This book provides researchers and scholars with a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of earnings management theory and literature. While it raises new questions for future research, the book can be also helpful to other parties who rely on financial reporting in making decisions like regulators, policy makers, shareholders, investors, and gatekeepers e.g., auditors and analysts. The book summarizes the existing literature and provides insight into new areas of research such as the differences between earnings management, fraud, earnings quality, impression management, and expectation management; the trade-off between earnings management activities; the special measures of earnings management; and the classification of earnings management motives based on a comprehensive theoretical framework.
In recent time a number of high-profile accounting scandals highlighted the problem of optimal allocation of savings to investment opportunities. To resolve this problem and to reduce damage caused to stakeholders of a company, it is important to understand the negative implications of earnings management and the conditions under which earnings management occurs. The study begins with the discussion of the earnings quality concept and the summary of prior evidence on the motivations for and the constraints of earnings management. The following empirical analyses shed some light on the effect of accounting standards and competing incentives on the level of earnings management.
The study seeks to investigate the determinants of firm level earnings management (EM) within the context of 44 countries around the world. A sample of 29 430 non-financial companies over the period 1996-2012 were analysed using a series of models that link firm-, industry-, and country-specific characteristics, on the one hand, and EM, on the other. We develop composite measures of accrual (A_EM) and real earnings management (R_EM) using principal component analysis (PCA). To estimate the model parameters we utilise three-stage least square (3SLS) procedures with seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). The study triangulates multiple theories to gain a deeper understanding of firm level EM behaviour and draw policy implications. We find that the nature of the nexus between firm-, industry-, and country-characteristics, on the one hand, EM activity, on the other, is a function of the measure of the EM construct and the reporting environment considered in the analysis. The findings signify that monitoring and reputational concerns, regulatory and market pressures, and information asymmetry issues are drivers behind firm level EM activity around the world.
This book is a study of earnings management, aimed at scholars and professionals in accounting, finance, economics, and law. The authors address research questions including: Why are earnings so important that firms feel compelled to manipulate them? What set of circumstances will induce earnings management? How will the interaction among management, boards of directors, investors, employees, suppliers, customers and regulators affect earnings management? How to design empirical research addressing earnings management? What are the limitations and strengths of current empirical models?
This paper investigates the factors that determine earnings management in emerging countries through the example of Tunisia. The empirical analysis is conducted by dividing the factors into two principal group -- incentive group and constraint group -- and by using data of 19 Tunisian listed companies collected from the Tunisian stock exchange for the period 2003-2009. To estimate discretionary accruals, three models, namely, Dechow et al. (1995) (modified Jones model), Kothari et al. (2005) and Raman and Shahrur (2008), have been used. In order to test for determinants of earning management, the residuals of these models (discretionary accruals) are regressed on a set of explanatory variables that are hypothesized to have an impact on earnings management. Empirical analysis reveals that on the whole, the results seem to depend on the model used to estimate the discretionary accruals. In particular, six (indebtedness, firm size, performance, cumulation of the managerial and the board chair roles, managerial propriety, and dividend policy) of the nine variables considered are found to significantly determine earnings management. In addition, empirical results show that three (firm size, cumulation of the managerial and the board chair roles, and managerial propriety) out of the six determinants do not have a sign as expected.
Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Business economics - Accounting and Taxes, University of Duisburg-Essen, course: Master Thesis, language: English, abstract: This paper delves into various theories and approaches, aiming to define and differentiate earnings management from related concepts such as fraud, expectation management, and impression management. It explores the goals and incentives driving earnings management, including maximizing or minimizing earnings, beating targets, and smoothing. At the onset of the new millennium, corporate scandals rocked the business world, eroding trust in management, boards of directors, and the accounting profession. In response, regulations and policies aimed at enhancing corporate governance and financial reporting were swiftly implemented. The credibility, clarity, and consistency of financial reporting practices play a pivotal role in enabling investors to make informed decisions. Accurate and fair financial performance representations, as opposed to inflated and misleading figures, are essential for market players, including shareholders and creditors. Investors rely on audited financial reports to guide their investment decisions, underscoring the critical importance of accuracy and reliability in publicly available financial disclosures. Auditors, by reducing the risk of material misstatement, ensure the integrity of the information disclosed in a company's financial statements. Management, with the goal of achieving promised targets and ensuring the company's existence, may engage in earnings management as a strategic contribution to corporate policy. Financial reporting serves as a means to distinguish well-performing companies from their counterparts, facilitating efficient resource allocation and empowering stakeholders to make effective decisions. The disclosed earnings results significantly impact a firm's overall business activities and management decisions, particularly in satisfying analysts' expectations, which can influence equity value. While accounting standards play a role, the quality of financial statements is more influenced by company-specific and institutional factors shaping managers' incentives. These factors lead to financial reporting practices being viewed as the outcome of a cost-benefit assessment.
