Financial Report Readability and Stock Price Synchronicity: The Moderator Role of CEO Media Exposure

A significant part of capital market research is stock price synchronicity and its influencing factors. When considering these factors, financial report readability and CEO media exposure emerge as critical elements in fostering a conducive environment for conveying understandable information to the market. Therefore, this study examines how CEO media exposure influences the relationship between financial report readability and stock price synchronicity. In this context, we analyzed data from 99 firms spanning the years 2014 to 2021. Our findings are rooted in the components of the information environment, encompassing both information supply and demand. To address the endogeneity of financial report readability, we employed the 2SLS method. Findings showed that the financial report readability led to a decrease in stock price synchronicity. This relation was more pronounced in firms whose managers had greater media exposure. Additional tests revealed that, on the information supply side, low institutional ownership, and on the information demand side, companies characterized by higher information asymmetry imply greater growth opportunities and more significant agency problems. Furthermore, the effect of CEO media exposure on the relationship between financial report readability and stock price synchronicity was found to be strengthening. These findings underscore the valuable roles played by financial report readability and CEO media exposure in enhancing information quality and reducing the impact of unsystematic factors on stock price movements.IntroductionOne area that has exacerbated the financial crisis on the capital market is the heightened sensitivity of stock prices to market and industry news relative to firm-specific information. In this regard, the phenomenon of stock price synchronicity has become a challenging keyword in economic, financial and accounting literature, especially in emerging markets.Wang (2014) considered it to have informativeness in the pricing process and compared it to a type of noise affecting both financial and non-financial decisions. Loughran and McDonald (2014) believe that the information environment plays a decisive role in creating and shaping stock price synchronicity. Therefore, this research aims to study the impact of financial reporting readability and CEO media exposure as components of the information environment and information communication tools on stock price synchronicity.Research QuestionsDoes the CEO media exposure influence the relationship between financial reporting readability and stock price synchronicity?Do components of an information environment (including information supply and demand) change the effect of CEO media exposure and financial reporting readability on stock price synchronicity?Literature Review2.1. Financial Report Readability and Stock Price SynchronicityBai et al. (2018) argued that when the cost of collecting and processing information is high, inexperienced investors may gather incomplete firm-specific information from stock price volatility and movements. They tend to rely on market or industry information, resulting in information inefficiency and risk within the market. On the other hand, when the financial reporting readability is high, the cost of processing and gathering information for investors is reduced by facilitating access, and stock returns synchronicity decreases.2.1. CEO Media Exposure, Financial Report Readability, Stock Price SynchronicityLiu and McConnell (2013) have stated that managers are more likely to abandon devaluation-based efforts after media criticism. They have argued that this effect can be attributed to negative media coverage regarding the imputation of shareholder value. Additionally, Cahan et al. (2020) have shown that CEO media exposure leads to an improvement in the quality of financial reporting because it exposes managers to the risk of lawsuits.MethodologyThe necessary data and information were gathered from the annual financial reports of firms listed on the stock exchange between 2014 and 2021, as well as from the Codal and RDIS databases. Additionally, the data related to stock price synchronicity was extracted from the database of the Financial Information Processing Center (Fipiran.com) at Tehran Securities Exchange Technology Management Co. Finally, 99 firms and 792 observations (year-firm) were screened and analyzed.ResultsThe findings showed that financial report readability led to a decrease in stock price synchronicity. This relationship was more pronounced in firms whose managers had greater media exposure. Additional tests revealed that on the information supply side, low institutional ownership, and on the information demand side, companies with higher information asymmetry represent more growth opportunities and greater agency problems. Additionally, the effect of CEO media exposure on the relationship between financial reporting readability and stock price synchronicity was strengthened.DiscussionThe findings showed that the improvement of the readability index causes the weight of firm-specific information on the stock price to exceed that of market and industrial information, leading to a reduction in the phenomenon of stock price synchronicity. Additionally, CEO media exposure has strengthened the relationship between financial report readability and stock price synchronicity. In other words, the readability of financial reporting in firms with higher media coverage has intensified the stock price synchronicity. The interpretation of these results is that managers use media tools to mark the quality of financial reporting and take steps towards reliable and useful information due to the risks that the media may create for them. Therefore, the CEO media exposure can be considered as one of the new tools and mechanisms of information sources in the emerging market of Iran, which has informational content. Robust tests also demonstrated that, in terms of information supply, firms with a low percentage of institutional shareholders, and in terms of information demand, firms with higher growth opportunities and greater agency problems observed a more pronounced effect of CEO media exposure on the relationship between readability and stock price synchronicity. Based on these results, institutional shareholders can be considered as a tool for supplying and transmitting information to the market. Also, the growth opportunities and representation problems can also be counted among the factors that affect the demand for information.ConclusionThese findings reiterate the beneficial role of financial report readability and CEO media exposure as examples of information quality, reducing the influence of unsystematic factors on stock price movements.