Did Analyst Forecast Accuracy and Dispersion Improve after 2002 Following the Increase in Regulation?

This article examines the accuracy and dispersion of analyst earnings forecasts from October 1993 to September 2013. The authors found an improvement in these forecast properties in the short run following various regulations in the early 2000s. Over the extended period, however, forecast accuracy significantly declined and dispersion significantly increased. The results are robust to various sensitivity tests and indicate that these regulations did not collectively improve the information environment despite the reduction in analyst conflicts of interest. The problem seems to be largely due to the quality of financial reports.