Tables & Figures (revacc-tables-figures)

When to trigger

• Tables are dense, inconsistent, or not self-explanatory without the text
• Your descriptive-statistics table is missing or does not let a referee sanity-check the sample
• A DiD or event study has no dynamic/event-time figure
• An analytical paper has propositions but no figure illustrating the comparative statics
• Significance is shown only with asterisks, or coefficients lack the economic-magnitude read

The standard RAST exhibit set

Accounting empirical papers at RAST converge on a recognizable sequence; build it in order.

1. Variable definitions — every variable defined with its data source (Compustat item, CRSP field, I/B/E/S measure) so the sample is reconstructable.
2. Descriptive statistics — N, mean, median, SD, key percentiles for all variables; this is the table referees use to catch a broken sample (implausible accruals, miswinsorized ratios).
3. Correlations — Pearson/Spearman where it informs multicollinearity or the main association.
4. Main result — the focal estimating equation with fixed effects and clustering noted in the table notes; report economic magnitude, not only significance.
5. Identification diagnostics — pre-trends/dynamic effects (DiD), first stage (IV), bandwidth/density (RD).
6. Robustness and cross-section — alternative proxies, subsamples, channel partitions.

For analytical papers, the exhibit set is figures: an equilibrium/comparative-static plot that makes the proposition legible, and a stylized numerical example.

Make every exhibit self-contained

A RAST table must be readable without the body text. The title states what is estimated; the notes give the sample, period, unit of observation, fixed effects, clustering, winsorization, and what significance markers mean. A referee should reconstruct the specification from the table alone. Report coefficients with standard errors (or t-stats) consistently, and translate the headline coefficient into an economic magnitude ("a one-SD increase in disclosure quality lowers the bid-ask spread by X%").

Figures that earn their place

• Event-time / dynamic-effect plot for any DiD — the single most persuasive identification exhibit; show the flat pre-trend and the post-treatment path with confidence bands.
• Event-study CAR plot for information-content/value-relevance claims, with the window and benchmark stated.
• Comparative-static figure for analytical papers — plot the equilibrium object against the key primitive so the accounting reading is visible.
• Avoid chartjunk and dual axes; one figure, one message.

House-style discipline

Follow the journal's formatting (待核实; 检索于 2026-06；以官网为准): consistent decimal places, a stated significance convention, numbered tables/figures referenced in order, and an abstract within the journal's limit (~150–250 words, 待核实). Keep exhibits anonymized for double-blind review (no author-identifying file names or acknowledgements embedded).

Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)

Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of body-vs-appendix drift). Full map: execution-with-mcp. RAST is empirical accounting; emphasize identification of disclosure / governance effects and the multiple-testing haircut for mined associations.

• Tables: etable (multi-model columns) or did_summary_to_latex straight from the result_id.
• Figures: plot_from_result / enhanced_event_study_plot / event_study_table — axis units and the SE/clustering note baked in.
• Every note names the estimator + clustering and states the effect size in interpretable units.

See a full fitted-result → exhibit chain in the JF execution walkthrough.

Checklist

• Variable-definitions table with data sources present
• Descriptive-statistics table lets a referee sanity-check the sample
• Main table reports economic magnitude, not just significance
• Table notes give sample, period, unit, FE, clustering, winsorization, significance convention
• DiD has a dynamic/event-time figure; IV/RD diagnostics shown
• Analytical comparative statics illustrated in a figure
• Every exhibit is self-contained and anonymized for double-blind review

Anti-patterns

• Asterisks-only inference with no standard errors and no economic magnitude.
• Table dependent on the text — notes too thin to reconstruct the specification.
• No descriptive-statistics table, hiding a broken or implausible sample.
• A DiD with no event-time plot, leaving pre-trends unshown.
• Chartjunk / dual axes that obscure the one message a figure should carry.
• Identifying file names or acknowledgements breaking anonymization.

Output format

【Exhibit set】var-defs / descriptives / correlations / main / diagnostics / robustness
【Main table】FE + clustering in notes; economic magnitude reported? yes/no
【Identification figure】DiD event-time / IV first stage / RD plot
【Analytical figure】comparative static illustrated? yes/no
【Self-contained?】each exhibit readable alone; anonymized for double-blind
【House style】decimals/significance convention/abstract limit (待核实)
【Next skill】revacc-writing-style