Research in the area of accounting at Tel Aviv University focuses on the relationship between financial information and the value of securities in the capital markets, and the connection between financial information and operational decision making by firms. Many of these studies make use of empirical research methods, particularly econometric analysis of the relationships between financial data and data from the capital markets. Other studies focus on the theoretical mathematical analysis of economic issues relating to the flow of information in capital markets. The focus on the relationship between financial information and the activity in the capital markets and within the firm is the connecting thread of accounting research, in relation to research in economics and in finance.

 

There are several different strands of research in accounting at Tel Aviv University. One strand examines the effect of the publication of financial information by the firms on the prices of securities. An example of such research is the analysis of the influence of news of cyber attacks on the stock prices of firms suffering the attacks. Another study tries to measure the level of accuracy of the information contained in stock prices. Here, the researchers construct a measure of the accuracy of the prices of securities on the stock exchange with which they examine whether more accurate information causes a drop in the firm’s price of capital. In addition, the researchers examine whether accuracy of the prices of securities is influenced differently than positive information and negative information.

 

This strand also includes theoretical mathematical studies dealing with the way in which information flows to the capital market from different sources, the way in which it is distributed among the different players in the market, and the way in which it affects the trading in the market. Most of the studies are based on analytical analysis and use game theory to design and solve the models that describe the strategic connections among the various players in the capital market.

 

A second strand includes studies that try to understand how operational decisions (such as R&D investments, choice of a production technology or a decision concerning the level of the firm’s inventory) affect the internal and external accounting reports. These studies are based on micro economic theory and on econometric analysis. The contribution of these studies is in highlighting the usefulness of the accounting information in operational decisions and in the understanding they provide concerning the impact of operational decisions on the reported performance level of the firm. 

 

A third strand examines the influence of accounting regulation on managers’ decisions. For instance, theoretical studies examine the relationship between the extent of regulation in the capital market and the total amount of information available to investors. The researchers identify situations in which mandatory disclosure of information by firms will in fact diminish the total amount of information available to the investors. An empirical study shows that new accounting regulation on issuing options to employees caused a drop in the issuing of options to managers, which led the managers to reduce the operational risk of the firm.

 

Once a week leading researchers from Israel and abroad present their work at a seminar. Once a year, a conference is held hosting scholars of international repute who present the latest research in the area.

 

To the seminars >>

 

Faculty

 

Prof. Eli Amir Max and Steffi Perlman Professor of Financial Economics	Prof. Eti Einhorn Maurice and Gertrude Deutch Professor of Finance and Accounting	Prof. Dan Weiss Head of Raaya Strauss Center
Dr. Tsahi Versano	Prof. Dan Amiram Full Professor, CPA The  Dean TAU Capital Markets and Financial Institutions Chaired Professor  Head of the Fintech track in the MBA program	Prof. Shai Levi Head of Accounting Department
Mr. Moshe Peress	Dr. David Disatnik

 

 

Publications

 

Einhorn Eti (2005). The Nature of the Interaction between Mandatory and Voluntary Disclosures. Journal of Accounting Research 43 (4): 593-621.

 

Einhorn Eti (2007). Voluntary Disclosure under Uncertainty about the Reporting Objective. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 43 (2-3): 245-274.

 

Einhorn Eti and Amir Ziv (2007). Unbalanced Information and the Interaction between Information Acquisition, Operating Activities and Voluntary Disclosure. The Accounting Review, 82 (5): 1171-1194.

 

Einhorn Eti and Amir Ziv (2008). Inter-Temporal Dynamics of Corporate Voluntary Disclosures. Journal of Accounting Research, 46 (3): 567-589.

 

Weiss Dan (2011). Discussion of Examining Shareholder Value Creation over CEO Tenure: A New Approach to Testing Effectiveness of Executive Compensation.  Journal of Management Accounting Research. 23, 29-36.

 

Amir Eli, Itay Kama, and Joshua Livnat (2011). Conditional versus Unconditional Persistence of RNOA Components: Implications for Valuation. Review of Accounting Studies 16 (2) (June): 302-327.

 

Einhorn Eti and Amir Ziv (2012). Biased Voluntary Disclosure. Review of Accounting Studies, 17 (4): 420-442.

 

Kama Itay, and Dan Weiss (2013). Do Earnings Targets and Managerial Incentives Affect Sticky Costs?  Journal of Accounting Research. 51, 201-224.

 

Amir Eli, Eti Einhorn, and Itay Kama (2013). Extracting Sustainable Earnings from Profit Margins. European Accounting Review 22 (4): 685-718.

 

Weiss Dan, Haim Falk, and Uri Ben Zion (2013). Earnings Variability and Disclosure of R&D: Evidence from Press Releases. Accounting and Finance. 53(3), 837–865.

 

Amir Eli, Juha-Pekka Kallunki, and Henrik Nilsson (2013). The Association between Individual Audit Partners’ Risk Preferences and the Composition of their Client Portfolios. Review of Accounting Studies 19 (1): 103-133.

 

Amir Eli, Eti Einhorn, and Itay Kama (2013). The Role of Disaggregated Accounting Data in Detecting and Suppressing Earnings Management. Review of Accounting Studies 19 (1): 43-68.

 

Shust Efrat, and Dan Weiss (2014). Sticky Costs: Cash Flow versus Expenses. Journal of Management Accounting Research. 26, 81-90.

 

Levi Shai and Xiao-Jun Zhang (2014). Do temporary increases in information asymmetry affect the cost of equity? Management Science, 61(2), 354-371.

 

Weiss Dan (2014). Internal Controls in Family-owned Firms. European Accounting Review. 23, 463-482.

 

Levi Shai and Benjamin Segal (2014). The Impact of Debt-Equity Reporting Classifications on the Firm's Decision to Issue Hybrid Securities. European Accounting Review, 24(4), 801-822.

 

Amir Eli, Juha-Pekka Kallunki, and Henrik Nilsson (2014). Criminal Convictions and Risk Taking. Australian Journal of Management (November): 497-523.

 

Amir Eli, Itay Kama, and Shai Levi (2015). Conditional Persistence of Earnings Components and Accounting Anomalies. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 42 (7-8): 801-825.

 

Levi Shai, and Xiao-Jun Zhang (2015). Asymmetric decrease in liquidity before announcements, and the earnings announcement premium. Journal of Financial Economics, 118(2), 363-398.

 

Michael-Tsabari Nava, and Dan Weiss (2015). Communication Traps. Family Business Review 28, 26-40.

 

Ciftci Mustafa, Raj Mashruwala, and Dan Weiss (2015). Implications of Cost Behavior for Analysts Earnings Forecasts. Journal of Management Accounting Research. 28, 57-80.

 

Gil Aharoni, Eti Einhorn, and Qi Zeng (2016). Under Weighting of Private Information by Top Analysts. Journal of Accounting Research, forthcoming.

 

Versano Tsahi, and Brett Trueman (2016). Expectations Management. The Accounting Review (Forthcoming).

 

Amir, E., and S. Levi (2016). The precision of information in stock prices, and its relation to disclosure, liquidity and cost of equity, Working paper (October), Tel Aviv University.