SHARE REPURCHASES: ACCOUNTING AND POLICY IMPROVEMENTS

Abstract

This paper studies the prevalence and financial reporting of share repurchase programs with the goal of offering improvements to the accounting treatment and disclosures, as well as regulatory policies. Analysis of data for the Dow Jones Industrial Average companies from 2018 - 2020 confirms that share repurchases are as widely used as dividends, that debt often funds the buybacks, and that treasury stock represents an average of 43% of assets for the group. Reading the financial statements and notes reveals opportunities to improve completeness and timeliness of related disclosures. In addition to accounting issues surrounding share repurchases, the paper summarizes finance and regulatory concerns. It appears that improved accounting disclosures could address both the accounting and regulatory aspects. Many authors have studied share repurchase programs through a capital finance lens. This paper contributes to the literature by focusing instead on improvements to accounting and disclosures for share repurchases and treasury stock.