Accounting Department's Lecture

Theme：Textual Disclosure Quality and GDP Growth: Evidence from Form 20-F Filings

Speaker：Hongping Tan, Associate Professor of Accounting, McGill University

Time：2019-06-28 10:00

Address：Room 1007, Mingde Business Building

Language：Chinese&English

Abstract：

Using proxies for textual disclosure quality for Form 20-F filings by firms from 27 countries cross-listed in the U.S, we find that the aggregate disclosure quality of firms from each country predicts the home country’s GDP growth for up to three years, even after we control for the aggregate earnings growth. Further analysis shows that the predictability of textual disclosure quality derives from the quality of current earnings and persistence of future earning associated with textual disclosure quality. The predictability of aggregate textual disclosure quality is more pronounced in home countries with weak institutions. Our findings suggest that while textual disclosure quality for individual companies reflects managerial expectations, the textual disclosure quality in aggregate reflects the prospects of macro economy.

Short Biography：
Hongping Tan is an Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance in the McGill University. He received his PhD in Finance from Queen’s University. His research focuses on financial disclosure, analyst forecasts, international capital market. His work has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research and so on.