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Yang Cheng ETD Submission.pdf (1.89 MB)

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The Effect of SEC Tax Comment Letters on Institutional Investors' Information Acquisition Activities and Corporate Disclosure

Cheng, Yang
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8170-7301
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1586498266021334

Abstract Details

2020, PHD, Kent State University, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Accounting.
This study examines the effect of SEC tax comment letters on institutional investors’ information acquisition activities and consequential tax disclosures. These two research questions are related to the SEC’s mission to protect investors, which is the primary objective of the SEC’s comment letter public release policy. Regarding the first research question, I find that institutional investors’ information acquisition activities for tax-related comment letter conversations, which include recipient firms’ responses, are greater than those for non-tax related conversations. Moreover, institutional investors are more likely to obtain comment-letter conversations for recipient firms that have appeared to be tax aggressive in both current and previous years. Institutional investors are more likely to obtain comment-letter conversations if the SEC comment letters include more uncertain tax topics. Regarding the second research question, I find a significant increase in the number of words in both tax footnotes and paragraphs but with slightly reduced readability, suggesting that managers modify the consequential tax disclosures with their own purposes. This research achieves several aims. First, the findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the consequences of receiving comment letters and their resolution. Second, this study contributes to the literature investigating investors’ acquisition of tax-related information. This paper also contributes to tax information disclosure literature as well as to the literature on textual analysis in accounting and finance. The findings of this study will have implications for regulators, investors, and corporate managers.
Wei Li (Committee Chair)
Shunlan Fang (Committee Member)
Drew Sellers (Committee Member)
Roubezah Razavi (Committee Member)
137 p.
Accounting
SEC Tax Comment Letters, Information Acquisition Activities, Institutional Investors, Tax Footnote disclosures

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cheng, Y. (2020). The Effect of SEC Tax Comment Letters on Institutional Investors' Information Acquisition Activities and Corporate Disclosure [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1586498266021334

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cheng, Yang. The Effect of SEC Tax Comment Letters on Institutional Investors' Information Acquisition Activities and Corporate Disclosure. 2020. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1586498266021334.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cheng, Yang. "The Effect of SEC Tax Comment Letters on Institutional Investors' Information Acquisition Activities and Corporate Disclosure." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1586498266021334

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1586498266021334
470
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.