Mandatory 10-K amendments and strategic disclosure: An examination of firms under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission

This dissertation examines the form of disclosure provided in mandatory 10-K amendments filed in response to review by the Securities and Exchange Commission. These amendments are the focus of this study because the 10-K/A provides a unique opportunity to examine a situation where information must be disclosed, but a firm may have flexibility as to the extent to which the details are explained or highlighted. I estimate a model to assess whether reputation costs, proprietary costs and the nature of the news in the amendment influence the level of information search and processing costs set by the firm. I find reputation costs are negatively related to press releases describing the 10-K amendment. In supplementary analysis, I find firms with high reputation costs are less likely to reveal the fact that the 10-K amendment is in response to SEC review. I find no evidence to support the hypotheses that proprietary costs and the nature of the news are related to the level of information search and processing costs set by the firm.