Recent literature on initial public offerings (IPOs) suggests a significant effect of tone in IPO underpricing but ignores its determinants. This study concentrates on the factors that shape the tone of the information disclosed in IPOs. Sampling 211 Latin American IPOs during the period 2000–2019, we find empirical evidence that a powerful CEO can influence tone, avoiding unfavorable tone and fostering the use of positive words in the information disclosed to the market. We also show that more independent boards tend to use more unfavorable tones. Additionally, we find a non-monotonic relationship between board size and the tone in the prospectus, which suggests that an optimal board size mitigates the excessive use of positive tone and leads to more unfavorable tones in the IPO prospectus. Overall, well-functioning boards counterbalance powerful CEOs and generate more realistic disclosure to the market. Finally, we find that market-dominant auditors, age of the issuing firm, proposed use of proceeds, and the number of risk factors significantly affect the tone in the information disclosed.

最近关于首次公开募股 (IPO) 的文献表明 IPO 抑价的基调有显着影响，但忽略了其决定因素。本研究侧重于影响 IPO 披露信息基调的因素。我们对 2000 年至 2019 年期间的 211 起拉丁美洲 IPO 进行抽样，发现经验证据表明，强大的 CEO 可以影响语气，避免不利语气并促进在向市场披露的信息中使用正面词汇。我们还表明，更多的独立董事会倾向于使用更不利的语气。此外，我们发现董事会规模与招股说明书基调之间存在非单调关系，这表明最佳董事会规模可以减轻过度使用积极基调并导致IPO招股说明书中更加不利的基调。全面的，运作良好的董事会可以制衡强大的 CEO，并向市场提供更现实的信息披露。最后，我们发现市场主导的审计师、发行公司的年龄、募集资金的拟议用途以及风险因素的数量显着影响所披露信息的基调。