Author(s): Isaac Bonaparte, Nana Y. Amoah, Ebenezer Lamptey
Using a sample of 223 seasoned equity offering (SEO) firms, we investigate the relation between firm characteristics and the sensitivity of CEO restricted stock compensation to firm equity value. We conduct our analysis using a linear regression model, and we find that firm size is positively associated with CEO restricted stock sensitivity. Given that a higher sensitivity of restricted stock compensation to firm equity value could engender opportunistic managerial behavior, our finding suggests that relative to smaller firms, larger firms that award restricted stock to their CEOs may be exposed to greater financial misreporting risk.