Correction Constants for Present Values of Sub-Annual Cash Flows*

When future cash flows are expected to occur at sub-annual intervals, it is widely recognized that present value estimates are biased by the common assumption that each year's flows occur at year-end. Although a “brute force” remedy for the end-of-year (EOY) bias is well known, the method does not appear to be generally used for financial decisions. The author suggests the possible reasons for continued tolerance of EOY bias are that the present method for eliminating the bias is too cumbersome or that the amount of bias is thought to be negligible. The paper also (a) examines the current remedy, indicating several features that hamper its use, (b) presents a correction constant approach that simplifies calculation of unbiased present values for streams of sub-annual cash flows, (c) derives expressions for correction constants under two alternative assumptions about sub-annual discounting, and (d) demonstrates use of the constants and the possible decision-relevance of EOY bias by a simple capital budgeting example.     

Correction Constants for Present Values of Seasonal Cash Flows

In a recent Decision Sciences article, McMath (1990) developed the correction constants approach for eliminating the end-of-year bias in the present value of streams with subannual cash flows. A limitation of this approach is that it assumes subannual cash flows are level. In many types of businesses, subannual cash flows follow a predictable seasonal pattern and, consequently, a present value estimate based upon a level correction constant is biased. This article derives a general formula for determining correction constants for seasonal cash flow patterns, examines the direction and magnitude of the seasonal bias, and applies seasonal correction constants to a capital budgeting problem.     

A Unified Approach to Hedging Interest Rate Risk with Financial Futures*

There is abundant literature on the use of financial futures to reduce interest rate risk. While many applications have been developed and evaluated in the literature, little has been done to provide a simple, mathematical model unifying the disparate types of hedges. The purpose of this paper is to provide such a unifying framework. Under idealized conditions, an equation is developed giving a perfect hedge solution for arbitrary choice of planning horizon, existing or planned cash market position, and asset/liability mix. The paper is pedagogic in nature.     

股利政策、盈余持续性与信号显示

本文基于盈余持续性的概念,实证检验了上市公司的股利类型、股利支付率与企业未来盈利能力的关系,并进一步考察了大股东派发现金股利对盈余持续性的影响.本文的研究发现,总体而言,我国上市公司中派发了现金股利的公司其盈余持续性要强于未派发股利的公司,而且在净利润和营业利润上也表现出更强的增长能力.但在派发现金股利的公司中.股利支付率的大小与盈余持续性强弱并不成简单的线性关系,股利支付率高的公司在盈余的整体及其组成部分上并未表现出更强的盈余持续性.最后,大股东对于现金股利的偏好并未显著影响到盈余的持续性.由此,本文认为,我国上市公司的现金股利政策能够成为以持续性衡量的盈余质量或未来盈利能力的附加信号.     

Robust Contracts in Continuous Time

We study a continuous‐time contracting problem under hidden action, where the principal has ambiguous beliefs about the project cash flows. The principal designs a robust contract that maximizes his utility under the worst‐case scenario subject to the agent's incentive and participation constraints. Robustness generates endogenous belief heterogeneity and induces a tradeoff between incentives and ambiguity sharing so that the incentive constraint does not always bind. We implement the optimal contract by cash reserves, debt, and equity. In addition to receiving ordinary dividends when cash reserves reach a threshold, outside equity holders also receive special dividends or inject cash in the cash reserves to hedge against model uncertainty and smooth dividends. The equity premium and the credit yield spread generated by ambiguity aversion are state dependent and high for distressed firms with low cash reserves.     

The Effect of Earnings‐Based Metrics on Vertical Efficiency

The tendency to rely on accounting earnings as the primary metric of corporate performance has been subject to criticism in recent times. A key concern is that earnings misrepresent changes in value in that cash outlays occur upfront but expenses are recognized only over time. While recognized expenses indeed add up to the initial cash outflow, the equality holds only in undiscounted (nominal), not discounted (real), terms. Accordingly, corporate earnings figures suffer from a form of money illusion. In this paper, we demonstrate that such money illusion can have an upside when it is present in vertical relationships subject to self‐interest. In particular, a buyer who focuses on earnings has incentives to increase purchases since it does not immediately encounter the full cost of cash outflows. These added incentives can promote more efficient trade. We also show that the increased incentives to buy can also lead to Pareto improvements by spurring the supplier to invest more in developing technology. Finally, we demonstrate that judiciously chosen inventory valuation rules can lead to efficient supply chain outcomes. Thus, efficiency can be achieved when supply chain parties freely trade and regulators specify only the accounting rules under which they operate.     

A Framework to Analyze Cash Supply Chains

The Federal Reserve System of the United States is making changes to its cash recirculation policy to reduce depository institutions' (banks') overuse of its cash processing services. These changes will affect operating policies and costs at many institutions having large cash businesses and, in turn, impact cash transportation and logistics providers. This study provides the framework to study the cash supply chain structure and analyzes it as a closed‐loop supply chain. Additionally, it describes the cash flow management system used by banks in the U.S.     

The Choice of Depreciation Method Under Uncertainty*

This study presents a framework for choosing between depreciation methods when future cash flows from operations are not assumed known with certainty but only in probabilistic terms. Specifically, the accelerated depreciation method and the straight-line depreciation method are compared and mathematical conditions are derived for the depreciation method that should be adopted in different circumstances and under different tax systems. It is shown that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the straight-line depreciation method is the preferred method for lowering the company's present value of tax liability in various realistic situations.     

Is Cash Dividend Policy a Tool for Tunneling or Masking Expropriations?——Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

本文利用我国2004～2008年上市公司平衡面板数据检验终极控制股东与现金股利之间的关系.研究发现,在其他条件相同的情况下,现金流量权与现金股利支付水平显著负相关;控制权和现金流量权分离度与现金股利支行水平显著正相关.这表明终极控制股东并不是把现金股利作为“掏空”的工具,而是把现金股利作为掩饰“掏空”的面具.     

PORTFOLIO MODELS WITH STOCHASTIC CASH DEMAND,BORROWING AND FIXED TRANSFER COSTS

Portfolio models of the Markowitz-Tobin type implicitly assume that the investor does not have to liquidate any part of his portfolio to meet some exogenous cash demand. Since liquidity needs can be an important factor in portfolio management, Chen, Jen, and Zionts [3] in a recent paper developed a model assuming stochastic demand for cash and the possibility of meeting the cash demand by liquidating one or more assets. However, borrowing is an important alternative to liquidating assets. This paper considers that possibility. Unlike Chen, Jen, and Zionts, this paper also considers the more difficult question of liquidation costs being partly fixed and partly variable. In order to make the consideration of borrowing and fixed transfer costs mathematically tractable, the problem is first cast in a framework different from that of [3].     

终极控股股东超额控制与现金持有量价值的实证研究

文章以我国资本市场2002年非金融类A股公司为样本,实证研究了终极控股股东控制权与现金流权分离对公司现金持有量水平及其市场价值的影响.研究结果发现:(1)当终极控股股东为国有股东时,控制权/现金流权系数与现金持有量水平显著正相关;而当终极控股股东为非国有股东时,控制权/现金流权系数与现金持有量水平虽然正相关,但不能通过显著性检验.表明在两权分离的情况下,国有终极控股股东对高现金持有量水平具有较高的偏好;(2)当终极控股股东为国有股东,且其控制权与现金流权存在分离时,现金持有量的价值为0.769元;而当终极控股股东控制权与现金流权不存在分离或虽存在分离但终极控股股东为非国有股东时,现金持有量的价值为1.206元.从而表明在两权分离的情况下,国有终极控股股东对高现金持有量水平的偏好是一种控股股东利益侵占动机.     

双重委托代理对上市公司过度投资的影响路径分析——基于异质性双边随机边界模型

使用前沿异质性双边随机边界模型测度我国上市公司过度投资程度,运用结构方程路径分析双重委托代理问题对投资过度的作用机制和具体效应。得出:(1) 我国上市公司过度投资与投资不足并存,其中,代理成本引致的过度投资使投资支出超出其最优水平的31.4%,占样本的42.8%;(2)管理层持股通过自由现金流、债务、股利支付等不同路径影响公司投资,能有效缓解过度投资,而大股东代理通过自由现金流和债务结构加剧投资过度;(3)双重委托代理对公司投资影响的77.38%是通过自由现金流路径实现的,债务路径的贡献率占21.24%,股利路径表现不显著,未能产生显著的约束功效。     

大股东控制、集团内部资本市场运作与公司现金持有

本文以我国上市公司高额现金持有和企业集团迅猛发展为背景,从融资约束与代理冲突两个维度,考察了集团内部资本市场运作对成员企业现金持有量的影响,以及在不同内部治理环境下两者对现金持有量所呈现出的迥异的作用机理。以A股上市公司2007-2010年的数据为样本,本研究发现：（1）集团内部资本市场运作通过融资约束与代理冲突这两条路径影响成员企业的现金持有量。综合来看,集团成员企业的现金持有量高于独立企业。（2）在不同的内部治理环境下,预防性动机与代理动机对现金持有量影响程度的大小也不同。当代理问题较严重时,代理动机导致的现金增持程度大于预防动机减弱导致的现金减持程度,从而表现为与独立企业相比具有较高的现金持有量。（3）代理问题较严重的集团成员企业所拥有的实际现金持有量向目标现金持有量的调整速度较慢,调整半周期较长。上述研究结论丰富了委托代理理论与公司财务理论的相关研究成果,并且从集团内部资本市场运作的视角提供了治理机制如何影响公司财务决策的新证据。     

基于融资风险的现金持有与企业技术创新投入的关系研究

信息不对称条件下,现金能否作为保障技术创新投入的资金来源颇受理论界和实务界的关注。本文以2007-2013年沪深两市的非金融上市公司为样本,利用OLS和固定效应模型,对上市公司现金持有、超额现金持有与技术创新投入关系进行多元回归分析,研究结果表明上市公司的技术创新投入和现金持有以及超额现金持有呈正比,说明我国上市公司会提高自身的现金持有以应对技术创新的需要。进一步区分公司所面临的融资风险后,发现我国的民营上市公司、融资约束上市公司以及债务期限结构较短的公司技术创新投入和现金持有、超额现金持有之间的正相关关系更加显著。     

基于宏观经济视角的我国上市公司现金持有量研究

已有研究表明,公司现金持有量受到公司内部因素的影响并会进行动态调整。然而,现金持有量受宏观经济环境的影响如何以及如何根据宏观经济的变化进行动态调整,少有文献探讨。本文在理论分析的基础上,构建了宏观经济环境对现金持有量影响的静态模型和动态模型,以2001-2011年沪深两市843家上市公司的平衡面板数据为样本,就宏观经济环境对不同控股性质上市公司现金持有行为的影响进行了实证研究。研究结果表明,上市公司现金持有量与经济周期和财政政策显著负相关,而与货币政策显著正相关;现金持有量调整速度与经济周期变化和货币政策变化正相关,而与财政政策变化显著负相关。研究结果还显示,非国有控股公司的现金持有量对宏观经济更敏感,调整速度明显快于国有控股公司。本文为现金持有量的研究提供了更全面的视角。     

AUTOCORRELATED CASH FLOWS AND THE SELECTION OF A PORTFOLIO OF CAPITAL ASSETS *

Capital budgeting models for analyzing real assets typically are based on a set of restrictive assumptions that influence financial managers' decisions and may prevent optimization of the firm's objectives. This research examines the common restrictive assumption that cash flows are intertemporally independent by first developing an economic state and simulation model based on a Markov process for including autocorrelated cash flows in the capital budgeting decision process and then demonstrating why managers should include autocorrelated cash flows in capital budgeting models by empirically testing the impact of assuming intertemporally independent cash flows on capital budgeting decisions. The results indicate that ignoring autocorrelated cash flows seriously limits the ability of capital budgeting models to provide optimal investment decisions. The model also is very attractive for practical application because it can be implemented with a minimum number of estimates and provides the set of input data required by a number of capital budgeting models. A discussion of the implementation of the model is included.     

产品市场竞争、控股股东倾向和公司现金股利政策

利用我国沪深两市的4093个公司年非平衡面板数据,实证检查了公司产品市场竞争程度、控股股东现金股利分配倾向与公司现金股利政策之间的关系。结果表明,控股股东具有偏好现金股利的显著倾向,并且这种倾向不受股东性质的显著影响。进一步的研究发现,控股股东偏好现金股利的倾向在高产品市场竞争的环境下更加显著,控股股东要求支付更多现金股利的倾向随产品市场竞争程度的增加而增加。通过运用代理成本理论和股利"掏空"理论对结论进行分析,表明产品市场竞争起到了良好的外部治理机制作用,可以较好地抑制经理层的道德风险和控股股东通过其他方式对公司进行"掏空"。     

民营上市公司实际控制人与现金股利研究

实际控制人对上市公司的现金股利分配具有重要影响。本文以2004-2006年沪深证券交易所的民营上市公司为样本,对实际控制人与现金股利之间的关系进行了实证研究。研究结果证实,实际控制人通过IPO的方式获得上市公司的控制权同现金股利显著正相关,控制权与现金流权同现金股利显著正相关,控制权与现金流权发生分离和采用金字塔控制方式同现金股利显著负相关。而且,与通过非IPO的方式获得上市公司控制权的实际控制人相比,通过IPO的方式获得上市公司控制权的实际控制人其控制权与现金流权对现金股利的影响更加显著,控制权与现金流权发生分离和控制方式为金字塔时发放的现金股利更多。     

Unternehmensbewertung bei wertabhängiger und autonomer Finanzierungspolitik unter Berücksichtigung einer Kursgewinnbesteuerung

The German tax reform in 2009 entails the general taxation of realized capital gains. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of a differentiated taxation of dividend payments and capital gains on discounted cash flow valuations. We develop explicit und practical useful valuation formulas for the free cash flow approach in case of financing based on market values and the adjusted present value approach in case of autonomous financing. Furthermore it is shown how the required risk-adjusted cost of equity can be derived from a modified Tax-CAPM. Finally we discuss how the particularities resulting from the new German tax law can be taken into account in discounted cash flow valuations.     

STOCHASTIC COST-VOLUME-PROFIT ANALYSIS WITH A LINEAR DEMAND FUNCTION

In this paper we incorporate a linear demand function to model the price-volume causal relationship into stochastic cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis. We assume that the objective function is to maximize expected profit; other objective functions are also discussed and compared. A linear stochastic model follows from which probabilistic statements can be easily obtained if the random variables are assumed to be multivariate normal. The basic framework is shown to be a special case of project value maximization where project value is the cash flow of the project discounted for time and risk according to the capital asset pricing model. Moreover, an intertemporal extension that considers inventory is developed. In summary, a new approach to stochastic CVP analysis that incorporates the management decision process in an uncertain environment is developed.