The effects of the 2006 SEC executive compensation disclosure rules on managerial incentives

Abstract

In 2006, the SEC amended the disclosure requirements for executive compensation and stock ownership. This paper examines the effects of these amendments on (1) the association between equity-based executive incentives and firm payout choice, and (2) the association between executive compensation and earnings management. We find that after the effective date of the SEC rules, the positive associations between executive stock option holdings and firm open-market repurchases, and between executive shareholdings and firm dividend payouts, have weakened. In addition, the positive associations between bonus and discretionary accruals, between bonus and real earnings management, and between equity compensation and real earnings management, have decreased. In general, these findings are consistent with the notion that the 2006 SEC disclosure rules lowered management's self-interested actions by mitigating the information asymmetry between investors and managers.