Seminar (Dept. of Finance)

Title: The Governance Role of Investor Communications? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Speaker: Bohui Zhang, Presidential Chair Professor of Finance, School of Economics, CUHK(Shenzhen)

Time: 10:00-11:30, April 25, 2024(Thursday)

Venue: Room 502, Mingde Business Building

Language: English/Chinese

ABSTRACT:

This study examines how investor communications curb corporate misconduct. We conducted a field experiment, alleging intense earnings manipulation through investor relations (IR) and social media among US publicly listed firms with substantial discretionary accruals. Firms targeted with IR allegations reduced earnings manipulation compared to the control group. Conversely, social media accusations had no significant treatment impact. Intriguingly, informing firms about social media accusations bolstered the treatment effect of IR allegations. These findings enrich our grasp of investor communication and its role in shaping firms’ earnings management.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:

Bohui Zhang is the executive dean of School of Management and Economics, presidential chair professor of finance at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He obtained his Ph.D.in Finance from Nanyang Technological University. His research interests center on FinTech, the media, Chinese capital market, and international capital markets. His papers have been accepted for publication in the global top-tier finance, accounting, and business journals such as the Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Management Science, Journal of Financial Quantitative and Analysis and etc.