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The apparent general lack of effectiveness of financial education programs and financial knowledge in improving financial literacy has led to calls for more investigation of “lived experiences”. There is also a perception that we need to better understand other factors that potentially affect financial behavior (Fernandes et al, 2014). This current study has answered these calls, to help extend research beyond assuming that having knowledge will automatically improve behavior to understanding the larger behavioral context. This study explores the Integrated Behavior Model (Montano & Kasprzyk, 2008) to help guide the operationalization of the IBM constructs for young adults and their financial control behavior, and also explores their lived experiences. The study has identified potential individuals and factors which could influence young adults’ financial behavior so that future researchers have a foundation for determining the referents to include when studying financial literacy.

Existing research findings are mixed on whether increased executive stock option (ESO) use is due to favorable accounting treatment enabling earnings management (EM) and opportunism, or to efforts to improve pay for performance. I investigate executive compensation changes in 215 Canadian companies for the years surrounding the amendment to Handbook Section 3870, which requires expensing of ESOs. I find that while ESO use was reduced, ESOs still dominate share-based compensation. Of the opportunism and EM antecedents examined, only political visibility is significant. The substitution rate of RSUs for ESOs is more equal post-amendment, in keeping with firms being more willing to use RSUs once ESOs had to be expensed. However, the pay for performance relationship has not improved post-amendment, even for firms who most reduced ESO use. My results overall provide little support for opportunism or EM being a key driver of increased ESO use prior to the amendment.