In closing this section, we note that caution should be used
in concluding from this recent shift away from explicit
accounting-based incentive plans toward equity-based plans
that accounting information has become less important for the
governance of firms. There are a number of issues to consider
in this regard. First, as discussed in our introduction and by a
number of other scholars (for example, Ball [2001] and Black
[2000]), the existence of a strong financial accounting regime is
likely a precondition for the existence of a vibrant stock market
and in its absence the notions of equity-based pay and diffuse
ownership of firms become moot.