上市公司盈利能力分析中英文对照外文翻译文献
上市公司盈利能力分析外文文献
The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms ☆Bharat A.Jain a,1,Narayanan Jayaraman b,2,Omesh Kini c,⁎aCollege of Business and Economics,Towson University,Towson,MD 21044,United States b College of Management,Georgia Institute of Technology,Atlanta,GA 30332,United Statesc Robinson College of Business,Georgia State University,Atlanta,GA 30303,United StatesReceived 1October 2006;received in revised form 1December 2006;accepted 1February 2007AbstractExtant empirical evidence indicates that the proportion of firms going public prior to achieving profitability has been increasing over time.This phenomenon is largely driven by an increase in the proportion of technology firms going public.Since there is considerable uncertainty regarding the long-term economic viability of these firms at the time of going public,identifying factors that influence their ability to attain key post-IPO milestones such as achieving profitability represents an important area of research.We employ a theoretical framework built around agency and signaling considerations to identify factors that influence the probability and timing of post-IPO profitability of Internet IPO firms.We estimate Cox Proportional Hazards models to test whether factors identified by our theoretical framework significantly impact the probability of post-IPO profitability as a function of time.We find that the probability of post-IPO profitability increases with pre-IPO investor demand and change in ownership at the IPO of the top officers and directors.On the other hand,the probability of post-IPO profitability decreases with the venture capital participation,proportion of outsiders on the board,and pre-market valuation uncertainty.©2007Published by Elsevier Inc.Keywords:Initial public offerings;Internet firms;Path-to-profitability;Hazard models;SurvivalJournal of Business Venturing xx (2007)xxx –xxxMODEL 1AJBV-05413;No of Pages 30☆We would like to thank Kalpana Narayanan,Raghavendra Rau,Sankaran Venkataraman (Editor),Phil Phan (Associate Editor),two anonymous referees,and participants at the 2002Financial Management Association Meetings in San Antonio for helpful comments.We thank Paul Gilson and Sandy Lai for excellent research assistance.The usual disclaimer applies.⁎Corresponding author.Tel.:+14046512656;fax:+14046522630.E-mail addresses:bjain@ (B.A.Jain),narayanan.jayaraman@ (N.Jayaraman),okini@ (O.Kini).1Tel.:+14107043542;fax:+14107043454.2Tel.:+14048944389;fax:+14048946030.0883-9026/$-see front matter ©2007Published by Elsevier Inc.doi:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2007.02.004Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Business2 B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx(2007)xxx–xxx1.Executive summaryThere has been an increasing tendency for firms to go public on the basis of a promise of profitability rather than actual profitability.Further,this phenomenon is largely driven by the increase in the proportion of technology firms going public.The risk of post-IPO failure is particularly high for unprofitable firms as shifts in investor sentiment leading to negative market perceptions regarding their prospects or unfavorable financing environments could lead to a shutdown of external financing sources thereby imperiling firm survival. Therefore,the actual accomplishment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the company's evolution since it signals the long-term economic viability of the firm.While the extant research in entrepreneurship has focused on factors influencing the ability of entrepreneurial firms to attain important milestones prior to or at the time of going public,relatively little is known regarding the timing or ability of firms to achieve critical post-IPO milestones.In this study,we construct a theoretical framework anchored on agency and signaling theories to understand the impact of pre-IPO factors such as governance and ownership structure,management quality,institutional investor demand,and third party certification on firms'post-IPO path-to-profitability.We attempt to validate the testable implications arising from our theoretical framework using the Internet industry as our setting.Achieving post-issue profitability in a timely manner is of particular interest for Internet IPO firms since they are predominantly unprofitable at the time of going public and are typically characterized by high cash burn rates thereby raising questions regarding their long-term economic viability.Since there is a repeated tendency for high technology firms in various emerging sectors of the economy to go public in waves amid investor optimism followed by disappointing performance,insights gained from a study of factors that influence the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms will help increase our understanding of the development path and long-term economic viability of entrepreneurial firms in emerging, high technology industries.Using a sample of160Internet IPO firms that went public during the period1996–2000, we estimate Cox Proportional Hazards(CPH)models to analyze the economic significance of factors that influence the post-IPO path-to-profitability.Consistent with agency explanations,we find that a higher proportion of inside directors on the board and the change in pre-to-post-IPO ownership of top management are both significantly positively related to the probability of attaining post-IPO profitability.These results support arguments in the governance literature pointing to the beneficial impact of the presence of more insiders on the boards of high technology companies as well as the signaling value of the ownership stake of top management in the post-IPO firm.Additionally,we find evidence to indicate that higher institutional investor demand serves as an effective signal of the ability of Internet firms to attain post-IPO profitability,while greater pre-IPO valuation uncertainty reflects higher divergence of opinion about the future prospects of the IPO firm, and serves as a negative signal of the ability to achieve post-IPO profitability.Finally,we find that while underwriter prestige is unrelated to the probability of post-IPO profitability, VC participation decreases the probability of post-IPO profitability.Our results regarding the impact of VC participation on the probability of post-IPO profitability support arguments in the literature that VCs during the Internet boom period had incentives to grandstand by Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Businesstaking their companies public prematurely and that their monitoring role in the post-IPO period was rather limited since they cashed out earlier due to shorter lock-up periods.Our study makes several contributions.First,we construct a theoretical framework based on agency and signaling theories to identify factors that may influence the path-to-profitability of IPO firms.Second,we provide empirical evidence on the economic viability (path-to-profitability and firm survival)of newly public Internet firms.Third,our study adds to the theoretical and empirical literature that has focused on factors influencing the ability of entrepreneurial firms to achieve critical milestones during the transition from private to public ownership.While previous studies have focused on milestones during the private phase of firm development such as receipt of VC funding and completion of a public offering,our study extends this literature by focusing on a post-issue milestone such as attaining profitability.2.IntroductionThe past few decades have witnessed the formation and development of several vitally important technologically oriented emerging industries such as disk drive,biotechnology,and most recently the Internet industry.Entrepreneurial firms in such knowledge intensive industries are increasingly going public earlier in their life cycle while there is still a great deal of uncertainty and information asymmetry regarding their future prospects (Janey and Folta,2006).A natural consequence of the rapid transition from founding stage firms to public corporations is an increasing tendency for firms to go public on the basis of a promise of profitability rather than actual profitability.3Although sustained profitability is no longer a requirement for firms in order to go public,actual accomplishment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the firm's evolution since it reduces uncertainty regarding the long-term economic viability of the firm.In this paper,we focus on identifying observable factors at the time of going public that have the ability to influence the likelihood and timing of attaining post-IPO profitability by Internet firms.We restrict our study to the Internet industry since it represents a natural setting to study the long-term economic viability of an emerging industry where firms tend to go public when they are predominantly unprofitable and where there is considerably uncertainty and information asymmetry regarding their future prospects.4The attainment of post-IPO profitability assumes significance since the IPO event does not provide the same level of legitimizing differentiation that it did in the past as sustained profitability is no longer a prerequisite to go public particularly in periods where the market is favorably inclined towards investments rather than demonstration of profitability (Stuart et al.,1999;Janey and Folta,2006).During the Internet boom,investors readily accepted the mantra of “growth at all costs ”and enthusiastically bid up the post-IPO offering prices to irrational levels (Lange et al.,2001).In fact,investor focus on the promise of growth rather than profitability resulted in Internet start-ups being viewed differently from typical 3For example,Ritter and Welch (2002)report that the percentage of unprofitable firms going public rose form 19%in the 1980s to 37%during 1995–1998.4Schultz and Zaman (2001)report that only 8.72%of the Internet firms that went public during January 1999to March 2000were profitable in the quarter prior to the IPO.3B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx (2007)xxx –xxx Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Business4 B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx(2007)xxx–xxxnew ventures in that they were able to marshal substantial resources virtually independent of performance benchmarks(Mudambi and Treichel,2005).Since the Internet bubble burst in April2000,venture capital funds dried up and many firms that had successful IPOs went bankrupt or faced severe liquidity problems(Chang, 2004).Consequently,investors'attention shifted from their previously singular focus on growth prospects to the question of profitability with their new mantra being“path-to-profitability.”As such,market participants focused on not just whether the IPO firm would be able to achieve profitability but also“when”or“how soon.”IPO firms unable to credibly demonstrate a clear path-to-profitability were swiftly punished with steeply lower valuations and consequently faced significantly higher financing constraints.Since cash flow negative firms are not yet self sufficient and,therefore,dependent on external financing to continue to operate,the inability to raise additional capital results in a vicious cycle of events that can quickly lead to delisting and even bankruptcy.5Therefore,the actual attainment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the evolution of an IPO firm providing it with legitimacy and signaling its ability to remain economically viable through the ups and downs associated with changing capital market conditions.The theoretical framework supporting our analysis draws from signaling and agency theories as they relate to IPO firms.In our study,signaling theory provides the theoretical basis to evaluate the signaling impact of factors such as management quality,third party certification,institutional investor demand,and pre-IPO valuation uncertainty on the path-to-profitability.Similarly,agency theory provides the theoretical foundations to allow us to examine the impact of governance structure and change in top management ownership at the time of going public on the probability of achieving the post-IPO profitability milestone.Our empirical analysis is based on the hazard analysis methodology to identify the determinants of the probability of becoming profitable as a function of time for a sample of160Internet IPOs issued during the period1996–2000.Our study makes several contributions.First,we construct a theoretical framework based on agency and signaling theories to identify factors that may influence the path-to-profitability of IPO firms.Second,we provide empirical evidence on the economic viability of newly public firms(path-to-profitability and firm survival)in the Internet industry.Third, we add to the theoretical and empirical entrepreneurship literature that has focused on factors influencing the ability of entrepreneurial firms to achieve critical milestones during the transition from private to public ownership.While previous studies have focused on milestones during the private phase of firm development such as receipt of VC funding and successful completion of a public offering(Chang,2004;Dimov and Shepherd,2005; Beckman et al.,2007),our study extends this literature by focusing on post-IPO milestones. Finally,extant empirical evidence indicates that the phenomenon of young,early stage 5The case of E-Toys an Internet based toy retailer best illustrates this cyclical process.E-Toys was successful in developing an extensive customer base and a strong brand.However,the huge investment in technology, advertising,and promotion to sustain their activities as well as increased competition from both new entrants and old economy firms adopting the Internet to sell toys resulted in depressed profit margins and a longer than expected post-IPO time-to-profitability.Investors discouraged by the firm not reaching profitability within the expected time frame reacted negatively,leading to a steep drop in stock prices and consequently drying up of additional sources of external financing.As a result,the firm was forced to file for bankruptcy within a short period of time after its highly successful IPO.Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Businessfirms belonging to relatively new industries being taken public amid a wave of investor optimism fueled by the promise of growth rather than profitability tends to repeat itself over time.6However,profitability tends to remain elusive and takes much longer than anticipated which results in investor disillusionment and consequently high failure rate among firms in such sectors.7Therefore,our study is likely to provide useful lessons to investors when applying valuations to IPO firms when this phenomenon starts to repeat itself.This articles proceeds as follows.First,using agency and signaling theories,we develop our hypotheses.Second,we describe our sample selection procedures and present descriptive statistics.Third,we describe our research methods and present our results.Finally,we discuss our results and end the article with our concluding remarks.3.Theory and hypothesesSignaling models and agency theory have been extensively applied in the financial economics,management,and strategy literatures to analyze a wide range of economic phenomena that revolve around problems associated with information asymmetry,moral hazard,and adverse selection.Signaling theory in particular has been widely applied in the IPO market as a framework to analyze mechanisms that are potentially effective in resolving the adverse selection problem that arises as a result of information asymmetry between various market participants (Baron,1982;Rock,1986;Welch,1989).In this study,signaling theory provides the framework to evaluate the impact of pre-IPO factors such as management quality,third party certification,and institutional investor demand on the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.The IPO market provides a particularly fertile setting to explore the consequences of separation of ownership and control and potential remedies for the resulting agency problems since the interests of pre-IPO and post-IPO shareholders can diverge.In the context of the IPO market,agency and signaling effects are also related to the extent that insider actions such as increasing the percentage of the firm sold at the IPO,percentage of management stock holdings liquidated at the IPO,or percentage of VC holdings liquidated at the IPO can accentuate agency problems with outside investors and,as a consequence,signal poor performance (Mudambi and Treichel,2005).We,therefore,apply agency theory to evaluate the impact of board structure and the change in pre-to-post IPO ownership of top management on the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.ernance structureIn the context of IPO firms,there are at least two different agency problems (Mudambi and Treichel,2005).The first problem arises as a result of opportunistic behavior of agents to 6Interestingly,just a few years after the bust,technology companies have again started going public while they are still unprofitable (Lashinsky,2006).7For instance,in the biotechnology industry where the first company went public a quarter century ago,public companies have taken in close to $100billion dollars from stock market investors but have delivered cumulative losses of more than $40billion (Hamilton,2004).Similarly,the disk drive industry in the early 1980s passed through phases similar to the Internet industry in terms of high firm founding rates,explosive growth,overoptimistic investors,IPO clusters,and high post-IPO failure rate (Lerner,1995).5B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx (2007)xxx –xxx Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Business6 B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx(2007)xxx–xxxincrease their share of the wealth at the expense of principals.The introduction of effective monitoring and control systems can help mitigate or eliminate this type of behavior and its negative impact on post-issue performance.The extant corporate governance literature has argued that the effectiveness of monitoring and control functions depends to a large extent on the composition of the board of directors.We,therefore,examine the relationship between board composition and the likelihood and timing of post-IPO profitability.The second type of agency problem that arises in the IPO market is due to uncertainty regarding whether insiders seek to use the IPO as an exit mechanism to cash out or whether they use the IPO to raise capital to invest in positive NPV projects.The extent of insider selling their shares at the time of the IPO can provide an effective signal regarding which of the above two motivations is the likely reason for the IPO.We,therefore,examine the impact of the change in ownership of officers and directors around the IPO on the likelihood and timing of attaining post-issue profitability.3.1.1.Board compositionThe corporate governance literature has generally argued that a greater proportion of outside directors on the board increases board independence and results in better monitoring of management and thereby lowers agency costs(Fama,1980;Fama and Jensen,1983; Williamson,1984).Therefore,a greater proportion of outside directors on the board of Internet IPO firms is likely to lead to a more effective monitoring and control environment, thus ensuring that managers pursue shareholder value maximizing strategies.In addition, due to their short operating history,management of Internet IPO firms are unlikely to have developed the necessary links with customers,suppliers,bankers,and other important stakeholders of the firm.Outside directors can be instrumental in facilitating the establishment of such links,thereby allowing these firms to better compete in the product market as well as capital market.On the basis of the above discussion,we would expect Internet IPO firms with more independent boards to be on a faster path-to-profitability. Hypothesis1:The proportion of outsiders on the board of Internet IPO firms is positively related to the probability of profitability and negatively related to time-to-profitability during the post-IPO period.The extant empirical evidence on the positive relation between board composition and performance,however,has been mixed,both for IPO firms as well as more seasoned corporations(Dalton et al.,1998;Baker and Gompers,2003).The ambiguous results can be partly attributed to the tradeoff between the benefits from the presence of outside directors such as more effective monitoring and control,greater objectivity,and assistance in resource acquisitions versus the benefits provided by inside directors such as detailed knowledge of the firm's operations,customer requirements,and technology that in turn can help the strategic planning process.Viewed through the innovation and technology prism, high technology Internet IPO firms may actually benefit more from in-depth technological knowledge,expertise,commitment,and innovative thinking that insiders bring to the board,rather than from the monitoring and control benefits provided by outside directors.In support of this argument,Zahra(1996)points out that boards comprised of a higher proportion of insiders may be more innovative and better positioned to serve management Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Businessas knowledgeable sounding boards in the formulation of strategy.Further,since high technology Internet firms are unlikely to generate substantial free cash flows in the period immediately after the IPO,the potential for wasteful expenditure is lower,and therefore,the benefits of monitoring and control provided by outsiders is less likely to be substantive.If there is a greater need for creative thinking and decision-making in high technology knowledge-based industries that only insiders are uniquely qualified to provide,we expect a negative relation between the proportion of outsiders on the board and the probability of profitability and a positive relation with time-to-profitability.Hypothesis 1A:The proportion of outsiders on the board of Internet firms is negatively related to the probability of profitability and positively related to time-to-profitability during the post-IPO period.3.1.2.Ownership of officers and directorsCorporate governance studies have also focused extensively on corporate ownership and its impact on performance,both in isolation and in conjunction with board composition.Both agency and signaling theories provide similar predictions regarding the relationship between the extent of insider ownership and post-issue performance.Agency theory suggests that high insider ownership reduces agency conflicts and enhances organizational performance,while signaling theory argues that higher insider ownership is a credible signal of insider's confidence regarding the future prospects of the firm.The change in the ownership of the top managers and directors around the offering can be viewed as an important signal of the issuing firm's future prospects (Leland and Pyle,1977).In the context of the IPO market,a large post-IPO decline in top management ownership can be interpreted as a signal of their lack of confidence in the ability of the firm to generate sufficient cash flows to reach the profitability milestone.Additionally,any decline in the ownership stakes of owners/managers is likely to adversely affect post-IPO performance due to higher agency costs (Jensen and Meckling,1976).While the extent of the change in ownership of insiders around the IPO is an informative signal for all types of IPO firms,it is particularly relevant in the context of Internet firms that go public while predominantly unprofitable and where the informational and incentive problems are particularly acute.For instance,Mudambi and Treichel (2005)find that a substantial reduction in equity holdings of the top management of Internet firms signals an impending cash crisis.We,therefore,argue that the greater the decline in the pre-to-post IPO ownership of top managers and directors,the lower the probability of attaining profitability,and consequently the longer the time-to-profitability.Hypothesis 2:The decline in ownership of officers and directors from pre-to-post-IPO is negatively related to the probability of attaining profitability and positively related to time-to-profitability after the IPO.3.2.Management qualityAn extensive body of research has examined the impact of top management team (TMT)characteristics on firm outcomes for established firms as well as for new ventures by drawing from human capital and demography theories (Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven,7B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx (2007)xxx –xxx Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Business8 B.A.Jain et al./Journal of Business Venturing xx(2007)xxx–xxx1990;Finkelstein and Hambrick,1990;Wiersema and Bantel,1992;Hambrick et al.,1996; Beckman et al.,2007).For instance,researchers drawing from human capital theories study the impact of characteristics such as type and amount of experience of TMTs on performance(Cooper et al.,1994;Gimeno et al.,1997;Burton et al.,2002;Baum and Silverman,2004).Additionally,Beckman et al.(2007)argue that demographic arguments are distinct from human capital arguments in that they examine team composition and diversity in addition to experience.The authors consequently examine the impact of characteristics such as background affiliation,composition,and turnover of TMT members on the likelihood of firms completing an IPO.Overall,researchers have generally found evidence to support arguments that human capital and demographic characteristics of TMT members influence firm outcomes.Drawing from signaling theory,we argue that the quality of the TMTof IPO firms can serve as a signal of the ability of a firm to attain post-IPO profitability.Since management quality is costly to acquire,signaling theory implies that by hiring higher quality management,high value firms can signal their superior prospects and separate themselves from low value firms with less capable managers.The beneficial impact of management quality in the IPO market includes the ability to attract more prestigious investment bankers,generate stronger institutional investor demand,raise capital more effectively,lower underwriting expenses, attract stronger analyst following,make better investment and financing decisions,and consequently influence the short and long-run post-IPO operating and stock performance (Chemmanur and Paeglis,2005).Thus,agency theory,in turn,would argue that higher quality management is more likely to earn their marginal productivity of labor and thus have a lower incentive to shirk,thereby also leading to more favorable post-IPO outcomes.8 We focus our analyses on the signaling impact of CEO and CFO quality on post-IPO performance.We focus on these two members of the TMT of IPO firms since they are particularly influential in establishing beneficial networks,providing legitimacy to the organization,and are instrumental in designing,communicating,and implementing the various strategic choices and standard operating procedures that are likely to influence post-IPO performance.3.2.1.CEO characteristicsCEOs play a major role in designing and implementing strategic choices and policies for their firms.Their actions can have long-term significance since they typically define long-term policies of the firm(Parrino,1997).While the role and influence of CEOs on strategic choices,incentive mechanisms,accountability issues,and consequently performance is vital for all types of organizations,their impact is especially relevant for newly public firms that face significant competitive,product market,and financing challenges during the post-IPO phase.The role and impact of CEOs can be even more critical for the subset of technology related IPO firms since they may require fundamentally different skill sets and competencies from CEOs compared to those required to run companies in more traditional industries.We assess CEO quality by focusing on variables that capture the extent of general and specific human capital developed by them through their prior work experience and their risk propensity and decision-making behavior.In distinguishing between general and specific8We thank the Associate Editor,Phil Phan for suggesting this explanation.Please cite this article as:Jain,B.A.et al.The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.Journal of Business。
企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献
企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)原文：Measuring the quality of earnings1. IntroductionGenerally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) offer some flexibility in preparing the financial statements and give the financial managers some freedom to select among accounting policies and alternatives. Earning management uses the flexibility in financial reporting to alter the financial results of the firm (Ortega and Grant, 2003).In other words, earnings management is manipulating the earning to achieve a企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献predetermined target set by the management. It is a purposeful intervention in the external reporting process with the intent of obtaining some private gain (Schipper, 1989).Levit (1998) defines earning management as a gray area where the accounting is being perverted; where managers are cutting corners; and, where earnings reports reflect the desires of management rather than the underlying financial performance of the company.The popular press lists several instances of companies engaging in earnings management. Sensormatic Electronics, which stamped shipping dates and times on sold merchandise, stopped its clocks on the last day of a quarter until customer shipments reached its sales goal. Certain business units of Cendant Corporation inflated revenues nearly $500 million just prior to a merger; subsequently, Cendant restated revenuesand agreed with the SEC to change revenue recognition practices. AOL restated earnings for $385 million in improperly deferred marketing expenses. In 1994, the Wall Street Journal detailed the many ways in which General Electric smoothed earnings, including the careful timing of capital gains and the use of restructuring charges and reserves, in response to the article, General Electric reportedly received calls from other corporations questioning why such common practices were“front-page〞 news.Earning management occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers (Healy and Whalen, 1999).Magrath and Weld (2002) indicate that abusive earnings management and fraudulent practices begins by engaging in earnings management schemes designed primarily to “smooth〞 earnings to meet internally or externally imposed earnings forecasts and analysts’ expectations. Even if earnings management does not explicitly violate accounting rules, it is an ethically questionable practice. An organization that manages its earnings sends a企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献message to its employees that bending the truth is an acceptable practice. Executives who partake of this practice risk creating an ethical climate in which other questionable activities may occur. A manager who asks the sales staff to help sales one day forfeits the moral authority to criticize questionable sales tactics another day.Earnings management can also become a very slippery slope, which relatively minor accounting gimmicks becoming more and more aggressiveuntil they create material misstatements in the financial statements (Clikeman, 2003)The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued three staff accounting bulletins (SAB) to provide guidance on some accounting issues in order to prevent the inappropriate earnings management activities by public companies: SAB No. 99 “Materiality〞, SAB No. 100 “Restructuring and Impairment Charges〞 and SAB No. 101 “Revenue Recognition〞.Earnings management behavior may affect the quality of accounting earnings, which is defined by Schipper and Vincent (2003) as the extent to which the reported earnings faithfully represent Hichsian economic income, which is the amount that can be consumed (i.e. paid out as dividends) during a period, while leaving the firm equally well off at the beginning and the end of the period.Assessment of earning quality requires sometimes the separations of earnings into cash from operation and accruals, the more the earnings is closed to cash from operation, the higher earnings quality. As Penman (2001) states that the purpose of accounting quality analysis is to distinguish between the “hard〞 numbers resulting from cash flows and the “soft〞 numbers resulting from accrual accounting.The quality of earnings can be assessed by focusing on the earning persistence; high quality earnings are more persistent and useful in the process of decision making.Beneish and Vargus (2002) investigate whether insider trading is informative about earnings quality using earning persistence as a measure for the quality of earnings, they find that income-increasing accruals are significantly more persistent for firms with abnormal insider buying and significantly less persistent for firms with abnormal insider selling, relative to firms which there is no abnormal insider trading.Balsam et al. (2003) uses the level of discretionary accruals as a direct measure企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献for earning quality. The discretionary accruals model is based on a regression relationship between the change in total accruals as dependent variable and change in sales and change in the level of property, plant and equipment, change in cash flow from operations and change in firm size (total assets) as independent variables. If the regression coefficients in this model are significant that means that there is earning management in that firm and the earnings quality is low.This research presents an empirical study on using three different approaches of measuring the quality of earnings on different industry. The notion is; if there is a complete consistency among the three measures, a general assessment for the quality of earnings (high or low) can be reached and, if not, the quality of earnings is questionable and needs different other approaches for measurement and more investigations and analysis.The rest of the paper is divided into following sections: Earnings management incentives, Earnings management techniques, Model development, Sample and statistical results, and Conclusion.2. Earnings management incentives 2.1 Meeting analysts’ expectations In general, analysts’ expectations and company predictions tend to address two high-profile components of financial performance: revenue and earnings from operations.The pressure to meet revenue expectations is particularly intense and may be the primary catalyst in leading managers to engage in earning management practices that result in questionable or fraudulent revenue recognition practices. Magrath and Weld (2002) indicate that improperrevenue recognition practices were the cause of one-third of all voluntary or forced restatements of income filed with the SEC from 1977 to 2000. Ironically, it is often the companies themselves that create this pressure to meet the market’s earnings expectations. It is common practice for companies to provide earnings estimates to analysts and investors. Management is often faced with the task of ensuring their targeted estimates are met.企业盈利质量分析中英文对照外文翻译文献Several companies, including Coca-Cola Co., Intel Corp., and Gillette Co., have taken a contrary stance and no longer provide quarterly and annual earnings estimates to analysts. In doing so, these companies claim they have shifted their focus from meeting short-term earnings estimates to achieving their long-term strategies (Mckay and Brown, 2002).2.2 To avoid debt-covenant violations and minimize political costs Some firms have the incentive to avoid violating earnings-based debt covenants. If violated, the lender may be able to raise the interest rate on the debt or demand immediate repayment. Consequently, some firms may use earnings-management techniques to increase earnings to avoid such covenant violations. On the other hand, some other firms have the incentive to lower earnings in order to minimize political costs associated with being seen as too profitable. For example, if gasoline prices have been increasing significantly and oil companies are achieving record profit level, then there may be incentive for the government to intervene and enact an excess-profit tax or attempt to introduce price controls.2.3 To smooth earnings toward a long-term sustainable trendFor many years it has been believed that a firm should attempt to reduce the volatility in its earnings stream in order to maximize share price. Because a highly violate earning pattern indicates risk, therefore thestock will lose value compared to others with more stable earnings patterns. Consequently, firms have incentives to manage earnings to help achieve a smooth and growing earnings stream (Ortega and Grant, 2003).2.4 Meeting the bonus plan requirementsHealy (1985) provides the evidence that earnings are managed in the direction that is consistent with maximizing executives’ earnings-based bonus. When earnings will be below the minimum level required to earn a bonus, then earning are managed upward so that the minimum is achieved and a bonus is earned. Conversely, when earning will be above the maximum level at which no additional bonus is paid, then earnings are managed downward. The extra earnings that will not generate extra bonus this current period are saved to be used to earn a bonus in a future period.。
财务报表分析中英文对照外文翻译文献
中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)原文：ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTSWe need to use financial ratios in analyzing financial statements.—— The analysis of comparative financial statements cannot be made really effective unless it takes the form of a study of relationships between items in the statements. It is of little value, for example, to know that, on a given date, the Smith Company has a cash balance of $1oooo. But suppose we know that this balance is only -IV per cent of all current liabilities whereas a year ago cash was 25 per cent of all current liabilities. Since the bankers for the company usually require a cash balance against bank lines, used or unused, of 20 per cent, we can see at once that the firm's cash condition is exhibiting a questionable tendency.We may make comparisons between items in the comparative financial statements as follows:1. Between items in the comparative balance sheeta) Between items in the balance sheet for one date, e.g., cash may be compared with current liabilitiesb) Between an item in the balance sheet for one date and the same item in the balance sheet for another date, e.g., cash today may be compared with cash a year agoc) Of ratios, or mathematical proportions, between two items in the balance sheet for one date and a like ratio in the balance sheet for another date, e.g., the ratio of cash to current liabilities today may be compared with a like ratio a year ago and the trend of cash condition noted2. Between items in the comparative statement of income and expensea) Between items in the statement for a given periodb) Between one item in this period's statement and the same item in last period's statementc) Of ratios between items in this period's statement and similar ratios in last period's statement3. Between items in the comparative balance sheet and items in the comparative statement of income and expensea) Between items in these statements for a given period, e.g., net profit for this year may be calculated as a percentage of net worth for this yearb) Of ratios between items in the two statements for a period of years, e.g., the ratio of net profit to net worth this year may-be compared with like ratios for last year, and for the years preceding thatOur comparative analysis will gain in significance if we take the foregoing comparisons or ratios and; in turn, compare them with:I. Such data as are absent from the comparative statements but are of importance in judging a concern's financial history and condition, for example, the stage of the business cycle2. Similar ratios derived from analysis of the comparative statements of competing concerns or of concerns in similar lines of business What financialratios are used in analyzing financial statements.- Comparative analysis of comparative financial statements may be expressed by mathematical ratios between the items compared, for example, a concern's cash position may be tested by dividing the item of cash by the total of current liability items and using the quotient to express the result of the test. Each ratio may be expressed in two ways, for example, the ratio of sales to fixed assets may be expressed as the ratio of fixed assets to sales. We shall express each ratio in such a way that increases from period to period will be favorable and decreases unfavorable to financial condition.We shall use the following financial ratios in analyzing comparative financial statements:I. Working-capital ratios1. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities2. The ratio of cash to total current liabilities3. The ratio of cash, salable securities, notes and accounts receivable to total current liabilities4. The ratio of sales to receivables, i.e., the turnover of receivables5. The ratio of cost of goods sold to merchandise inventory, i.e., the turnover of inventory6. The ratio of accounts receivable to notes receivable7. The ratio of receivables to inventory8. The ratio of net working capital to inventory9. The ratio of notes payable to accounts payableIO. The ratio of inventory to accounts payableII. Fixed and intangible capital ratios1. The ratio of sales to fixed assets, i.e., the turnover of fixed capital2. The ratio of sales to intangible assets, i.e., the turnover of intangibles3. The ratio of annual depreciation and obsolescence charges to the assetsagainst which depreciation is written off4. The ratio of net worth to fixed assetsIII. Capitalization ratios1. The ratio of net worth to debt.2. The ratio of capital stock to total capitalization .3. The ratio of fixed assets to funded debtIV. Income and expense ratios1. The ratio of net operating profit to sales2. The ratio of net operating profit to total capital3. The ratio of sales to operating costs and expenses4. The ratio of net profit to sales5. The ratio of net profit to net worth6. The ratio of sales to financial expenses7. The ratio of borrowed capital to capital costs8. The ratio of income on investments to investments9. The ratio of non-operating income to net operating profit10. The ratio of net operating profit to non-operating expense11. The ratio of net profit to capital stock12. The ratio of net profit reinvested to total net profit available for dividends on common stock13. The ratio of profit available for interest to interest expensesThis classification of financial ratios is permanent not exhaustive. -Other ratios may be used for purposes later indicated. Furthermore, some of the ratios reflect the efficiency with which a business has used its capital while others reflect efficiency in financing capital needs. The ratios of sales to receivables, inventory, fixed and intangible capital; the ratios of net operating profit to total capital and to sales; and the ratios of sales to operating costs and expenses reflect efficiency in the use of capital.' Most of the other ratios reflect financial efficiency.B. Technique of Financial Statement AnalysisAre the statements adequate in general?-Before attempting comparative analysis of given financial statements we wish to be sure that the statements are reasonably adequate for the purpose. They should, of course, be as complete as possible. They should also be of recent date. If not, their use must be limited to the period which they cover. Conclusions concerning 1923 conditions cannot safely be based upon 1921 statements.Does the comparative balance sheet reflect a seasonable situation? If so, it is important to know financial conditions at both the high and low points of the season. We must avoid unduly favorable judgment of the business at the low point when assets are very liquid and debt is low, and unduly unfavorable judgment at the high point when assets are less liquid and debt likely to be relatively high.Does the balance sheet for any date reflect the estimated financial condition after the sale of a proposed new issue of securities? If so, in order to ascertain the actual financial condition at that date it is necessary to subtract the amount of the security issue from net worth, if the. issue is of stock, or from liabilities, if bonds are to be sold. A like amount must also be subtracted from assets or liabilities depending upon how the estimated proceeds of the issue are reflected in the statement.Are the statements audited or unaudited? It is often said that audited statements, that is, complete audits rather than statements "rubber stamped" by certified public accountants, are desirable when they can be obtained. This is true, but the statement analyst should be certain that the given auditing film's reputation is beyond reproach.Is working-capital situation favorable ?-If the comparative statements to be analyzed are reasonably adequate for the purpose, the next step is to analyze the concern's working-capital trend and position. We may begin by ascertaining the ratio of current assets to current liabilities. This ratioaffords-a test of the concern's probable ability to pay current obligations without impairing its net working capital. It is, in part, a measure of ability to borrow additional working capital or to renew short-term loans without difficulty. The larger the excess of current assets over current liabilities the smaller the risk of loss to short-term creditors and the better the credit of the business, other things being equal. A ratio of two dollars of current assets to one dollar of current liabilities is the "rule-of-thumb" ratio generally considered satisfactory, assuming all current assets are conservatively valued and all current liabilities revealed.The rule-of-thumb current ratio is not a satisfactory test ofworking-capital position and trend. A current ratio of less than two dollars for one dollar may be adequate, or a current ratio of more than two dollars for one dollar may be inadequate. It depends, for one thing, upon the liquidity of the current assets.The liquidity of current assets varies with cash position.-The larger the proportion of current assets in the form of cash the more liquid are the current assets as a whole. Generally speaking, cash should equal at least 20 per cent of total current liabilities (divide cash by total current liabilities). Bankers typically require a concern to maintain bank balances equal to 20 per cent of credit lines whether used or unused. Open-credit lines are not shown on the balance sheet, hence the total of current liabilities (instead of notes payable to banks) is used in testing cash position. Like the two-for-one current ratio, the 20 per cent cash ratio is more or less a rule-of-thumb standard.The cash balance that will be satisfactory depends upon terms of sale, terms of purchase, and upon inventory turnover. A firm selling goods for cash will find cash inflow more nearly meeting cash outflow than will a firm selling goods on credit. A business which pays cash for all purchases will need more ready money than one which buys on long terms of credit. The more rapidly the inventory is sold the more nearly will cash inflow equal cash outflow, other things equal.Needs for cash balances will be affected by the stage of the business cycle. Heavy cash balances help to sustain bank credit and pay expenses when a period of liquidation and depression depletes working capital and brings a slump in sales. The greater the effects of changes in the cycle upon a given concern the more thought the financial executive will need to give to the size of his cash balances.Differences in financial policies between different concerns will affect the size of cash balances carried. One concern may deem it good policy to carry as many open-bank lines as it can get, while another may carry only enough lines to meet reasonably certain needs for loans. The cash balance of the first firm is likely to be much larger than that of the second firm.The liquidity of current assets varies with ability to meet "acid test."- Liquidity of current assets varies with the ratio of cash, salable securities, notes and accounts receivable (less adequate reserves for bad debts), to total current liabilities (divide the total of the first four items by total current liabilities). This is the so-called "acid test" of the liquidity of current condition. A ratio of I: I is considered satisfactory since current liabilities can readily be paid and creditors risk nothing on the uncertain values of merchandise inventory. A less than 1:1 ratio may be adequate if receivables are quickly collected and if inventory is readily and quickly sold, that is, if its turnover is rapid andif the risks of changes in price are small.The liquidity of current assets varies with liquidity of receivables. This may be ascertained by dividing annual sales by average receivables or by receivables at the close of the year unless at that date receivables do not represent the normal amount of credit extended to customers. Terms of sale must be considered in judging the turnover of receivables. For example, if sales for the year are $1,200,000 and average receivables amount to $100,000, the turnover of receivables is $1,200,000/$100,000=12. Now, if credit terms to customers are net in thirty days we can see that receivables are paid promptly.Consideration should also be given market conditions and the stage of the business cycle. Terms of credit are usually longer in farming sections than in industrial centers. Collections are good in prosperous times but slow in periods of crisis and liquidation.Trends in the liquidity of receivables will also be reflected in the ratio of accounts receivable to notes receivable, in cases where goods are typically sold on open account. A decline in this ratio may indicate a lowering of credit standards since notes receivable are usually given to close overdue open accounts. If possible, a schedule of receivables should be obtained showing those not due, due, and past due thirty, sixty, and ninety days. Such a, schedule is of value in showing the efficiency of credits and collections and in explaining the trend in turnover of receivables. The more rapid the turnover of receivables the smaller the risk of loss from bad debts; the greater the savings of interest on the capital invested in receivables, and the higher the profit on total capital, other things being equal.Author(s): C. O. Hardy and S. P. Meech译文：财务报表分析A.财务比率我们需要使用财务比率来分析财务报表，比较财务报表的分析方法不能真正有效的得出想要的结果，除非采取的是研究在报表中项目与项目之间关系的形式。
中国上市公司盈利能力研究英文
Profitability of Chinese listed companies1 Profitability study: Significance and key conclusions1.1 Significance of profitability studyProfits are the core of business operations in a modern economy. Drive for profits keep producers producing and retailers selling. As companies expand, capacity expansion starts to grow beyond its own means. Fund raising becomes a necessity. This can be achieved through loans, bonds or stocks. The key for bank loans or bond issuance is credit worthiness, or borr owers’ ability to pay back debt. For the stock market, the focus is on present and future profitability, in terms of earnings, earnings growth, cash flows, margins and market shares. In the direct capital market, capital investment destinations are determined through comparing return on equity (ROE). Companies that can deliver earnings and create maximum return on investment deserve the top picks.Unlike the original capitalist or entrepreneur, money at the stock market level has many choices of investment. It is much less attached to the original investment plan and typically less picky about which industry or management (smart investors do care about sector and management, but mainly from an investment perspective, not from a personal one) it will invest in. Money is committed to make money. The higher and the stronger profits are, the bigger the returns the investment will reap.While ROE profitability is at the centre of equity markets worldwide, less emphasis to it has been given in China. The short life span of China’ s stock exchange, excessive domestic liquidity in the past years and restrictions on capital flow all appear to have directed attention away from profitability. Management of some listed Chinese companies may also not to be focusing on this issue.In overseas markets, Chinese companies’ lack of profitability is probably the most frequently cited concern amongst equity investors. Less anxiety is expressed in 4 the domestic A-shares markets, but a rising awareness of earnings and other fundamentals has been evident recently. As Chinese equity markets develop and mature, we believe that domestic investors will place a stronger emphasis on profitability and demand higher returns on equity.The profitability i ssue goes beyond capital markets and investors’ interests. It is also a central pillar of a country’ s sustainable growth path, because profits represent wealth accumulation. Improvement in profitability is a proxy of productivity gains. One key lesson to be learnt from the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s is that economic growth must be associated with improvement in productivity and profitability. The old Asian model of pursuing high growththrough continued capital and labour inputs delivered impressive results for years or even decades, but ultimately failed. There is an abundant amount of economics literature detailing the “ Asian model” and its flaws, so we shall not extend the discussion further in this paper.Nonetheless, it is clear that shifting away from “ quantitative expansion” or a market share driven development pattern to “ qualitative expansion” or a productivity driven development pattern is crucial for Chin a’ s long term development strategy. This is about the sustainability of on-going rapid economic development. This is about the long-term prospects of China.Research articles focusing on the profitability and corporate governance of Chinese listed companies from a macro perspective from China or international financial institutions have been few and far between until recent years. Moreover, we took our study a little further by comparing profitability on a global scale as well as on an industry basis. To our knowledge, this has never been done before, but is significant in order to understand the strength and weakness of the listed companies. We also surveyed institutional investors, domestic and aboard, taking advantage of the unique combination of this project. Again, we believe this to bea new attempt at such work. 51.2 Basic conclusionsThe key findings and conclusions from this project are listed below.1) The Chinese listed companies in our survey generally recorded respectable profitability, in comparison to listed companies in US, Europeand Japan. A-shares companies seem to have higher ROE and marginsthan those listed in Hong Kong, though a bad macro environment in HongKong in the past few years probably lowered the profitability of Chinese companies, which receive a large source of their revenue flow from theSAR. Most overseas investors do not seem to be aware of the fact that theA-shares have a higher profitability than the Hong Kong listed Chinese companies.2) There is a clear trend of declining R OE and net income margins amongst companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen. While average margins inthe mid-1990s are in line with world standards; by the end of the 1990s,they had fallen significantly. This may be related to the deflationary environment at the macro level; this downward momentum in profitability is worrying. Hong Kong listed Chinese companies do not seem to be afflictedwith this problem.3) The falling margins of the Chinese manufacturing and consumer product sectors are particularly alarming, because these of the key sectors ofChina’ s economy. Profitability of some industries may be tied to the global cycle, such as petrochemicals and aviation sectors, where pricemovements and demand/supply balances are determined by globalmarkets. Utility companies have the steadiest ROE amongst the surveyed companies, and enjoy higher margins and returns than their international peers.4) Both ROE and net income margins of the China listed companies tend to fall once the listing process is completed. We divided companies by theiryear of listing. From 1994 to 2000, each and every category saw their 6ROE peak in either the year immediately before listing or in the listing year. Most classes recorded consecutive falls in profitability since then. There isno clear evidence that the Hong Kong listed Chinese companies follow the same pattern.5) In a poll we conducted amongst overseas and domestic institutional investors, all the fund mangers surveyed marked profitability high on their priority list. Most of them also think the margins of Chinese companies are probably below the world average. While domestic investors areenthusiastic to invest in the Hong Kong market through the QDII scheme,only one third of the surveyed international fund managers indicated they would invest in the A-shares market once QFII is introduced.Our basic conclusion from this study is: listed companies, investors and stock exchange authorities all need to place more emphasis on profitability and ROE because they are the cornerstones of modern capitalism and capital markets. It is a particularly challenging task, as China is set to liberalise its capital markets in the next decade. This means both domestic and international capital would have more options on what, or even whether, to invest in Chinese companies in the future. Chinese companies will have to compete against their global peers for capital. Profitability and return on equity are key valuation tools to attract investors. Improving profita bility is also crucial for China’ s long-term prospects, as the economy needs to raise productivity.。
上市企业偿债能力外文翻译文献编辑
文献信息文献标题：Firm’s Size and Solvency Performance: Evidence from the Malaysian Public Listed Firms（公司规模和偿债能力：来自马来西亚上市公司的证据）文献作者：AK Ramin等文献出处：《Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences》,2017, 12(5): 1240-1244字数统计：英文3045单词，15732字符；中文4929汉字外文文献Firm’s Size and Solvency Performance: Evidence from theMalaysian Public Listed FirmsAbstract Firm solvency is one of the important indicators in measuring firm’s performance. Firm ability to grow and sustaining their business in the highly competitive business environment depends significantly on its cash flow management capacity that subsequently results to a business stay solvent at every phase of business life cycle. Early detection of financial distress is important for every firm of various sizes. Previous findings on firm’s size and solvency performance varies which tendency on agreeing to the assumption that larger firms have the advantages to avoid insolvency as compare to smaller firms. However, previous studies have also revealed that larger firms such as public listed company were not escape from facing financial distress which eventually lead to insolvency. Therefore, the study was aimed to mdentify the influence of firm’s size and solvency performance of public listed firms in Malaysia. A total of 149 firms were used to measure their financial data performance for a period between 2011 and 2014. Firm total assets and paid capital were used as a proxy to firm size. The current ratio and debt ratio were used as a proxy to measure the solvency performance. The study found that firm size measuredby total assets has moderately influence the solvency performance of firms indicated by the debt ratio and current ratio. However the firm size measured by paid-up capital has lesser influence on solvency performance measured by debt ratio and no influence on current ratio.Kev words: Current ratio, debt ratio, firm size. Insolvency, liquidity, SolvencyINTRODUCTIONIn any situation, firms should be able to meet short and long term obligation to achieve operational sustainability. In this situation, firms with operational sustainability were regarded as in the position of solvency. Insolvency occurs when a firm’s total liabilities exceeded a fair valuation of its total assets. Previous study by Brigham and Houston (2012) described technical insolvency as the position whereby firms were unable to meet their current obligations as they fall due (that is the firm’s current assets are lower than its current liabilities) despite having higher total assets than the total liabilities. Early detection of financial distress is important in avoiding insolvency. Public listed firms were relatively capable in managing liquidity to ensure that they remain in solvency position sustainably. Previous findings on the relation ship between firm’s size and solvency performance shows mixed result which tendency on agreeing to the assumption that large firms have the advantages over small firm to remain solvent. However, prior studies have also revealed that larger firms such as public listed companies were not immune from having financial distress which eventually leads to insolvency. Firm ability in servicing and repaying debts was the main indicator of the solvency position measurement of any firms (Zhang and Zhang, 2010). Earlier empirical studies by Coleman (2002), Obert and Olawale (2010) that focus on larger firm in various developed countries suggest that large firms showed that size have significant impact on the ability in serving debts lead to greater chances in sustaining their solvency position. This finding consistent with a study by Sahudin et al. (2011 ) in which larger firms allows a greater level of debt management towards their ability to sustain the solvency position. Despite many findings revealed that larger firms have an advantages over the smaller firms in managing their liquidity,there were cases particularly in which Practice Note (PN 17) was served to considerably large firms listed in Bursa Malaysia as a result of liquidity issues. PN 17 is the control procedure specifically for public listed companies which are facing financial distress and to be delisted from the stock exchange. There were 21 firms subjected to PN 17 as at first half of 2015 bringing the total listing of financial distress firms to 2.32% of the total listed firms on the stock exchange. Shareholders and investors continue to demand for healthy firms to ensure their investments. Solvency and liquidity of firms would remains significant elements for managers to manage for sustainability of the firms. It is pertinent for managers to understand about business failures, its causes and its possible remedies (Sulub, 2014). Therefore, the study was aimed to mdentify the influence of firm’s size on solvency performance of public listed firms on the Bursa Malaysia (BM).LITERIATURE REVIEWPast researchLun and Quaddus (2011 ) in their study among Hong Kong electronic industry propagated that firm size does influence the performance of business. In other findings suggested that smaller firms were more likely to issue equity while larger firms are more likely to issue debt rather than equity which influence the liquidity. Past study done by Cassar and Holmes (2003) and Esperanca et al. (2003) found a positive relationship between firm size and long-term debt but a negative relationship with short-term debt which eventually influence the liquidity. Other study suggested that firm size and capital structure strategy may influence firm’s solvency performances. Other finding by Beck et al. (2008) indicated that firms size influence the firm’s performance which includes the solvency and liquidity operation. Findings from Rajeev indicated that small firms were much faced higher risks of liquidity as compared to those larger firms. Therefore, these two findings show a risk versus return trade-off that exists at the firm performance level in relation to firm’s size. Justification of this findings propagated that larger firms have the advantages to access for better resources and skill competencies to better manage the firm. Otherproponent to this hypothesis added that economies of scale only can only be found at larger firms (Nguyen and Reznek, 1991). Despite many findings propagated that larger firms have better performance in term of solvency, there were findings which argued that smaller firms may also performance better in term of efficiency, growth and liquidity. Recent finding by Vithessonthi and Tongurai (2015), firm size does not influence the firm performances during the 2000-2009 Thailand financial crisis.Other finding by Campos and Sanchis (2015) firm’s size among agricultural industry in Spam does not influence the performance of liquidity and solvency of the industry. In general, performance of firms such as the productivity, firm size to be found in mix ed contribution towards firm’s productivity which could influence the financial health of the operation (Pompe and Bilderbeek, 2005). Earlier finding by Michaelas et al. (1999) also supported that a debt ratio and firm’s size could correlate depending on the other factors within the firms.Other findings by Bourlakis et al. (2014) suggest different small firm performed better in case of agriculture industry in Greek. Small firms preferred to opt for short-term finance as compared to larger firms and better performed as opposed to larger firms. It may caused small firms highly sensitive to short term economic environment as oppose to larger firms. It is concluded that the relationship between firm’s size and firms performance findings varies as many other fac tors may influence the both variables. It is therefore, continuous study on this issues remain relevant as economic factors continue to influence firms operation.Firm sizeFirm size has been widely used as a control variable in empirical research specifically to corporate finance. Firm size matter for many reasons, it is said that larger firms are better in managing their cash flow, therefore difficult to fail and liquidate (Shumway, 2001 ). Size can also be the proxy for the volatility of firm’s assets. Additionally, measurement of firm size varies according to the research perspective. Rajeev suggested that firm size is defined according to the value of a firm’s assets. In addition, Sahudin et al. (2011 ) propagated that the size of firm is defines as the logarithm of total assets of the firms used in business; Firm s= log e,Total asset. Previous scholar such as Kato and Honho and Sun preferred to use total assets value to represent firm’s size to measure liquidity and predictor for bankruptcy. While some researchers used asset value as the proxy to firm’s size, others have suggested alternative measurement such as paid up capital as a proxy for firm’s size. According to Allen paid-up capital for a firms company is the number of shares outstanding multiplies the face value of the shares. Kidanu defined paid-up capital as the amount of capital which is contributed/paid by owner(s) during the establishment of a firm adopting measurement of firm’s size using paid-up capital is a more stable measure of firm size (Ponnu and Okoth, 2009). Other researcher suggested that total assets as a proxy for firm size indicated the influence of firm’s size and solvency performance (Vithessonthi and Tongurai, 2015). In view of the widely adopted by other researcher, this stud y employed this variable as the proxy for firm’s size.SolvencyThe importance of knowing solvency through the optimal debt ratio could help policymakers and financial managers to formulate an appropriate financing policy that could prevent companies from going into financially distressed situation due to excessive level of debt (Ahmad and Abdullah, 2011). Previous researches works widely suggested that ‘Debt Ratio’ (DR) and ‘Debt to Equity Ratio’ (DER) be used as a proxy to solvency (Khidmat and Rehman, 2014). DR was widely used as its reflecting the company’ liability situation and has the best protection degree for borrower’s benefit and it is the basic ratio in translatmg financing structure as well as easy to define and calculate (Li and Jian, 2008). Other proponent on the use of DR was finding by Ahmad and Abdullah (2011) in which DR was consistent with trade-off theory which hypothesize that high debt ratio will lead to financial distress and thus deteriorate the firm value. Other measurement on solvency was based on performance of Current Ratio (CR). The CR measure a firm’s ability to pay current obligations on business such as operating and financial expenses is current ratio. Current ratio consists of cash and near-cash assets (together called “current” assets) of a business on one side and immediate payment obligations (current liabilities) on the other side. Using the CR to measure solvency enable firms to monitor paymentobligations include dues to suppliers, operating and financial expenses that must be paid shortly and maturing installments under long-term debt (Saleem and Rehman, 2011; Altman, 1968). It is therefore, CR and DR were adopted in this study as a proxy for solvency performance.MATERIALS AND METHODSThis study employs quantitative methodology involving collection of secondary audited financial data from 149 firms for a period between 2011 and 2014 representing a sample size of 16% from a total of 934 firms listed on Bursa Malaysia. Quantitative method based on secondary data was employed as simple random sampling technique was employed to select a sample representing type of sector and firm size. Table 1 shows industrial product accounts the largest number of the samples which were 47 firms (31 .5%) and followed by trade and service sector of 35 firms (23.5%). There were 25 firms or 16.8% representing consumer sector. Property sector accounts for 12.1 % or 18 sample firms. The remaining samples came from construction, plantation and technology and hotel industry. Detail breakdown of samples firms is depicted in Table 1 (Dhawan, 2001).Table I : Samples firms by sectorsSector Frequency PercentageIndustrial product 47 31.5Trade and service 35 23.5Consumer 25 16.8Property 18 12.1Construction 9 6.0Plantation 7 4.7Technology 5 3.4Finance 3 2.0Total 149 100.0Data observations covers annual reports from 149 firms for 4 years period were analysis using excel prior to further analysis using SPSS. Firm size was measure by total assets of the firms and paid up capital. Total assets were derived as:Fixed assets + Current assets (1) Debt ratios were calculated as:Total debt/total asset (2)Current ratios were calculated as:Total current assets/Total current liabilities (3)RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONDescriptive analysis on debt ratios and current ratio resulted in their respective mean scores of each firm’s size category as depicted in Table 2 mean score for DR varies according to firm’s size in which small f irms scored mean of 0. 259, medium size; 0.378 and larger firm scored mean of 0. 452. For the CR, small firm scored mean of 6.605, medium firm; 2.534 and larger firm scored 2.562. Correlation test on the relationship between firm size (total assets) and DR yielded p<0. 005 and r-value of 0.313 indicated that there was a moderate positive correlation between two variables as depicted in Table 3. Firm size (total assets) value correlate with the performance firm’s debt ratio indicating that as the asset value increase it will also resulted to moderate and significant increase in the firm’s DR.Table 2: Mean score of DR and CR for various firm’s sizeFrim size (total assets) Mean Debt Ratio (DR) Mean Current Ratio (CR) Small frim (TA<RM 100mil) 0.259 6.605 Medium frim (RM 100mil<TA<RM 499 mil) 0.378 2.534Large frim (TA>RM 499 mil) 0.452 2.562 Table 3: Correlation between total assets and debt ratio from year 2011 -2014 spearman's rho DR TADRCorrelation coefficient 1.000 0.313**Sig. (2-tailed)- 0.000N 149 149TACorrelation coefficient0.313** 1.000Sig. (2-tailed)0.000 -N 149 149* *Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)Further, test on the correlation between firm sizes (total assets) on CR yielded r-value of 0.194 and p-value of 0.018, p<0. 005 indicated that was a weak and significant positive correlation between the two variables as highlighted in Table 4.Table 4: Correlation between total assets and current ratio from years 2011-2014spearman's rho CR TACRCorrelation coefficient 1.000 0.194*Sig. (2-tailed)- 0.018N 149 149TACorrelation coefficient0.194* 1.000Sig. (2-tailed)0.018 -N 149 149* *Correlation is significant at the 0. 05 level (2-tailed)A test was also conducted on the relationship between firm size measures by paid-up capital against the DR. The finding indicated that there was a weak and significant positive correlationbetween paid-up capital and debt ratio, r = 0.299, p<0. 005 (Table 5 and 6).Table 5: Correlation between paid-up capital and debt ratio from years 2011-2014 spearman's rho DR Paid-up capitalDRCorrelation coefficient 1.000 0.299**Sig. (2-tailed)- 0.000N 149 149Paid-up capitalCorrelation coefficient0.299** 1.000Sig. (2-tailed)0.000 -N 149 149Table 6: Correlation between paid-up capital and current ratio from years 2011-2014 spearman's rho CR Paid-up capitalCRCorrelation coefficient 1.000 0.214**Sig. (2-tailed)- 0.009N 149 149Paid-up capitalCorrelation coefficient0.214** 1.000Sig. (2-tailed)0.009 -N 149 149The final test on the relationship between paid-up capital and current ratio yielded r = 0. 214, p<0. 009. The result indicated that there was a weak and significant positive correlation between the two variables. All in all, the correlation analysis indicates that there exist significant positive correlation between measure of firm sizeand solvency performance. Nevertheless, it is important to note the correlations are rather weak. With highest linear correlation at 0.313 it does suggest that firm size has quite minimum impact on firm’s solvency performance. The findings also support prior studies that the relationship between firm size and solvency performance is mixed.CONCLUSIONSummary of the findings can be concluded that firm’s size measured by total assets does influence the firm’s solvency performance for both measurement of debt ratio and current ratio. The ability to optimize higher assets value may help firm improve their liquidity. This findings was consistence with previous studies by Michaelas et al. (1999), Hall et al. (2000) and Sogorb-Mira (2005) in which a positive relationship between firm size (assets) and leverage and solvency measured in the ratio of total debt (long-term debt).As for the relationship between paid-up capital and solvency performance, the debt ratio found to be influence by the paid-up capital while current ratio showed no relationship with the size of paid-up capital. It was nature of paid-up capital which used as initial resources to start the business operation. Over the time paid up capital relatively experience fewer changes despite the need for additional resources. Firms are preferred to sources external funding as compare to equity financing. However, the use of debt can also increase the financial risk of a firm and lead to the insolvency. According to Coleman and Cohn (2002) and Coleman (2002), debt is one of the variables that can cause insolvency for most of firms. Failure rates in the range of 50-75% were commonly cited for smaller firms, making it difficult for smaller firms to raise external capital from either debt or equity providers. The weak of financial structure as reflected by the gearing (debt-equity ratio) has been found to be the key source of insolvency. Many firms were unable to keep up this high debt ratio and, later become insolvent. A high debt ratio in itself, does not make a firm insolvent as long as the firm is earning enough to cover interest and principal payments when it they come due. However, the more leveraged a firm is the more vulnerable it is tobankruptcy. Therefore, the flow of earnings and the ability of the firm to make interest and principal payments will determine whether the firm will actually become insolvent or otherwise (Kim and Lee, 2002). The prediction and prevention of financial distress is one of the major factors that should be analyzed in advance as an early warning signal and to avoid bankruptcy. In addition to the awareness that can make a company successful, it is also useful for managers to have an understanding of business failures and bankruptcy, its causes and its possible remedies. In conclusion, firm size does matter, although the impact is quite small in term of their influence towards solvency performance. However, equally important is the ability of the managers to leverage available resources within the firms to strive for healthy financial position and remain solvent all the time.中文译文公司规模和偿债能力：来自马来西亚上市公司的证据摘要企业偿债能力是衡量企业绩效的重要指标之一。
财务报表分析中英文对照外文翻译文献
文献信息文献标题: The Need Of Financial Statement Analysis In A Firm or0 rgnization(企业或机构财务报表分析的必要性)国外作者: Suneetha G 文献出处:《International Journal of Science Engineering and Advancel Technology (.JSEAT)) 2017, 5(6): 731-735字数统计:2541单词,15110字符;中文4377汉字外文文献:The Need Of Financial Statement AnalysisIn A Firm Or An Orgnization Abstract Financial statement analysis play a dominate role in setting the frame watt of managerial decisions through analysis and interpretation of financial statement This paper discusses about financial , strength and weakness of the company by properly establishing relationship between the items of balance shed and profit and loss account. In order to judge the profitability and financial soundness of the company horizontal, and vertical analyze or done. The various technique used in analyzing financial statement included 'comparative statement, common size statement, trend analysis and ratio analysis. The results suggest that the ratio approach is a highly useful tool in financial statement analysis, especially when a set of ratios is used to evaluate a firm's performanceKey words: Financial statement analysis, to evaluate a firm's performance Comparative statement. Common size statement, trend analysis and ratio analysis1 Introductionhe basis for financial analysis planning and decision making is financiainformation/a business firm has to prepares its financial accounts viz.. balance sheet profit and loss account which provides useful financial information for the purpose of decision making Financial information is needed to predict. Compare and evaluate the fin's earnings ability. The formers statements viz. profit and loss account shows that operating activities of the concern and the later balance sheet depicts the balance value of the acquired assets and of liabilities at a particular point of time. However these statements don't disclose all of the necessary for ascertaining the financial strengths and weaknesses of an enterprise. it is necessary to analyze the data depicted n the financial statements. The finance manager has certain analytical tools which helps is financial analysis and planning. [Doron nissim, stephen h. Penman, (2003) Financialstatement Analysis of Leverage and How it Informs About Profitability and Price-to-book Ratios. Survey of Accounting Studies. Kluwer Academic PublishersAs per examine by Dissim. StephePenman' on Financia proclamation investigation of Leverage and how it illuminates about gainfulness and cost to book proportions, money related explanation examination that recognizes use that emerges in financing exercises from use that emerges in operations. The examination yields two utilizing conditions. one for getting to back operations and one for obtaining over the span of operations. This examination demonstrates that the budgetary explanation investigation clarifies cross-sectional contrasts in present and future rates of return and additionally cost to-snare proportions, which depend onexpected rates of profit for value. This investigation helps in understandorkins influence contrasts in productivity in the cross-areas. changes in future productivity from current benefit and legally binding working liabilities from evaluated liabilities Yating Van, HW. Chuang, (2010) Financial Ratio Adjustment Process: Evidence from Taiwan and North America, ISSN 1450-2887 Issue 43 (2010)0 Euro Journa Publishing Inc. 20102. Financial statements analysisprocess of identifying the financial strengths and weaknesses of a firm from the available accounting data and financial statements. The analysis is done by properly establishing the relationship between the items of balance sheet and profitnd loss account. The first task of the financial analyst is to determine the information relevant the decision under consideration from the total information contained in financial statement. The second step is to arrange information in a way to highlightsignificant relationships. The final step is interpretation and drawing of infed conclusions. Thus financial analysis is the process of selection, relating and evaluation of the accounting data or informationPurpose of financial statements analysis Financial statements analysis is the meaningful interpretation of 'financial statements for panics demanding financial information. It is not necessary for the proprietors alone. In general, the purpose of financial statements analysis is to aidmaking between the users of accounts To evaluate past performance and financial position To predict future performance Tools and techniques of financial analysis Comparative balance sheet common size balance shee Trend analysis Ratio analysis Comparative balance sheet Comparative financial statements is a statement of the financial position of a business so designed as to facilitate comparison of different accounting variables for drawing useful inferences. Financial statements of two or more business enter prices may be compared over period of years. This is known as inter firm comparison Financial statements of the particular business enter pries may be compared over two periods of years. This is known inter period comparisonCommon size statements It facilities the comparison of two or more business entities with a commonbase .in case of balance sheet, total assets or liabilities or capital can be taken ascommon base. These statements are called common measurements or components percentage or 100 percent statements. Since each statement is representated as a %ofthe total of 100 which in variably serves as the baseIn this manner the announcements arranged to draw out the proportion of every benefit of risk to the aggregate of the monetary record and the proportion of every thing of cost or incomes to net deals known as the basic size articulationsPattern investigation Even examination of money related explanations can likewise be completed by figuring pattern rates. Pattern rate expresses quite a long while's budgetary formation as far as a base year. The base year rises to 100 % with every single other year expressed in some rate of this baseProportion investigation Proportion investigation is the technique or process by which the relationship of things or gatherings of things in the budgetary proclamations are registered. decided and introduced. Proportion investigation is an endeavor to determine quantitative measures or aides concerning the money related wellbeing and benefit of the business nture. Proportion investigation can be utilized both in pattern and static examinationhere are a few proportions at the examiner yet the gathering of proportions he wouincline toward relies upon the reason and the destinations of the investigationBookkeeping proportions are viable apparatuses of examination; they are pointers of administrative and over all operational productivity. Proportions, when appropriately utilized are fit for giving valuable data. proportion examination characterized as the deliberate utilization of proportions to decipher the money related explanations with the goal that the qualities and shortcomings of a firm and in addition its chronicled execution and current monetary condition can be resolved the term proportion alludes to the numerical or quantitative connection between things factors this relationship can be communicated as (Fraction (2)Percentages (3)Proportion of numbers These option strategies for communicating things which are identified with eacstigation,examination. It ought to be seen that processing the proportion does not include data in the figures of benefit or deals. What the proportions do is that they uncover the relationship in a more important manner in order to empower us to reach inferences from th As indicated by look into by the Yating yang and 11. W. Chuang. on 'Monetary Ratio Adjustment Process: Evidence from Taiwan and North America. measurable legitimacy of the proportion strategy in monetary articulation examination is researched. The outcomes hence recommend that the proportion approach is a valuable instrument in monetary explanation investigation, particularly when an arrangement of proportions is utilized to assess an association's execution. The straightforwardness of this strategy additionally underpins the utilization of proportions in money related basic leadership3.Money related proportions in perspective of GAAGAAP is the arrangement of standard systems for recording business exchanges and detailing accounting report passages. The components of GAAP incorporatethings onetaryd. and how to ascertain exceptional offer estimations. The models fused into (MAP give general consistency in assumes that are thusly used to ascertain imperative money related proportions that financial specialists and investigators use to assess the organization. Indeed, even agreeable monetary records can be trying to unravel, yet without a framework characterizing every class of section, corporate money related articulations would be basically dark and uselessThere are seven fundamental rule that guide the foundation of the Generall Accepted Accounting Principles. The standards of normality, consistency, perpetuality and genuineness go towardsurging organizations to utilize the legitimate bookkeeping hones quarter after quarter in a decent confidence push to demonstrate the genuine money related state of the organization. None remuneration judiciousness and progression build up rules for how to set up a monetary record, by and large to report the budgetary status of the organization as it is without treatin resources in irregular ways that distort the operations of the organization just to balance different sections. The rule of periodicity basic implies that salary to be gotten extra time ought to be recorded as it is booked to be gotten, not in a singular amountThe brought together arrangement of bookkeeping in this manner has various advantages. Not exclusively does it give a specific level of straightforwardness into an organization's funds. it likewise makes for generally simple examinations between organizations. Subsequently, GAAPempowers venture by helping financial specialists pick shrewdly. GAAP gives America organizations preference over remote ones where financial specialists, unless they have a cozy comprehension of the business may have a great deal more trouble figuring the potential dangers and prizes of a venture. GAAP applies to U.S.-based enterprises just, however every other real nation has bookkeeping measures set up for their local organizations. Now and again remote bookkeeping is genuinely like U.S. GAAP, changing in just minor and fectively represented ways. In different cases, the models change fundamentally aking direct examinations questionable, best case scenarioAdvantages and Limitations of Financial Ratio Analysis Financial ratio analysis is a useful tool for users of financial statement. It hasFocal pointselated proclamations It helps in contrasting organizations of various size and each other. It helps in drift examination which includes looking at a solitary organization over a period It highlights imperative data in basic frame rapidly. A client can judge an organization by simply taking a gander at few number as opposed to perusing of the entire monetary explanationsRestrictions Regardless of convenience, finance.ial proportion examination has a few burdens Some key faults of budgetary proportion examination areDifferent organizations work in various enterprises each having distinctive natural conditions, for example, control, showcase structure, and so on. Such factors curve so huge that a correlation of two organizations from various ventures may beecelvilFinancial bookkeeping data is influenced by assessments and presumptions Bookkeeping principles permit diverse bookkeeping arrangements, which disables likeness and subsequently proportion examination is less helpful in suchcircumstancesRatio investigation clarifies connections between past data while clients are more worried about present and future datThe investigation helps for breaking down the alteration procedure of moneelated proportionsmodel states three impacts which circular segment an association's interior impact, expansive impact, and key administration. It encourages(That a company's budgetary proportions reflect unforeseen changes in the business(2)Active endeavors to accomplish the coveted focus by administration and (3)An individual association's money related proportion developmentMonetary proclamations investigation is the way toward looking at connections among components of the organization's "bookkeeping articulations" or money related explanations (accounting report, salary articulation. proclamation of income and the announcement of held profit) and making correlations with pertinent data. It is a significant instrument utilized by financial specialists. leasers, monetary investigators proprietors. administrators and others in their basic leadership handle The most well known sorts of money related explanations examination curveHorizontal Analysis: monetary data are thought about for at least two years for a solitary organizationVertical anaery thing on a solitary monetary explanation is figured as a rate of an aggregate for a solitary organizationRatio Analysis: analyze things on a solitary budgetary articulation or look at the connections between things on two monetary proclamationsMoney related proportions examination is the most widely recognized type o budgetary explanations investigation. Monetary proportions delineate connections between various parts of an organization's operations and give relative measures of the company's conditions and execution. Monetary proportions may give intimationsand side effects of the money related condition and signs of potential issue regionsby and large holds no importance unless they are looked at against something else, as past execution, another organization/contender or industry normal. In this way, the proportions of firms in various enterprises, which confront distinctive conditions, are generally difficult to analyzeMoney related proportions can be a critical instrument for entrepreneurs and dministrators to gauge their advance toward achieving organization objectives, an toward contending with bigger organizations inside an industry; likewise, followin different proportions after some time is an intense approach to recognize patterns Proportion examination, when performed routinely after some time, can likewise give assistance independent ventures perceive and adjust to patterns influencing their operationsMoney related proportions are additionally utilized by financiers. Speculators and business experts to survey different traits of an organization's monetary quality or working outcomes, this is another motivation behind why entrepreneurs need to comprehend money related proportions in light of the fact that, all the time, a business' capacity to get financing or value financing will rely upon the organization's budgetary proportions. Money related proportions are ordered by the monetary part of he business which the proportion measures. Liquidity proportions look at the ccessibility of organization's money to pay obligation. Productivity proportions measure the organization's utilization of its benefits and control of its costs to create a satisfactory rate of return. Use proportions look at the organization's techniques for financing and measure its capacity to meet budgetary commitments. Productivity proportions measure how rapidly a firm changes over non-money resources for money resources. Market proportions measure financial specialist reaction to owning an organization's stock and furthermore the cost of issuing stockProportion Analysis is a type of Financial Statement Analysis that is utilized acquire a snappy sign of an association's money related execution in a few key territories. Proportion investigation is utilized to assess connections among money related proclamation things. The proportions are utilized to distinguish inclines after some time for one organization or to look at least two organizations at one point in ime. Money related explanation proportion investigation concentrates on three key parts of a business: liquidity, benefit, and dissolvability The proportions are sorted as Short-term Solvency Ratios, Debt MaRatios and Asset management Ratios. Productivity Ratios, and Market Value ratios Proportion Analysis as an instrument has a few vital elements. The information, which are given by budgetary proclamations. are promptly accessible. The calculation of proportions encourages the examination of firms which contrast in measure oportions can be utilized to contrast anassociation's money related execution and industry midpoints. What's more, proportions can be utilized as a part of a type of ttern investigation to recognize zones where execution has enhanced or crumbled after some time. Since Ratio Analysis depends on bookkeeping data, its adequacy is restricted by the bends which emerge in budgetary explanations because of such things as Historical Cost Accounting and swelling. Thusly, Ratio Analysis should just be utilized as an initial phase in money related examination, to get a snappy sign of an association's execution and to distinguish territories which should be explored further.中文译文:企业或机构财务报表分析的必要性摘要财务报表分析在制定管理决策框架方面起着主导作用,其方法是通过对财务报表进行分析和解释。
企业利润分析中英文对照外文翻译文献
中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)原文：Profit PatternsThe most important objective of companies is to create, develop and maintain one or more competitive advantages in order to generate dividends for the shareholders. For a long time, it was simply a question of dominating the market, either by costs or by a policy of differentiation. As Michael Porter advised, it was essential to avoid being “stuck in the middle”. This way of thinking set up competitive rivalry in a closed world, and tended towards stability. This model is less and less relevant today for whole sectors of the economy. We see a multitude of strategic movements which defy the logic of the old system. “Profit Patterns” lists numerous strategies which have joined the small number that we knew before. These patterns often combine to give rise to strategic models which are better adapted to the new and changing needs of the consumer.Increasing the value of a company depends on its capacity to predict Valuemigration from one economic sector to another or from one company to another has unimaginable proportions, in particular because of the new phenomena that mass investment and venture capital represent. The public is looking for companies that will succeed in the future and bet on the winner.Major of managers have a talent for recognizing development market trends There are some changing and development trends in all business sectors. They can be erected into models, thereby making it possible to acquire a technique for predicting them. This consists of recognizing them in the actual economic context. This book proposes thirty strategic prediction models divided into seven families. Predicting is not enough: one still has to act in time! Managers analyze development trends in the environment in order to identify opportunities. They then have to determine a strategic plan for their company, and set up a system aligning the internal and external organizational structure as a function of their objectives.For most of the 20th century, mastering strategic evolution models was not a determining factor, and formulas for success were fixed and relatively simple. In industry, the basic model stated that profit was a function of relative market share. Today, this rule is confronted with more and more contradictions: among car manufacturers for example, where small companies like Toyota are more profitable than General Motors and Ford. The highest rises in value have become the exclusive right of the companies with the most efficient business designs. These upstart companies have placed themselves in the profit zone of their sectors thanks, in part, to their size, but also to their new way of doing business – exploiting new rules which are sources of value creation. Among the new rules which define a good strategic plan are:1. Strong orientation towards the customer2. Internal decisions which are coherent with the overall activity, concerning the products and services as well as the involvement in the different activities of the value chain3. An efficient mechanism for value–capture.4. A powerful source of differentiation and of strategic control, inspiring investorconfidence in future cash-flow.5. An internal organization carefully designed to support and reinforce the company’s strategic plan.Why does value migrate? The explanation lies largely in the explosion of risk-capital activities in the USA. Since the 40’s, of the many companies that have been created, about a thousand have allowed talented employees, the “brains”, to work without the heavy structures of very big companies. The risk–capital factor is now entering a new phase in the USA, in that the recipes for innovation and value creation are spreading from just the risk-capital companies to all big companies. A growing number of the 500 richest companies have an internal structure for getting into the game of investing in companies with high levels of value-creation. Where does this leave Eur ope? According to recent research, innovation in strategic thinking is under way in Europe, albeit with a slight time-lag. Globalization is making the acceptation of these value-creation rules a condition of global competitively .There is a second phenomenon that has an even more radical influence on value-creation –polarization: The combination of a convincing and innovative strategic plan, strategic control and a dominant market share creates a terrific increase in investor confidence. The investors believe that the company has established its position of strength not only for the current, but also for the next strategic cycle. The result is an exponential growth in value, and especially a spectacular out-distancing of the direct rivals. The polarization process typically has two stages. In phase 1, the competitors seem to be level. In fact, one of them has unde rstood, has “got it”, before the others and is investing in a new strategic action plan to take into account the pattern which is starting to redefine the sector. Phase 2 begins when the conditions are right for the pattern to take over: at this moment, th e competitor who “got it”, attracts the attention of customers, investors and potential recruits (the brains). The intense public attention snowballs, the market value explodes to leave the nearest competitor way behind. Examples are numerous in various sectors: Microsoft against Apple and Lotus, Coca-Cola against Pepsi, Nike against Reebok and so on. Polarization of value raises the stakes and adds a sense of urgency: The first company to anticipate market changeand to take appropriate investment decisions can gain a considerable lead thanks to recognition by the market.In a growing number of sectors today, competition is concentrated on the race towards mindshare. The company which leads this race attracts customers who attract others in an upwards spiral. At the transition from phase 1 to phase 2, the managing team’s top priority is to win the mindshare battle. There are three stages in this strategy: mind sharing with customers gives an immediate competitive advantage in terms of sales; mind sharing with investors provides the resources to maintain this advantage, and mind sharing with potential recruits increases the chances of maintaining the lead in the short and the long term. This triple capture sets off a chain reaction releasing an enormous amount of economic energy. Markets today are characterized by a staggering degree of transparency. Successes and failures are instantaneously visible to the whole world. The extraordinary success of some investors encourages professional and amateurs to look for the next hen to lay a golden egg. This investment mentality has spread to the employment market, where compensations (such as stock-options) are increasingly linked to results. From these three components - customers, investors and new talent – is created the accelerating phenomenon, polarization: thousands of investors look towards the leader at the beginning of the race. The share value goes up at the same time as the rise in customer numbers and the public perception that the current leader will be the winner. The rise in share-price gets more attention from the media, and so on. How to get the knowledge before the others, in order to launch the company into leadership? There are several attitudes, forms of behavior and knowledge that can be used: being paranoiac, thinking from day to day that the current market conditions are going to change; talking to people with different points of view; being in the field, looking for signs of change. And above all, building a research network to find the patterns of strategic change, not only in one’s particular sector, but in the whole economy, so as always to understand the patterns a bit better and a bit sooner than the competitors.Experienced managers can detect similarities between movements of value in different circumstances. 30 of these patterns can be divided into 7 categories.Some managers understand migrations of value before other managers, allowing them to continually improvise their business plan in order to find and exploit value. Experience is an obvious advantage: situations can repeat themselves or be similar to others, so that experienced managers recognize and assimilate them quickly. There about 30 patterns .which can be put into 7 groups according to their key factors. It is important to understand that the patterns have three general characteristics: multiplicity,variants and cycles. The principle of multiplicity indicates that while a sector or a company may be affected by just one simple strategic pattern, most situations are more complicated and involve several simultaneously evolving patterns. The variants to the known models are developed in different circumstances and according to the creativity of the users of the models. Studying the variants gives more finesse in model-analysis. Finally, each model depends on economic cycles which are more or less long. The time a pattern takes to develop depends on its nature and also on the nature of the customers and sector in question.1) The first family of strategic evolution patterns consists of the six “Mega patterns”: these models do not address any particular dimension of the activity (customer, channels of distribution and value chain), but have an overall and transversal influence. They owe their name “Mega” to their range and their impact (as much from the point of view of the different economic sectors as from the duration). The six Mega models are: No profit, Back to profit, Convergence, Collapse in the middle, De facto standard and Technology shifts the board. • The No profit pattern is characterized by a zero or negative result over several years in a company or economic sector. The first factor which favors this pattern is the existence of a single strategic a plan in several competitors: they all apply differentiation by price to capture market-share. The second factor is the loss of the “crutch” of the sector, that is the end of a system of the help, such as artificially maintained interest levels, or state subsidies. Among the best examples of this in the USA are in agriculture and the railway industry in the 50’s and 60’s,and in the aeronautical industry in the 80’s and 90’s.• The Back to profit pattern is characterized by the emergence of innovative strategic plans or the projects which permit the return of profits. In the 80’s, the watch industry was stagnating in a noprofits zone. The vision of Nicolas Hayek allowed Swatch and other brands to get back into a profit-making situation thanks to a products pyramid built around the new brand.The authors rightly attribute this phenomenon to investors’ recognition of the superiority of these new business designs. However this interpretation merits refinement: the superiority resides less in the companies’ current capacity to identify the first an indications of strategic discontinuity than in their future capacity to develop a portfolio of strategic options and to choose the right one at the right time. The value of a such companies as Amazon and AOL, which benefit from financial polarization, can only be explained in this way. To be competitive in the long-term, a company must not only excel in its “real” market, but also in its financial market. Competition in both is very fierce, and one can not neglect either of these fields of battle without suffering the consequences. This share-market will assume its own importance alongside the commercial market, and in the future, its successful exploitation will be a key to the strategic superiority of publicly-quoted companies.Increasing the value of a company depends on its capacity to predictValue migration from one economic sector to another or from one company to another has unimaginable proportions, in particular because of the new phenomena that mass investment and venture capital represent. The public is looking for companies that will succeed in the future and bet on the winner.Major managers have a talent for recognizing development market trendsThere are some changing and development trends in all business sectors. They can be erected into models, thereby making it possible to acquire a technique for predicting them. This consists of recognizing them in the actual economic context.Predicting is not enough: one still has to act in timeManagers analyze development trends in the environment in order to identify opportunities. They then have to determine a strategic plan for their company, and set up a system aligning the internal and external organizational structure as a function of their objectivesSource: David .J. Morrison, 2001. “Profit Patterns”. Times Business.pp.17-27.译文：利润模式一个公司价值的增长依赖于公司自身的能力的预期，价值的迁移也只是从一个经济部门转移到另外一个经济部门或者是一个公司到另外一个意想不到的公司。
外文翻译--加纳上市公司资本结构对盈利能力的实证研究(节选)
中文3150字，2100单词，10800英文字符出处：Abor J. The effect of capital structure on profitability: an empirical analysis of listed firms in Ghana[J]. Journal of Risk Finance, 2005, 6(November):438-445.外文翻译The effect of capital structure on profitability : an empirical analysis of listed firms in GhanaAuthor:Joshua AborIntroductionThe capital structure decision is crucial for any business organization. The decision is important because of the need to maximize returns to various organizational constituencies, and also because of the impact such a decision has on a firm’s ability to deal with its competitive environment. The capital structure of a firm is actually a mix of different securities. In general, a firm can choose among many alternative capital structures. It can issue a large amount of debt or very little debt. It can arrange lease financing, use warrants, issue convertible bonds, sign forward contracts or trade bond swaps. It can issue dozens of distinct securities in countless combinations; however, it attempts to find the particular combination that maximizes its overall market value.A number of theories have been advanced in explaining the capital structure of firms. Despite the theoretical appeal of capital structure, researchers in financial management have not found the optimal capital structure. The best that academics and practitioners have been able to achieve are prescriptions that satisfy short-term goals. For example, the lack of a consensus about what would qualify as optimal capital structure has necessitated the need for this research. A better understanding of the issues at hand requires a look at the concept of capital structure and its effect on firm profitability. This paper examines the relationship between capital structure and profitability of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange during the period 1998-2002. The effect of capital structure on the profitability of listed firms in Ghana is a scientific area that has not yet been explored in Ghanaian finance literature.The paper is organized as follows. The following section gives a review of the extant literature on the subject. The next section describes the data and justifies the choice of the variables used in the analysis. The model used in the analysis is then estimated. The subsequent section presents and discusses the results of the empirical analysis. Finally, the last section summarizes the findings of the research and also concludes the discussion.Literature on capital structureThe relationship between capital structure and firm value has been the subject of considerable debate. Throughout the literature, debate has centered on whether there is an optimal capital structure for an individual firm or whether the proportion of debt usage is irrelevant to the individual firm’s value. The capital structure of a firm concerns the mix of debt and equity the firm uses in its operation. Brealey and Myers (2003) contend that the choice of capital structure is fundamentally a marketing problem. They state that the firm can issue dozens of distinct securities in countless combinations, but it attempts to find the particular combination that maximizes market value. According to Weston and Brigham (1992), the optimal capital structure is the one that maximizes the market value of the firm’s outstanding shares.Fama and French (1998), analyzing the relationship among taxes, financing decisions, and the firm’s value, concluded that the debt does not concede tax benefits. Besides, the high leverage degree generates agency problems among shareholders and creditors that predict negative relationships between leverage and profitability. Therefore, negative information relating debt and profitability obscures the tax benefit of the debt. Booth et al. (2001) developed a study attempting to relate the capital structure of several companies in countries with extremely different financial markets. They concluded that the variables that affect the choice of the capital structure of the companies are similar, in spite of the great differences presented by the financial markets. Besides, they concluded that profitability has an inverse relationship with debt level and size of the firm. Graham (2000) concluded in his work that big and profitable companies present a low debt rate. Mesquita and Lara (2003) found in their study that the relationship between rates of return and debt indicates a negative relationship for long-term financing. However, they found a positiverelationship for short-term financing and equity.Hadlock and James (2002) concluded that companies prefer loan (debt) financing because they anticipate a higher return. Taub (1975) also found significant positive coefficients for four measures of profitability in a regression of these measures against debt ratio. Petersen and Rajan (1994) identified the same association, but for industries. Baker (1973), who worked with a simultaneous equations model, and Nerlove (1968) also found the same type of association for industries. Roden and Lewellen (1995) found a significant positive association between profitability and total debt as a percentage of the total buyout-financing package in their study on leveraged buyouts. Champion (1999) suggested that the use of leverage was one way to improve the performance of an organization.In summary, there is no universal theory of the debt-equity choice. Different views have been put forward regarding the financing choice. The present study investigates the effect of capital structure on profitability of listed firms on the GSE.MethodologyThis study sampled all firms that have been listed on the GSE over a five-year period (1998-2002). Twenty-two firms qualified to be included in the study sample. Variables used for the analysis include profitability and leverage ratios. Profitability is operationalized using a commonly used accounting-based measure: the ratio of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to equity. The leverage ratios used include:. short-term debt to the total capital;. long-term debt to total capital;. total debt to total capital.Firm size and sales growth are also included as control variables.The panel character of the data allows for the use of panel data methodology. Panel data involves the pooling of observations on a cross-section of units over several time periods and provides results that are simply not detectable in pure cross-sections or pure time-series studies.A general model for panel data that allows the researcher to estimate panel data with great flexibility and formulate the differences in the behavior of the cross-section elements is adopted. The relationship between debt and profitability is thus estimated in the following regression models:ROE i,t =β0 +β1SDA i,t +β2SIZE i,t +β3SG i,t + ëi,t (1)ROE i,t=β0 +β1LDA i,t +β2SIZE i,t +β3SG i,t + ëi,t (2)ROE i,t=β0 +β1DA i,t +β2SIZE i,t +β3SG i,t + ëi,t (3)where:. ROE i,t is EBIT divided by equity for firm i in time t;. SDA i,t is short-term debt divided by the total capital for firm i in time t;. LDA i,t is long-term debt divided by the total capital for firm i in time t;. DA i,t is total debt divided by the total capital for firm i in time t;. SIZEi ,tis the log of sales for firm i in time t;. SGi ,tis sales growth for firm i in time t; and. ëi ,tis the error term.Empirical resultsTable I provides a summary of the descriptive statistics of the dependent and independent variables for the sample of firms. This shows the average indicators of variables computed from the financial statements. The return rate measured by return on equity (ROE) reveals an average of 36.94 percent with median 28.4 percent. This picture suggests a good performance during the period under study. The ROE measures the contribution of net income per cedi (local currency) i nvested by the firms’ stockholders; a measure of the efficiency of the owners’ invested capital. The variable SDA measures the ratio of short-term debt to total capital. The average value of this variable is 0.4876 with median 0.4547. The value 0.4547 indicates that approximately 45 percent of total assets are represented by short-term debts, attesting to the fact that Ghanaian firms largely depend on short-term debt for financing their operations due to the difficulty in accessing long-term credit from financial institutions. Another reason is due to the under-developed nature of the Ghanaian long-term debt market. The ratio of total long-term debt to total assets (LDA) also stands on average at 0.0985. Total debt to total capital ratio(DA) presents a mean of 0.5861. This suggests that about 58 percent of total assets are financed by debt capital.The above position reveals that the companies are financially leveraged with a large percentage of total debt being short-term.Table I.Descriptive statisticsMean SD Minimum Median Maximum ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ROE 0.3694 0.5186 -1.0433 0.2836 3.8300SDA 0.4876 0.2296 0.0934 0.4547 1.1018LDA 0.0985 0.1803 0.0000 0.0186 0.7665DA 0.5861 0.2032 0.2054 0.5571 1.1018SIZE 18.2124 1.6495 14.1875 18.2361 22.0995SG 0.3288 0.3457 20.7500 0.2561 1.3597━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Regression analysis is used to investigate the relationship between capital structure and profitability measured by ROE. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results are presented in Table II. The results from the regression models (1), (2), and (3) denote that the independent variables explain the debt ratio determinations of the firms at 68.3, 39.7, and 86.4 percent, respectively. The F-statistics prove the validity of the estimated models. Also, the coefficients are statistically significant in level of confidence of 99 percent.The results in regression (1) reveal a significantly positive relationship between SDA and profitability. This suggests that short-term debt tends to be less expensive, and therefore increasing short-term debt with a relatively low interest rate will lead to an increase in profit levels. The results also show that profitability increases with the control variables (size and sales growth). Regression (2) shows a significantly negative association between LDA and profitability. This implies that an increase in the long-term debt position is associated with a decrease in profitability. This is explained by the fact that long-term debts arerelatively more expensive, and therefore employing high proportions of them could lead to low profitability. The results support earlier findings by Miller (1977), Fama and French (1998), Graham (2000) and Booth et al. (2001). Firm size and sales growth are again positively related to profitability.The results from regression (3) indicate a significantly positive association between DA and profitability. The significantly positive regression coefficient for total debt implies that an increase in the debt position is associated with an increase in profitability: thus, the higher the debt, the higher the profitability. Again, this suggests that profitable firms depend more on debt as their main financing option. This supports the findings of Hadlock and James (2002), Petersen and Rajan (1994) and Roden and Lewellen (1995) that profitable firms use more debt. In the Ghanaian case, a high proportion (85 percent) of debt is represented by short-term debt. The results also show positive relationships between the control variables (firm size and sale growth) and profitability.Table II.Regression model results━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Profitability (EBIT/equity)Ordinary least squares━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Variable 1 2 3SIZE 0.0038 (0.0000) 0.0500 (0.0000) 0.0411 (0.0000)SG 0.1314 (0.0000) 0.1316 (0.0000) 0.1413 (0.0000)SDA 0.8025 (0.0000)LDA -0.3722(0.0000)DA -0.7609(0.0000)R² 0.6825 0.3968 0.8639SE 0.4365 0.4961 0.4735Prob. (F) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ConclusionsThe capital structure decision is crucial for any business organization. The decision is important because of the need to maximize returns to various organizational constituencies, and also because of the impact such a decision has on an organization’s ability to deal with its competitive environment. This present study evaluated the relationship between capital structure and profitability of listed firms on the GSE during a five-year period (1998-2002). The results revealed significantly positive relation between SDA and ROE, suggesting that profitable firms use more short-term debt to finance their operation. Short-term debt is an important component or source of financing for Ghanaian firms, representing 85 percent of total debt financing. However, the results showed a negative relationship between LDA and ROE. With regard to the relationship between total debt and profitability, the regression results showed a significantly positive association between DA and ROE. This suggests that profitable firms depend more on debt as their main financing option. In the Ghanaian case, a high proportion (85 percent) of the debt is represented in short-term debt.译文加纳上市公司资本结构对盈利能力的实证研究作者：乔舒亚阿博尔论文简介资本结构决策对于任何商业组织都是至关重要的。
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中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firmsAbstractExtant empirical evidence indicates that the proportion of firms going public prior to achieving profitability has been increasing over time. This phenomenon is largely driven by an increase in the proportion of technology firms going public. Since there is considerable uncertainty regarding the long-term economic viability of these firms at the time of going public, identifying factors that influence their ability to attain key post-IPO milestones such as achieving profitability represents an important area of research. We employ a theoretical framework built around agency and signaling considerations to identify factors that influence the probability and timing of post-IPO profitability of Internet IPO firms. We estimate Cox Proportional Hazards models to test whether factors identified by our theoretical framework significantly impact the probability of post-IPO profitability as a function of time. We find that the probability of post- IPO profitability increases with pre-IPO investor demand and change in ownership at the IPO of the top officers and directors. On the other hand, the probability ofpost-IPO profitability decreases with the venture capital participation, proportion of outsiders on the board, and pre-market valuation uncertainty.Keywords: Initial public offerings, Internet firms, Path-to-profitability, Hazard models, Survival1. Executive summaryThere has been an increasing tendency for firms to go public on the basis of a promise of profitability rather than actual profitability. Further, this phenomenon is largely driven by the increase in the proportion of technology firms going public. The risk of post-IPO failure is particularly high for unprofitable firms as shifts in investor sentiment leading to negative market perceptions regarding their prospects or unfavorable financing environments could lead to a shutdown of external financing sources thereby imperiling firm survival. Therefore, the actual accomplishment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the company's evolution since it signals the long-term economic viability of the firm. While the extant research in entrepreneurship has focused on factors influencing the ability of entrepreneurial firms to attain important milestones prior to or at the time of going public, relatively little is known regarding the timing or ability of firms to achieve critical post-IPO milestones. In this study, we construct a theoretical framework anchored on agency and signaling theories to understand the impact of pre-IPO factors such as governance and ownership structure, management quality, institutional investor demand, and third party certification on firms' post-IPO path-to-profitability. We attempt to validate the testable implications arising from our theoretical framework using the Internet industry as our setting. Achieving post-issue profitability in a timely manner is of particular interest for Internet IPO firms since they are predominantly unprofitable at the time of going public and are typically characterized by high cash burn rates thereby raising questions regarding their long-term economic viability. Since there is a repeated tendency for high technology firms in various emerging sectors of the economy to go public in waves amid investor optimism followed by disappointing performance, insights gained from a study of factors that influence the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms will help increase our understanding of the development path and long-term economic viability of entrepreneurial firms in emerging, high technology industries.2. IntroductionThe past few decades have witnessed the formation and development of several vitallyimportant technologically oriented emerging industries such as disk drive, biotechnology, and most recently the Internet industry. Entrepreneurial firms in such knowledge intensive industries are increasingly going public earlier in their life cycle while there is still a great deal of uncertainty and information asymmetry regarding their future prospects (Janey and Folta, 2006). A natural consequence of the rapid transition from founding stage firms to public corporations is an increasing tendency for firms to go public on the basis of a promise of profitability rather than actual profitability.3 Although sustained profitability is no longer a requirement for firms in order to go public, actual accomplishment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the firm's evolution since it reduces uncertainty regarding the long-term economic viability of the firm. In this paper, we focus on identifying observable factors at the time of going public that have the ability to influence the likelihood and timing of attaining post-IPO profitability by Internet firms. We restrict our study to the Internet industry since it represents a natural setting to study the long-term economic viability of an emerging industry where firms tend to go public when they are predominantly unprofitable and where there is considerably uncertainty and information asymmetry regarding their future prospects.4The attainment of post-IPO profitability assumes significance since the IPO event does not provide the same level of legitimizing differentiation that it did in the past as sustained profitability is no longer a prerequisite to go public particularly in periods where the market is favorably inclined towards investments rather than demonstration of profitability (Stuartet al., 1999; Janey and Folta, 2006). During the Internet boom, investors readily accepted the mantra of “growth at all costs” and enthusiastically bid up the post-IPO offering prices to irrational levels (Lange et al., 2001). In fact, investor focus on the promise of growth rather than profitability resulted in Internet start-ups being viewed differently from typical new ventures in that they were able to marshal substantial resources virtually independent of performance benchmarks (Mudambi and Treichel, 2005).Since the Internet bubble burst in April 2000, venture capital funds dried up and many firms that had successful IPOs went bankrupt or faced severe liquidity problems (Chang, 2004). Consequently, investors' attention shifted from their previously singular focus on growth prospects to the question of profitability with their new mantrabeing “path-to- profitability.” As such, market participants focused on not just whe ther the IPO firm wouldbe able to achieve profitability but also “when” or “how soon.” IPO firms unable to credibly demonstrate a clear path-to-profitability were swiftly punished with steeply lower valuations and consequently faced significantly higher financing constraints. Since cash flow negative firms are not yet self sufficient and, therefore, dependent on external financing to continue to operate, the inability to raise additional capital results in a vicious cycle of events that can quickly lead to delisting and even bankruptcy.5 Therefore, the actual attainment of post-IPO profitability represents an important milestone in the evolution of an IPO firm providing it with legitimacy and signaling its ability to remain economically viable through the ups and downs associated with changing capital market conditions. The theoretical framework supporting our analysis draws from signaling and agency theories as they relate to IPO firms. In our study, signaling theory provides the theoretical basis to evaluate the signaling impact of factors such as management quality, third party certification, institutional investor demand, and pre-IPO valuation uncertainty on the path-to-profitability. Similarly, agency theory provides the theoretical foundations to allow us to examine the impact of governance structure and change in top management ownership at the time of going public on the probability of achieving the post-IPO profitability milestone. Our empirical analysis is based on the hazard analysis methodology to identify the determinants of the probability of becoming profitable as a function of time for a sample of 160 Internet IPOs issued during the period 1996–2000.Our study makes several contributions. First, we construct a theoretical framework based on agency and signaling theories to identify factors that may influence the path-to- profitability of IPO firms. Second, we provide empirical evidence on the economic viability of newly public firms (path-to-profitability and firm survival) in the Internet industry. Third, we add to the theoretical and empirical entrepreneurship literature that has focused on factors influencing the ability of entrepreneurial firms to achieve critical milestones during the transition from private to public ownership. While previous studies have focused on milestones during the private phase of firm development such as receipt of VC funding and successful completion of a public offering (Chang, 2004; Dimov and Shepherd, 2005; Beckman et al., 2007), our study extends this literature by focusing on post-IPOmilestones. Finally, extant empirical evidence indicates that the phenomenon of young, early stage firms belonging to relatively new industries being taken public amid a wave of investor optimism fueled by the promise of growth rather than profitability tends to repeat itself over time.6 However, profitability tends to remain elusive and takes much longer than anticipated which results in investor disillusionment and consequently high failure rate among firms in such sectors. 7 Therefore, our study is likely to provide useful lessons to investors when applying valuations to IPO firms when this phenomenon starts to repeat itself.This articles proceeds as follows. First, using agency and signaling theories, we develop our hypotheses. Second, we describe our sample selection procedures and present descriptive statistics. Third, we describe our research methods and present our results. Finally, we discuss our results and end the article with our concluding remarks.3. Theory and hypothesesSignaling models and agency theory have been extensively applied in the financial economics, management, and strategy literatures to analyze a wide range of economic phenomena that revolve around problems associated with information asymmetry, moral hazard, and adverse selection. Signaling theory in particular has been widely applied in the IPO market as a framework to analyze mechanisms that are potentially effective in resolving the adverse selection problem that arises as a result of information asymmetry between various market participants (Baron, 1982; Rock, 1986; Welch, 1989). In this study, signaling theory provides the framework to evaluate the impact of pre-IPO factors such as management quality, third party certification, and institutional investor demand on the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.The IPO market provides a particularly fertile setting to explore the consequences of separation of ownership and control and potential remedies for the resulting agency problems since the interests of pre-IPO and post-IPO shareholders can diverge. In the context of the IPO market, agency and signaling effects are also related to the extent that insider actions such as increasing the percentage of the firm sold at the IPO, percentage of management stock holdings liquidated at the IPO, or percentage of VC holdings liquidated at the IPO can accentuate agency problems with outside investors and, as a consequence, signal poorperformance (Mudambi and Treichel, 2005). We, therefore, apply agency theory to evaluate the impact of board structure and the change in pre-to-post IPO ownership of top management on the path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms.3.1. Governance structureIn the context of IPO firms, there are at least two different agency problems (Mudambi and Treichel, 2005). The first problem arises as a result of opportunistic behavior of agents to increase their share of the wealth at the expense of principals. The introduction of effective monitoring and control systems can help mitigate or eliminate this type of behavior and its negative impact on post-issue performance. The extant corporate governance literature has argued that the effectiveness of monitoring and control functions depends to a large extent on the composition of the board of directors. We, therefore, examine the relationship between board composition and the likelihood and timing of post-IPO profitability.The second type of agency problem that arises in the IPO market is due to uncertainty regarding whether insiders seek to use the IPO as an exit mechanism to cash out or whether they use the IPO to raise capital to invest in positive NPV projects. The extent of insider selling their shares at the time of the IPO can provide an effective signal regarding which of the above two motivations is the likely reason for the IPO. We, therefore, examine the impact of the change in ownership of officers and directors around the IPO on the likelihood and timing of attaining post-issue profitability.3.2. Management qualityAn extensive body of research has examined the impact of to management team (TMT) characteristics on firm outcomes for established firms as well as for new ventures by drawing from human capital and demography theories. For instance, researchers drawing from human capital theories study the impact of characteristics such as type and amount of experience of TMTs on performance (Cooper et al., 1994; Gimeno et al., 1997; Burton et al., 2002; Baum and Silverman, 2004). Additionally, Beckman et al. (2007) argue that demographic arguments are distinct from human capital arguments in that they examine team composition and diversity in addition to experience. The authors consequently examine the impact of characteristics such as background affiliation, composition, and turnover of TMT members on thelikelihood of firms completing an IPO. Overall, researchers have generally found evidence to support arguments that human capital and demographic characteristics of TMT members influence firm outcomes.Drawing from signaling theory, we argue that the quality of the TMT of IPO firms can serve as a signal of the ability of a firm to attain post-IPO profitability. Since management quality is costly to acquire, signaling theory implies that by hiring higher quality management, high value firms can signal their superior prospects and separate themselves from low value firms with less capable managers. The beneficial impact of management quality in the IPO market includes the ability to attract more prestigious investment bankers, generate stronger institutional investor demand, raise capital more effectively, lower underwriting expenses, attract stronger analyst following, make better investment and financing decisions, and consequently influence the short and long-run post-IPO operating and stock performance(Chemmanur and Paeglis, 2005). Thus, agency theory, in turn, would argue that higher quality management is more likely to earn their marginal productivity of labor and thus have a lower incentive to shirk, thereby also leading to more favorable post-IPO outcomes.8We focus our analyses on the signaling impact of CEO and CFO quality on post-IPO performance. We focus on these two members of the TMT of IPO firms since they are particularly influential in establishing beneficial networks, providing legitimacy to the organization, and are instrumental in designing, communicating, and implementing the various strategic choices and standard operating procedures that are likely to influence post- IPO performance.3.3. Third party certificationThe extant literature has widely recognized the potential for third party certification as a solution to the information asymmetry problem in the IPO market (Beatty, 1989; Carter and Manaster, 1990; Megginson and Weiss, 1991; Jain and Kini, 1995, 1999b; Zimmerman and Zeitz, 2002). The theoretical basis for third party certification is drawn from the signaling models which argue that intermediaries such as investment bankers, venture capitalists, and auditors have the ability to mitigate the problem of information asymmetry by virtue of their reputation capital (Booth and Smith, 1986; Megginson and Weiss, 1991; Jain and Kini,1995, Carter et al., 1998). In addition to certification at the IPO, intermediaries, through their continued involvement,monitoring, and advising role have the ability to enhance performance after the IPO. In the discussion below, we focus on the signaling impact of venture capitalists involvement and investment bank prestige on post-IPO outcomes3.4. Institutional investor demandPrior to marketing the issue to investors, the issuing firm and their investment bankers are required to file an estimated price range in the registration statement. The final pricing of the IPO firm is typically done on the day before the IPO based upon the perceived demand from potential investors. Further, the final offer price is determined after investment bankers ave conducted road shows and obtained indications of interest from institutional investors. Therefore, the initial price range relative to the final IPO offer price is a measure of institutional investor uncertainty regarding the value of the firm. Since institutional investors typically conduct sophisticated valuation analyses prior to providing their indications of demand, divergence of opinion on valuation amongst them is a reflection of the risk and uncertainty associated with the prospects of the IPO firm during the post-IPO phase. Consistent with this view, Houge et al. (2001) find empirical evidence to indicate that greater divergence of opinion and investor uncertainty about an IPO can generate short- run overvaluation and long-run underperformance. Therefore, higher divergence of opinion among institutional investors is likely to be negatively related to the probability of post-IPO profitability and positively related to time-to-profitability.A related issue is the extent of pre-market demand by institutional investors for allocation of shares in the IPO firm. Higher pre-issue demand represents a favorable consensus of sophisticated institutional investors regarding the prospects of the issuing firm. Institutional investor consensus as well as their higher holdings in the post-IPO firm is likely to be an informative signal regarding the post-IPO prospects of the firm.4. Sample description and variable measurementOur initial sample of 325 Internet IPOs over the period January 1996 to February 2000 was obtained from the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Internet Research Report dated February 17，2000. The unavailability of IPO offering prospectuses and exclusion of foreign firms reduces the sample size to 205 firms. Further, to be included in our sample, we require that financial and accountinginformation for sample firms is available on the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) and Compustat files and IPO offering related information is accessible from the Securities Data Corporation's (SDC) Global New Issues database. As a result of these additional data requirements, our final sample consists of 160 Internet IPO firms. Information on corporate governance variables (ownership, board composition, past experience of the CEO and CFO), and number of risk factors is collected from the offering prospectuses.Our final sample of Internet IPO firms has the following attributes. The mean offer price for our sample of IPO firms is $16.12. The average firm in our sample raised $99.48 million. The gross underwriting fee spread is around seven percent. About 79% of the firms in our sample had venture capital backing. Both the mean and median returns on assets for firms in our sample at the time of going public are significantly negative. For example, the average operating return on assets for our sample of firms is − 56.3%. The average number of employees for the firms in our sample is 287. The average board size is 6.57 for our sample. In about 7.5% of our sample, the CEO and CFO came from the same firm. In addition, we find that 59 firms representing 37% of the sample attained profitability during the post-IPO period with the median time-to-profitability being three quarters from the IPO date.5. Discussion of results and concluding remarksThe development path of various emerging industries tend to be similar in that they are characterized by high firm founding rates, rapid growth rates, substantial investments in R&D and capital expenditures, potential for product/process breakthroughs, investor exuberance, huge demand for capital, large number of firms going public while relatively young, and a struggle for survival during the post-IPO phase as profitability and growth targets remain elusive and shifts in investor sentiment substantially raise financing constraints. Recently, the Internet has rapidly emerged as a vitally important industry that has fundamentally impacted the global economy with start-up firms in the industry attracting $108 billion of investment capital during the period 1995–2000。