The Structure of Voluntary Disclosure Narratives: Evidence from Tone Dispersion

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Allee, Kristian D.; Deangelis, Matthew D.
• 署名单位: University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; University System of Georgia; Georgia State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-8456
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12072
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 241-274
• 关键词: earnings conference calls; information-content; irrelevant evidence; REPORT READABILITY; press releases; managers use; pro forma; bad news; analysts; text

摘要

We examine tone dispersion, or the degree to which tone words are spread evenly within a narrative, to evaluate whether narrative structure provides insight into managers' voluntary disclosures and users' responses to those disclosures. We find that tone dispersion is associated with current aggregate and disaggregated performance and future performance, managers' financial reporting decisions, and managers' incentives and actions to manage perceptions. Furthermore, we find that tone dispersion is associated with analysts' and investors' responses to conference call narratives. Our results suggest that tone dispersion both reflects and affects the information that managers convey through their narratives.