Textual Analysis in Accounting and Finance: A Survey
T I M LOUGHRAN∗ AND B I L L MCDONALD∗
Received 20 January 2015; accepted 15 March 2016
ABSTRACT
Relative to quantitative methods traditionally used in accounting and finance,
textual analysis is substantially less precise. Thus, understanding the art is of
equal importance to understanding the science. In this survey, we describe
the nuances of the method and, as users of textual analysis, some of the tripwires
in implementation. We also review the contemporary textual analysis
literature and highlight areas of future research.