Political euphoria and corporate disclosures: An investigation of CEO partisan alignment with the president of the United States

Abstract

We examine how the partisan alignment between chief executive officers (CEOs) and the United States president influences corporate disclosure outcomes. We predict and find evidence that more partisan-aligned CEOs display greater optimism in their corporate disclosures. CEO partisan alignment is positively associated with the likelihood of issuing a management earnings forecast and issuing overly optimistic forecasts. More partisan-aligned CEOs also use a more optimistic tone in the corporate disclosure and exhibit a lower level of accounting conservatism. Our findings suggest that time-varying beliefs of CEOs formed by the political environment can shape corporate disclosures.