Can CFOs Serving as Board Secretaries Improve Management Earnings Forecast Quality?

We investigate the impact of CFOs also serving as board secretaries on looking-forward information discourse. Using a sample of Chinese A-shared listed companies covering 2008 to 2020, we find that firms with CFOs also serving as board secretaries provide higher-quality management earnings forecast, evidenced by lower forecast errors and higher forecast precision. The improvement of management earnings forecast quality is stronger when firms experience higher operating performance volatility, have analysts’ earnings forecasts with less accuracy and consensus and have board secretaries with longer tenure. Last, we show that CFOs also serving as board secretaries contribute to improving market efficiency and firms’ operating performance.