Bala G. Dharan
J. Howard Creekmore Professor of Accounting, Rice University
 
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Projects and Downloads

Testimony on Oil and Gas Reserves disclosures to House Financial Services Committee

I was invited to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on July 21, 2004, on accounting and auditing issues related to oil and gas reserves disclosures. Please click here to download my 18-page testimony, "Improving the Relevance and Reliability of Oil and Gas Reserves Disclosures."

Working Paper: Accruals Management and Financing and Investing Transactions

This research project examines the differences in the accruals and stock returns for firms whose enterprise value growth is primarily from financial engineering. The paper develops a methodology to identify financial engineering from the financing sources of a firm's net assets' growth. Please click here to download a copy. Caution: Research paper drafts are preliminary by design and are subject to revisions.

Book: Enron -- Corporate Fiascos And Their Implications

Enron: Corporate Fiascos And Their Implications (Foundation Press, 2004). Coauthor: Nancy Rapoport, Dean of the University of Houston Law Center. Most of the articles were written specially for the book. Please click here to look at the table of contents and the names of contributing authors. Please click here to buy it at Amazon.com.

Research Project: Market Valuation of Minority Interest Liabilities and Convertible Debt

This project examines the valuation implication of complex financial arrangements such as minority interests and convertible securities, i.e., whether the market values them as liabilities or as equity. 

Research Paper: Intangibles Management and Measurement

Intangible Assets and the Science of People Management. Coauthor: Jeffrey Schmidt, Towers Perrin.  The paper develops a model and reviews the empirical results on how intangibles-driven companies differ from traditional companies for valuation and performance measurement. Please click here to download a copy of the paper. Caution: Research paper drafts are preliminary by design and are subject to revisions.

Research Project: Accruals Management, Earnings Volatility and Firm Characteristics

This project examines whether certain firm characteristics associated with financial engineering allow firms to shift accruals and report earnings with lower volatility.

Research Project: Trends in Aggressive Accounting Practices and Earnings Management

The project involves analyzing the accounting and auditing enforcement actions of the SEC from 1982 to 2002, to study the trends in the types of aggressive accounting and earnings management practices that are subjected to SEC action.

Paper: Financial Engineering with Special Purpose Entities

My paper titled "Financial Engineering with Special Purpose Entities" has been published as a chapter in the book "Enron and Beyond: Technical Analysis of Accounting, Corporate Governance, and Securities Issues," edited by Julia Brazelton and Janice Ammons, published by Commerce Clearing House, Fall 2002. Please click here to download a pre-publication draft of the paper. For more on the book, or to buy it online, check out the Commerce Clearing House online catalog description.

Working Paper: Dividends and Information about Earnings Quality

"Do Firms Use Dividends to Help Investors Interpret Accounting Policy Changes: Evidence from LIFO Adoptions.” This paper examines whether firms use dividend policy, and changes in dividends, to convey information about the quality of their earnings. The current version of the working paper examines the effect on dividends when firms adopt accounting changes, such as LIFO.

Testimony on Enron to House Energy and Commerce Committee

I was invited to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on February 6, 2002, on accounting issues related to Enron. Please click here to download my 17-page written testimony, "“Enron’s Accounting Issues: What Can We Learn to Prevent Future Enrons.”

Testimony on Accounting Standard-Setting

On June 26, 2002, I gave an invited testimony to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, on accounting standard setting. Please click here to download my 13-page testimony, “Strengthening the Accounting Standard-Setting Process.”

Book: Energy Industry Derivatives

I was an external reviewer and a chapter co-author for a publication by Energy Information Administration (U S Department of Commerce) on the use of derivatives in the energy industry. The book, titled Derivatives and Risk Management in the Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Electricity Industries, was published in October 2002. You can read and download the entire book from the EIA website.