• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.91-98
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• 2019

Dividend policy is an important business decision and is considered a channel to communicate a firm's performance to shareholders. Given the empirical findings that earnings quality significantly affects financial analysts' forecasting activities, it is predicted that higher earnings quality would positively influence forecast accuracy. Specifically, it is expected that financial analysts would forecast dividends more accurately for firms with higher earning quality. Unlike the research on financial analysts' earnings forecasts was heavily conducted, there is little study about financial analysts' dividend forecasts. This paper examines the effect of earnings quality on financial analysts' dividend forecast accuracy. We use a sample of South Korean firms for the period of 2011-2015 for multivariate regression. Earnings quality is measured by accruals quality and performance-adjusted discretionary accruals followed by prior studies. We first compare the accuracy between dividend forecasts and earnings forecasts using t-test and Wilcoxon singed-rank test. It is confirmed that financial analysts' dividend forecasts are more accurate than earnings forecasts in Korea. We find that financial analysts' dividend forecasts are more accurate for firms with higher earnings quality. We also find that the result is still valid after controlling for the accuracy of financial analysts' earnings forecasts. This confirms that earnings quality positively affects financial analysts' dividend forecasts.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2020

We examine the effects of the complexity of tax-related information on the issuance of analyst's pre-tax income forecast and its value relevance. If analysts respond adequately to the needs of investors, they are more likely to provide a pre-tax income forecast. The provision of a pre-tax income forecast may indicate analysts' confidence in assessing the quality of earnings. Thus, investors, in turn, would be more confident in the analysts' pre-tax income forecasts if analysts provide both pre-tax and earnings forecasts than only the latter. Using a sample of Korean listed companies for 2005-2014, we find that analysts are likely to provide an implicit tax forecast when the volatility of the effective tax rate is low and the book-tax differences are small. We also find that when analysts provide pre-tax and after tax income forecasts, the value relevance for unexpected earnings increases. These results indicate that analysts are likely to be interested in corporate tax information and the complexity of tax-related information affects the availability of implicit tax forecasts. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence that when analysts provide both pre-tax and after tax income forecasts, investors have more confidence in analysts' earnings forecasts, which results in greater investors' responses.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2019

Purpose - The international market provides a growth momentum for firms by allowing them to tap into a new market. Given information asymmetry between firms and financial analysts, firms' international growth can be perceived as a higher business prospect by analysts. This paper explores the possibility of analysts' over-emphasis on foreign income growth in predicting earnings. Research design, data, and methodology - We utilize a sample of U.S. firms to test the relationship between foreign income growth and analysts' forecast optimism. Our sample of publicly listed and traded U.S. firms between 1976 and 2016 consists of 6,120 firm-year observations. Results - Empirical analyses show that firms that show higher international growth in earnings are likely to face forecast inaccuracy by financial analysts. From the perspective of firms, their earnings are less than what analysts forecasted. Contrary to our prediction on the moderating effect of innovative capabilities, optimistic bias is not intensified - rather, it is reduced - when firms have higher innovative capabilities. Conclusions - Our results imply that while analysts favor firms with higher international growth, innovative capability on the international market places additional risks to firms' operation.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.45-54
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• 2019

This study examines whether auditors restrain the analysts' opportunistic behavior as reviewing the companies' interim reports. Analysts' forecasts show a walkdown pattern in which their optimism has decreased as the earnings announcement date has approached. At the beginning of the year, there is a lack of high-quality benchmark information that enables information users to judge the accuracy of analyst's earnings forecasts. Thus, early in the year, analysts are highly inspired to disseminate optimistic forecasts in order to gain manager's favor. In this study, we examine adequate benchmarks prevent analysts from disclosing optimistically biased forecasts. We conjecture that auditors' efforts might mitigate analysts' walkdown pattern. To test this hypothesis, we use data from Korea, where it is mandatory to disclose auditor's review hours. We find that the analyst forecast's walkdown decreases with the ratio as well as the number of audit hours. It implies that an auditor's effort in reviewing interim financial information has a monitoring function that reduces analysts' opportunistic optimism at the beginning of the year. We conjecture that the tendency will be more pronounced when BIG4 auditors review the interim reports. Consistent with the prediction, BIG4 auditors' interim review effort is more effective in suppressing the analysts' walkdown.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1-24
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• 2008

We empirically examined the forecasting abilities of analysts in the Korean stock market with regard to their earnings estimates, and the impacts of their reports on stock prices. Further, we also examine if there is any difference in analysts' forecasting accuracy and stock prices impacts depending upon the geographical distance between analysts and companies they follow. We found the following interesting empirical results. First, analysts have tendency to overestimate sales, operating income, and net income, consistent with the previous literature. Second, the degree of overestimation depends upon the geography of companies. That is, it is smaller for companies headquartered in Seoul than companies in local provinces. Third, analysts' earnings estimates are also more accurate for companies located in Seoul. So, we conjecture that analysts have easier access to the information for the companies. Fourth, when analysts downgrade target prices, companies in Seoul are less negatively affected than those in local provinces. Even when analysts revise downward stock recommendations, stock prices of companies in Seoul go up. Overall, analysts' price impacts are more favorable for Seoul-located companies. Last, but not least, when foreign ownership is higher, investors react less negatively to downward revisions of stock recommendation, but react more negatively to downward revisions of target prices.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.5
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• pp.373-381
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• 1996

Increasingly, systems analysts are expected to have behavioral and administrative skills as well as technical skills. This paper presents the results of 739 information systems (IS) mangers (220 responses) regarding the importance of various skills needed by systems analysts. The survey instrument skill items were gathered from those reported in previous similar studies.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.195-213
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• 2019

This paper investigates the effects of firms' foreign market focus on the optimistic bias of analysts' earnings forecasts. Based on a sample of 852 U.S. manufacturing firms between 1994 and 2015, our empirical results suggest that higher growth of foreign market focus is associated with greater levels of analysts' forecast optimism. Drawing on the CEO career horizon and the upper echelon theory literature, we find evidence that CEOs' career horizon and functional background as a CFO moderates the relationship between the growth rate of foreign market focus and analysts' forecast optimism. This shows that while financial analysts perceive internationalization strategies as signaling growth potential, such perception can vary depending on CEOs' individual characteristics.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.161-180
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• 2018

Purpose One of the success factors of information system projects is to reduce requirements uncertainty through user engagement. So, in many recent IS development environment, a business analyst or business analysts are positioned between users and developers to drive user engagement to reduce requirements uncertainty. But, there are few studies that research about the competencies of business analysts for training and staffing. So, this study analyzed which underlying and practical competencies that positively influence user engagement are required. Design/methodology/approach The level of underlying and practical competencies required for business analysts and the level of user enagement in the IS development environment are collected through the survey. And, the causal relationship between the construct concepts which are underlying competencies, practical competencies and the user participation is analzed through the PLS analysis. Findings The results of this study show that the practial competencies of business analysts that positively have a significant impact on user engaement were studied as requirements development skills. Additionally, the underlying competencies of business analysts which have a significant impact on requirements development skills were examined as business knowledge and interaction skills rather than technical knowledge and communication skills.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.137-151
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• 2020

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate whether financial analysts' cash flow forecasts mitigate the accrual anomaly. In addition, we examine whether the more accurate analysts' cash flow forecasts are the greater the decline of the accrual anomaly. Design/methodology/approach - Data used in the empirical tests are extracted through KIS-VALUE and FN-GUIDE, and the sample consists of firms listed on Korea Stock Exchange for 7 years from 2005 to 2011. We test the hypotheses using multiple regression analysis and we also estimate the regressions with the decile ranks of the explanatory variables to minimize the influence of outliers. Findings - We have failed to capture evidence that the provision of financial analysts' cash flow forecasts itself reduces the accrual anomaly. However, we find the accrual anomaly to be less severe when financial analysts provide more accurate cash flow forecasts. The findings are consistent in the regression models with the decile ranks as well as in the robustness tests that controlled the accruals quality. Research implications or Originality - This study contributes to the expansion of related studies in the Korea by providing empirical evidence partially that the financial analysts' cash flow forecasts mitigate the accrual anomaly.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.31-62
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• 2010

This paper analyzes empirically how analysts' forecasts affected by ownership structure. This study examine a sample of 1,037~1,629 the analysts' forecasts of firms registered in Korean Stock Exchange in the period from 2000 to 2006. The empirical results are summarized as follows. First, from the analysis, companies which have higher major shareholder's holdings tend to increase earnings forecast errors and earnings forecast accuracy. Meanwhile, companies which have higher institution shareholder's holdings tend to decrease earnings forecast errors and earnings forecast accuracy. This result is in line with the view of previous works that companies with higher major shareholder's holdings look towards more of analysts' optimistic forecasts in order to maintain friendly relations with major shareholders. Because of analysts' private information use from major shareholders, earnings forecast accuracy is higher in high major shareholder's holdings firm than in high institution shareholder's holdings it. Second, this analysis is whether the minimal required selection condition of outside directors, audit committee adoption and audit quality affect the relation between ownership structure and analysts' forecasts. This result is that variables related corporate governance do not affect statically the relation between ownership structure and analysts' forecasts. The meanings of this paper is to suggest the positive relations between ownership structure and analysts' forecasts. After this, if analysts will notice forecasts of more many firms, capital market will be more efficient and this field works are plentiful. Also it will need monitoring systems not to distort market efficiency by analysts' dishonest forecasts.