Abstract
I examine the use of accounting information in external finance. In Chapter 1, I study the use of accounting disclosure in equity crowdfunding to understand how accounting and financial reporting facilitates start-up financing. I find no relation between historical accounting disclosure and start-up capital obtained from crowdfunding investors, on average. However, I find a positive relation between capital raised and the entrepreneurs long-term forecasts of expected future performance. In Chapter 2, I examine the use of financial covenants in private debt contracts when borrowers have incentives to increase the riskiness of the firms investments. I find that debt contracts to borrowers with greater risk-taking incentives prior to contract inception are more likely to include a debt-to-earnings covenant. In Chapter 3, in co-authored work with Peter Demerjian and Jared Jennings, I examine whether the borrowers management earnings forecast accuracy is useful information in screening by providing an observable signal of the borrowers ability to anticipate future economic conditions. We find that borrowers with more accurate forecasts prior to contract inception receive a lower interest rate.
Committee Chair
Richard Frankel
Committee Members
Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Jared Jennings, Xiumin Martin, Peter Demerjian,
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Author's Department
Business Administration
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2016
Language
English (en)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J6K
Author's ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8509-440X
Recommended Citation
Donovan, John, "Essays in Accounting Information and External Finance" (2016). Arts & Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 812.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J6K
Comments
Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J6K