How often do managers withhold information?

  • Jeremy Bertomeu
  • , Paul Ma
  • , Iván Marinovic

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    31 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    We estimate a dynamic model of voluntary disclosure, using annual management forecasts of earnings, that features a manager with price motives and an uncertain, but persistent, information endowment. Our estimates imply that: (1) managers face disclosure frictions 35 percent of the time; (2) conditional on being informed, managers withhold information 17 percent of the time; and (3) conditional on being silent, managers possess information 24 percent of the time. Managers' strategic withholding motives increase investors' uncertainty about earnings by 3 percent. We find that managers' price motives reduce strategic withholding by one-third in response to investors' increased skepticism in the event of non-disclosure.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)73-102
    Number of pages30
    JournalAccounting Review
    Volume95
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jul 2020

    Keywords

    • Disclosure cost
    • Information endowment
    • Management forecasts
    • Strategic withholding
    • Structural estimation
    • Voluntary disclosure

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