Iain Clacher

Iain Clacher
University of Leeds · Division of Accounting and Finance

BA (Hons), PhD

About

52
Publications
14,412
Reads
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670
Citations
Additional affiliations
September 2007 - present
University of Leeds
Position
  • Professor (Associate)

Publications

Publications (52)
Article
Full-text available
Both gambling and trading involve risk-taking in exchange for potential financial gains. In particular, speculative high-risk high-frequency trading closely resembles disordered gambling behaviour by attracting the same individuals who tend to be overconfident, sensation-seekers, and attracted to quick large potential payoffs. We build on these stu...
Article
We investigate whether individuals correctly assess the risk of default of annuity providers and incorporate this information into their decision‐making when purchasing an annuity. To do so, we analyze actual retirement product choices from a large administrative data set from Chile and exploit an exogenous change that decreased the coverage of gov...
Article
We examine insider trading profitability and common identity between insiders and top executives. In particular, we argue that common gender and the resultant social connections it creates influence access to private information, where insiders benefit from greater information sharing with top executives of the same gender. Using a large sample of...
Article
Pension trustees make surrogate decisions on behalf of scheme members. However, prior research has not explored how this might affect pension adequacy. Our results show that when setting targets for pension replacement income, trustees project their own preferences instead of reflecting member preferences. Furthermore, projection was more pronounce...
Article
Pension scheme trustees are responsible for the investment decisions of future generations’ retirement assets. However, behavioural finance research has mostly focussed on retail investors. While trustees are relatively sophisticated investors, they are not immune from biases. Across three experiments, we tested 252 pension scheme trustees for the...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Behavioral finance research has almost exclusively investigated the decision making of lay individuals, mostly ignoring more sophisticated institutional investors. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relatively unexplored field of investment decisions made by pension fund trustees, an important subset of institutional inv...
Article
With the aid of computerized sentiment analysis, this paper analyzes the role of constituents' comment letters in the process of setting international financial reporting standards for financial instruments. Whilst explicit agreement in comment letters is associated with the board's decision to proceed with their proposed course of action, we find...
Article
Purpose While recently introduced EU regulation on the statutory audit of public interest entities (PIEs) aims to improve audit competition and quality, its success and impact depends on the definition of a PIE applied across the various EU Member States. In the UK, even though little is known about their auditing choices, these changes will not ap...
Article
Full-text available
Long Finance's Distributed Futures research programme is pleased to announce the publication of the report, “Smart Ledgers & Collective Defined Contribution Pensions” Veterans of the UK pensions scene often describe a former world in which pensions were organised on a best efforts basis. They tend to lament its passing and view the current situatio...
Article
We examine the relation between audit quality and the earnings management activities of IPO firms. The impact of high quality auditors on real earnings management has been researched in a number of settings e.g. SEOs. However, to date, there has been no work on the effect of high quality auditors on real activities-based manipulation around IPOs. W...
Article
Full-text available
This paper examines the resilience of various retirement solutions in the context of factors that can influence their sustainability. First, by considering the desirable features of retirement solutions within the United Kingdom, the authors outline the key levers available to the architects of retirement vehicles to ensure stability. Second, to me...
Article
Using a new, large, unique database relating to silver goods sold at two major UK auction houses we show that the scrap value of silver plays a significant role in determining the realised prices of items sold at silver auctions. However, although scrap silver can be sold for cash at guaranteed prices almost immediately, arbitrage opportunities are...
Article
While earnings management around IPOs has been researched in a number of settings, there has been a relative absence of work that analyses the impact of the regulatory environment on such activities. We find that the regulatory environment does impact the real and accrual earnings management activities of IPO firms. Our results show that IPO firms...
Chapter
In this chapter, we introduce the principles and applications of Markov Regime Switching Models in financial economics. Real world asset return dynamics are complex and do not follow the standard assumptions of being independently and identically normally distributed (i.i.n.d.). As a result, standard models with logarithmic returns often fail to ca...
Chapter
This chapter presents an overview of pension funds and highlights some of the differences across different types of pension structures. In addition, the chapter discusses trends in the decline of defined benefit pension arrangements, the impact of regulation and taxation, and demographic changes.
Article
Full-text available
We develop and test a newapproach to assess defined benefit (DB) pension plan solvency risk in the presence of extreme market movements. Our method captures both the ‘fat-tailed’ nature of asset returns and their correlation with discount rate changes. We show that the standard assumption of constant discount rates leads to dramatic underestimation...
Article
Pension Plan Solvency and Extreme Market Movements: A Regime Switching Approach – Funding Report for the Actuarial Profession - Volume 18 Issue 3 - Niloufar Abourashchi, Iain Clacher, David Hillier, Mark Freeman, Malcolm Kemp, Qi Zhang
Article
Pension Plan Solvency and Extreme Market Movements: A Regime Switching Approach ‐ Abstract of the Leeds discussion - Volume 18 Issue 3 - Mark Freeman
Article
Full-text available
This study examines if there has been a change in the value relevance of direct cash flow components since the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Australia. Our results show that for both industrial and extractive firms direct cash flow statements are value relevant under Australian Generally Accepted Accounting Princ...
Article
The UK defined benefit pension scheme landscape has changed dramatically over the last few decades. During this period of change, conflicting views regarding the measurement of both assets and liabilities has made communication challenging. In turn, this has led to an under appreciation of risk and often suboptimal decision making. This paper seeks...
Article
This study examines if there has been a change in the value relevance of direct cash flow components since the adoption of IFRS in Australia. Our results show that for both industrial and extractive firms direct cash flow statements are value relevant under AGAAP and remain so after the adoption of IFRS. In addition, for industrial firms there is a...
Article
This paper investigates the impact of the regulatory environment on both the real and accrual earnings management activities of IPO firms in the UK. While earnings management around IPOs has been researched in a number of settings, to date, there has been no work that analyses the impact of the regulatory environment on such activities. We find IPO...
Article
We find that IPO firms engage in real and accrual earnings management during the IPO and that big-N audit firms constrain discretionary expenses-based and accrual-based manipulations. The restriction of these forms of earnings management leads IPO firms to resort to a higher level of sales-based manipulation. Our results show that both sales-based...
Article
This paper analyzes the relationship between real and accrual earnings management activities and IPO failure risk. Recent research shows that IPO firms manage earnings upward around the offer year utilizing real and accrual earnings management activities (e.g., Wongsunwai, 2012) and that these activities have severe negative consequences for future...
Article
In these ever more busy and stressful times in academia it is rare (unheard of in our recent experience) to receive an email that brings anticipation of exciting conversations and the opportunity to share these with a wide and, hopefully, receptive audience. The email we received from the editor of this issue of the journal was one of those rare em...
Article
In this paper, we examine the predictive ability of direct cash flow information under IFRS. Employing a combination of in- and out-of-sample cross sectional models, we provide the first empirical evidence on the predictive ability of direct cash flow information in an IFRS environment. Under IFRS, our models show the greatest explanatory power and...
Article
Full-text available
The recent financial crisis has raised significant questions about liberal free-markets as a mechanism for generating economic growth compared to those economies where there is greater state intervention. This article develops a theoretical framework for economic development that can explain historical changes in both industrial policy and economic...
Article
This paper investigates the stock market reaction to the announcement that a firm has been included in the UK FTSE4Good index of socially responsible firms. We use the announcement of firm inclusion in the index to estimate the stock market reaction to a firm being classified as socially responsible. This is an important test of whether investors v...
Article
Full-text available
Uses of GoldGolden FundamentalsGold Investment ProductsGold Market Investment and Gold InstrumentsGold Pricing DynamicsConclusion
Article
IntroductionAgency Costs in Widely Held CorporationsSources of Agency ConflictsOwnership Structures and Type II Agency CostsSummary and Conclusions Discussion QuestionsAbout the Authors
Technical Report
Full-text available
Article
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the issues, difficulties, importance for public policy and current initiatives associated with developing a more comprehensive national accounting framework in relation to public and private sector investments in intangible assets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses and evaluates the m...
Article
Using a returns-based style analysis approach, we develop a dominant timing indicator to measure each fund's ability to take advantage of movements in their dominant passive index. We apply this to a sample of Australian multi-sector funds over the period 1990 to 2005. We find evidence that the dominant timing metric presents a more positive pictur...
Article
The last three decades have seen the issue of corporate insider trading come to the fore. With the emergence of corporate governance as a central concern to regulators and academics, the trading activity of corporate insiders neatly spans both governance and corporate. Nance policy areas. This review article synthesises the main ideas and the most...
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the China Investment Corporation (CIC) and its structure, investment activities and possible future investments. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach and builds up a picture of sovereign wealth globally and then focuses on the CIC and issues surroun...
Article
Using a governance index derived explicitly from the main recommendations of the London Stock Exchange Combined Code, we find that stronger and more explicit corporate governance systems are associated with increased firm value and performance, as well as lower levels of capital expenditure and institutional shareholdings. While overall corporate g...
Article
We investigate the relationship between the pension fund risk borne by a company and measures of firm systematic risk and firm distress. Our results show that measures of systematic, default, financial and operational risks reflect the underlying risk of the pension scheme. We also find that managers of financially and operationally distressed firm...
Article
We analyse the extent to which managers exercise discretion under fair value accounting and the value relevance of these disclosures. Utilising a sample of firms that apply the UK fair value pension accounting standard, (FRS-17), we examine the main determinants of the assumptions managers use to arrive at pension scheme valuation. Despite little v...
Article
Purpose – This paper aims to consider the impact of modernizing payments systems within emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach – Focuses on the Tanzanian experience and highlights a number of important issues that emerging economies face in undertaking such reforms. The results are based on a survey of the banking sector in Tanzania. Fin...
Article
We analyze alternative currency risk management strategies for a sample of international bond portfolios. In all cases, fully hedged or dynamically hedged portfolios dominate their unhedged counter-parts under a mean-variance criterion. In addition, we present strong evidence that common foreign exchange technical trading rules do not enhance the p...
Article
Using the UK Combined Code (2003) as a test laboratory, we find that firms with higher degree of compliance receive higher market valuations, have better performance and lower investment expenditure. We also show that where there is a greater amount of external debt and more non-executives on the board, firm performance is greater. However, there i...

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