The Effect of Shortened Reporting Lag on the Usefulness of Form 20-F

Authors

Zhenfeng Liu, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Accounting

First Advisor's Name

Steve Lin

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Jonathan Milian

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Maria Vulcheva

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Changjiang Wang

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Julia Chou

Sixth Advisor's Name

Committee member

Keywords

financial reporting, SEC regulation, information content

Date of Defense

4-15-2016

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to accelerate the Form 20-F (20-F) filing deadline on the usefulness of 20-Fs. I find that only the large and medium firms experienced a significant increase in market reaction when they accelerated their 20-F filing deadlines to four months after the year-end, while no significant change in market reaction is detected for small firms. I also find that the market did not appear to have reacted to firms who voluntarily further shortened their 20-F reporting lag to less than four months after the year-end. Finally, I find that firms that comply with the SEC’s policy to shorten the 20-F filing deadlines are more likely to restate the financial statements, but the 20-F readability and the possibility of amending their 20-Fs do not seem to be different, compared to the matched non-acceleration firms. Taken together, this study provides consistent evidence suggesting that the “four-month” 20-F filing deadline is beneficial for larger firms while causing no burdens to small firms, and that the accelerated 20-F filing deadline may increase the timeliness of 20-Fs at the expense of the reporting quality.

Identifier

FIDC000791

Recommended Citation

Liu, Zhenfeng, "The Effect of Shortened Reporting Lag on the Usefulness of Form 20-F" (2016). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2530.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2530