), (2008). International good practice guidance: Project appraisal using discounted cash flow . New York, NY: International Federation of Accountants], current specifications of the CMA exam [Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), (2008). Certified management accountant (CMA) learning outcome statements (effective 07/01/04), updated 07/2008 . Accessed 29.10.08.], and elements of the Albrecht and Sack report [Albrecht, W. S., & Sack, R. J. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future . Accounting education series, Vol. 16. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association]. We make special reference to the linkage of the topic of real options to two broad educational goals: decision-modeling and risk analysis. Existing resources that accounting faculty can use to incorporate real options into the curriculum are limited. As a response, we provide an extended example that accounting educators can use to cover the topic of real options. This example uses a set of binomial trees (one for cash inflows and another for cash outflows). The step-by-step approach presented in this paper allows students without a technical/mathematical background to extend discounted-cash-flow (DCF) decision models (e.g., NPV) to incorporate real options that are embedded in proposed investment projects.

The study examines the joint effect of sovereign and call risks on the duration of callable sovereign bonds over the period 1996–2011. The results indicate that the sovereign risk-adjusted duration is significantly shorter than its Macaulay counterpart for U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade callable sovereign bonds. Further, the “shortening” effect of sovereign and call risks on duration is generally stronger among bonds of lower ratings. Similar results are obtained when CDS prices are used as a proxy for changes in sovereign risk. Results from this study emphasize the importance of considering the joint effect of sovereign and call risks in managing the interest rate risk exposure in fixed income investments.

Default correlation is a critical concept in risk management for fixed income investment, bank management, and insurance industry, working capital management, among many. We extend the Leland-Toft term structure model into a two-firm environment and predict the default correlation between two firms by directly simulating the calibrate model based on the observed equity data (1990-2010) for various ratings. Using our empirical default correlation estimation as the benchmark, our investigation sheds more light on the structural approach in predicting default correlation. The results show that our approach outperforms the previous Zhou’s model, thereby our approach is not only theoretical improvement, but also has an empirical advantage.

We investigate the relationship between underwriter reputation and earnings management of IPO firms over the period of 1991-2005. We find that IPO firms engage in less earnings management if they are underwritten by prestigious investment bankers. Furthermore, the role of prestigious underwriters in restraining earnings management of IPO issuers do not change during the Internet Bubble period or after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The findings support the certification role of underwriters in the IPO process. We also document that firms going public in the post-SOX period engage in less earnings management compared to firms going public in the pre-SOX period. Further findings suggest that the changing objectives of venture capitalists may explain the reduction in the level of earnings management of IPO firms following the passage of SOX.