The Spread of COVID-19 Disclosure
15 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2020
Date Written: June 29, 2020
Abstract
Investors rely on corporate disclosure to make informed decisions about the value of companies they invest in. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to examine disclosure practices of companies relative to peers in real time about a somewhat unprecedented shock that impacted practically every publicly listed company in the U.S. We examine how companies respond to such a situation, the choices they make, and how disclosure varies across industries and companies.
We ask:
• What motivates some companies to be forthcoming about what they are experiencing, while others remain silent?
• Do differences in disclosure reflect different degrees of certitude about how the virus would impact businesses, or differences in management perception of its obligations to shareholders?
• What insights will companies learn to prepare for future outlier events?
Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, disclosure, public companies, SEC filings, audit, accounting, board of directors, transparency, 8-K, 10-K, 10-Q, corporate governance, corporate governance research
JEL Classification: G01, G3, G10, G20, G34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation