Oral financial reporting: A rhetorical analysis of earnings calls

Journal title FINANCIAL REPORTING
Author/s Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2012/4
Language English Pages 20 P. 15-34 File size 636 KB
DOI 10.3280/FR2012-004003
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Earnings calls are a key form of voluntary financial reporting through which companies seek to proactively engage investors. Although now quite routine, little is known about their rhetorical dimension. Inspired by Aristotlean classical rhetoric, this paper offers an exploratory analysis of the language of a small sample of earnings calls to identify expressions of logos (reason), ethos (credibility) and pathos (emotion). Text analysis software was used to generate descriptive data for follow-up qualitative analysis to interpret strategic usage. Results indicate a strong presence of persuasive language that is skillfully juxtaposed by company executives with financial information to emphasize success and instill confidence. The findings can be applied towards developing state-of-the-art courses for students of financial communication and towards enhancing the effectiveness of financial reporting.

Keywords: Financial reporting, classical rhetoric, earnings calls, corpus linguistics.

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Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli, Oral financial reporting: A rhetorical analysis of earnings calls in "FINANCIAL REPORTING" 4/2012, pp 15-34, DOI: 10.3280/FR2012-004003