https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar <div class="row" style="text-align: justify;">The Journal of Finance and Accounting Research (JFAR) is a multidisciplinary international journal of the Department of Banking and Finance, Dr Hasan Murad School of Management (HSM), University of Management and Technology (UMT), Lahore, Pakistan. JFAR is committed to publishing high-quality studies in finance and related fields and is widely circulated, both nationally and internationally.&nbsp;Accounting, Finance &amp; Auditing are seen as essential components for the successful implementation of market-based development policies supporting economic liberalization in the rapidly emerging economies. JFAR publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field of&nbsp; Accounting, and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject.</div> en-US <p style="text-align: justify;">JFAR follows an open-access publishing policy and full text of all articles is available free, immediately upon acceptance. Articles are published and distributed under the terms of the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0</a> International License.&nbsp;Thus, work submitted to UMT Journals implies that it is original, unpublished work of the authors; neither published previously nor accepted/under consideration for publication elsewhere.&nbsp;On acceptance of a manuscript for publication, a corresponding author on the behalf of all co-authors of the manuscript will sign and submit a completed&nbsp;<a href="https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar/libraryFiles/downloadPublic/19">Author Consent, Copyright, and Declaration Form.</a></p> [email protected] (Editorial Office JFAR) [email protected] (Editorial Assistant) Mon, 12 Jan 2026 05:48:18 +0000 OJS 3.1.1.4 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar/article/view/2167 <p>The present study identifies the moderating role of liquidity and innovation to determine the credit ratings of non-financial firms in Pakistan integrated with corporate governance. In Pakistan, non-financial firms are facing increasing challenges to maintain favorable credit ratings, which are essential for financial stability and financing access from external resources. Certain characteristics like weak governance practices, low innovation levels and limited liquidity often hinders the firms from achieving strong credit profits. In the previous studies, in the context of Pakistan limited evidence exists on how governance quality interacts with liquidity and innovation as the determinants of credit ratings. In the present study panel, data regression analysis is used to analyze data from 50 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2015 to 2019, based on purposive sampling technique. In the present study, credit rating serve as the dependent variable, governance quality as the independent variable, whereas liquidity and innovation as moderating variables. The findings show that governance quality has a positive effect on firms’ credit ratings, while on the other hand, both liquidity and innovation improved this relationship as significant moderators. Among the control variables, only a few showed statistical significance indicating that the internal firm factors are the primary determinants of credit outcomes. It is concluded that strong governance integrated with sufficient liquidity and innovation results in improved credit ratings. The study suggests that managers should focus on improving governance structures and practices, fostering innovation and enforcing financial stability to strengthen firms’ creditworthiness and long-term financial adaptability.</p> Shabbir Hussain, Rabia Bukhari ##submission.copyrightStatement## http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar/article/view/2167 Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar/article/view/2223 <p>The current study aimed to delve into the phenomenon of investors' herding within the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and its various sectors. It focused on patterns within sectors and on market conditions that are volatile. The research used established herding measures, Cross-Sectional Standard Deviation (CSSD), and Cross-Sectional Absolute Deviation (CSAD), proposed by Christie and Huang in 1995 and Chang et al. in 2000. The analysis relied on intraday, daily, and weekly return data from 620 listed firms. The evidence showed that return differences increase, rather than decrease, during times of high market activity. This indicates there is no significant herding at the overall market level or within individual sectors. These results challenge the usual assumptions in behavioural finance that investors follow during uncertain times. Instead, they suggest that investors in the PSX are more independent and rational. The study emphasized the need for regulatory strategies tailored to specific sectors. These strategies should recognize this independence and promote transparency, investor education, and evidence-based policymaking to improve market resilience.</p> <p>&nbsp;A market-wide herding measure known as Cross-Sectional Standard Deviation (CSSD) Cross sectional absolute deviation (CSAD) models introduced by Christie &amp; Huang (1995) and Chang et al. (2000) &nbsp;is applied to assess the presence of herding behavior. To conduct this analysis, the study utilizes intraday, daily, and weekly stock returns from a sample of 620 companies listed on the Pakistan stock exchange. &nbsp;The findings suggest that the variability of equity returns often rises during times of significant price volatility instead of falling, indicating a lack of herding behavior. The results indicate that neither the PSX nor its individual sectors exhibit any significant herding tendencies. The results&nbsp; highlight the need for policymakers and market participants to develop sector-specific strategies that leverage this independence, challenging traditional assumptions of uniform investor behavior and promoting more informed market practices.</p> <p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><em> Herding Behavior</em><em>,</em><em> Cross sectional standard deviation, Cross sectional absolute deviation, Pakistan stock market</em></p> <p><strong><em>JEL Classification: </em></strong><em>G11, G12, G14</em></p> <p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> Shandana Shaukat ##submission.copyrightStatement## http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jfar/article/view/2223 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000