The Representativeness of Management Earnings Forecasts.

ABSTRACT: Discussion regarding whether to require management to make earnings forecasts public has been based, in part, on the existing evidence concerning published management earnings forecasts. This article evaluates certain attributes of forecast firms in an effort to determine whether currently produced forecasts are representative of what might be produced by all firms if forecasts were mandatory. The results of the various tests all suggest that previous research findings may not provide a sound basis for a policy decision on forecasting.