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Increased Disclosure Requirements and Corporate Governance Decisions: Evidence from Chief Financial Officers in the Pre‐ and Post–Sarbanes‐Oxley Periods

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  • XUE WANG

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I study how increased internal control disclosure requirements mandated by the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) affect annual corporate governance decisions regarding CFOs. Using non‐CEO, non‐COO executive officers as a control group, I find that CFOs of firms with weak internal controls receive lower compensation and experience higher forced turnover rates after the passage of SOX. In contrast, CFOs of firms with strong internal controls receive higher compensation and do not experience significant changes in forced turnover rates. These results are consistent with the “disclosure of type” hypothesis, which suggests that the mandatory internal control disclosures under SOX are a credible mechanism that effectively distinguishes good CFOs from bad ones by revealing the firm's internal control quality. The empirical evidence thus supports the notion that mandated increases in disclosure reduce information asymmetry in the executive labor market.

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  • Xue Wang, 2010. "Increased Disclosure Requirements and Corporate Governance Decisions: Evidence from Chief Financial Officers in the Pre‐ and Post–Sarbanes‐Oxley Periods," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 885-920, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:48:y:2010:i:4:p:885-920
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-679X.2010.00378.x
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    2. Bird, Robert C. & Borochin, Paul A. & Knopf, John D., 2015. "The role of the chief legal officer in corporate governance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-22.
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    6. Steven E. Salterio & Joan E. D. Conrod & Regan N. Schmidt, 2013. "Canadian Evidence of Adherence to “Comply or Explain” Corporate Governance Codes: An International Comparison," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 23-51, March.
    7. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2015. "Board influence on the selection of external accounting executives," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 46-65.
    8. Chang, Jui-Chin & Sun, Huey-Lian & Tang, Alex P., 2021. "Effect of SEC enforcement actions on forced turnover of executives: Evidence associated with SOX provisions," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 277-287.
    9. Haislip, Jacob Z. & Masli, Adi & Richardson, Vernon J. & Watson, Marcia Weidenmier, 2015. "External reputational penalties for CEOs and CFOs following information technology material weaknesses," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 1-15.
    10. Mobbs, Shawn, 2018. "Firm CFO board membership and departures," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 316-331.
    11. Wunhong Su & Liuzhen Zhang & Chao Ge & Shuai Chen, 2022. "Association between Internal Control and Sustainability: A Literature Review Based on the SOX Act Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-30, August.
    12. Masoud, Najeb & Al-Utaibi, Ghassan, 2022. "The determinants of cybersecurity risk disclosure in firms’ financial reporting: Empirical evidence," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 131-140.
    13. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    14. Douglas Cumming & Igor Filatotchev & April Knill & David Mitchell Reeb & Lemma Senbet, 2017. "Law, finance, and the international mobility of corporate governance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(2), pages 123-147, February.
    15. Najah Attig & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Sorin Rizeanu, 2013. "The governance role of multiple large shareholders: evidence from the valuation of cash holdings," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 419-451, May.
    16. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    17. Liangcheng Wang & Yining Dai & Yuye Ding, 2019. "Internal Control and SMEs’ Sustainable Growth: The Moderating Role of Multiple Large Shareholders," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Yu Lu & Diandian Ma, 2019. "Internal Control Weakness: A Literature Review," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 8(2), pages 121-121, May.
    19. Oliver Henk, 2020. "Internal control through the lens of institutional work: a systematic literature review," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 239-273, September.
    20. Omrane Guedhami & Jeffrey A. Pittman & Walid Saffar, 2014. "Auditor Choice in Politically Connected Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 107-162, March.
    21. Martínez Franco, Carmen & Feeney, Orla & Quinn, Martin & Hiebl, Martin R.W., 2017. "Position practices of the present-day CFO: A reflection on historic roles at Guinness, 1920–1945," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 55-62.
    22. Muttakin, Mohammad Badrul & Khan, Arifur & Tanewski, George, 2019. "CFO tenure, CFO board membership and accounting conservatism," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    23. Duong, Lien & Evans, John, 2015. "CFO compensation: Evidence from Australia," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 425-443.
    24. Caglio, Ariela & Dossi, Andrea & Van der Stede, Wim A., 2018. "CFO role and CFO compensation: an empirical analysis of their implications," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88296, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    25. Charl de Villiers & Ruth Dimes, 2021. "Determinants, mechanisms and consequences of corporate governance reporting: a research framework," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 7-26, March.

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