scholarly journals Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. e3153
Author(s):  
Verônica de Fátima Santana ◽  
Raquel Wille Sarquis

This study evaluates the prevalence of earnings management to avoid losses and earnings decreases across the World. This practice was first documented by Burgstahler and Dichev (1997) for United States firms from 1976 to 1987. We replicate their study for a more recent and global sample. Firms that do not seem to manage earnings do avoid reporting earnings decreases, but we found persistent evidence of earnings management to avoid reporting losses. The results are consistent across different geographical regions, countries, and before and after International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Unlike Burgstahler and Dichev (1997), however, we were not able to find evidence on which components of earnings (cash flow from operations, changes in working capital, or other accruals) firms mainly manage to increase earnings, concluding they likely use a bundle of all these components. Our results are important mainly to financial analysts and general investors, who should be careful in giving good prospects to firms who presented small profits since they are likely small losses artificially managed to look better, a practice widely spread across time and geographical regions among IFRS adopters and non-adopters.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. e3153
Author(s):  
Verônica de Fátima Santana ◽  
Raquel Wille Sarquis

This study evaluates the prevalence of earnings management to avoid losses and earnings decreases across the World. This practice was first documented by Burgstahler and Dichev (1997) for United States firms from 1976 to 1987. We replicate their study for a more recent and global sample. Firms that do not seem to manage earnings do avoid reporting earnings decreases, but we found persistent evidence of earnings management to avoid reporting losses. The results are consistent across different geographical regions, countries, and before and after International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Unlike Burgstahler and Dichev (1997), however, we were not able to find evidence on which components of earnings (cash flow from operations, changes in working capital, or other accruals) firms mainly manage to increase earnings, concluding they likely use a bundle of all these components. Our results are important mainly to financial analysts and general investors, who should be careful in giving good prospects to firms who presented small profits since they are likely small losses artificially managed to look better, a practice widely spread across time and geographical regions among IFRS adopters and non-adopters.


Author(s):  
Paul Femi Fashagba ◽  
Abiola Abosede Solanke

Previous studies have examined the effects of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on earnings management. However, these studies focused attention on the general implications of IFRS adoption on earnings management with no specific focus on the links between performance appraisal and earnings management in the pre and post IFRS era. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between performance appraisal and earnings management in Pre and Post IFRS period. The dependent variable in the study is earnings management proxy by earnings per share. The independent variable is performance appraisal measured by profitability ratio, liquidity ratio, and debt ratio. Data were extracted from the records of a consumer good company in Nigeria. The multiple regression analysis was applied. Results revealed that in the pre IFRS period in Nigeria, performance appraisal had significant positive effect on earnings management, while it had significant negative effect in the post IFRS period. It is important that company’s management adhere strictly to the provisions of the IFRS guidelines. KEYWORDS: IFRS, earnings management, profitability, liquidity, debt


Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Song ◽  
Madeline Trimble

The number of countries that have adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in some form has grown each year. However, the existing literature generally ignores the varied types and the complex timing of IFRS adoption. Our paper provides a cross-reference of IFRS adoption dates and types for 195 countries and territories around the world. This definitive data, including an extensive online dataset, was developed to help researchers better identify IFRS adoption events in the samples used in their empirical studies. Additionally, we highlight potential challenges in identifying IFRS adoption types and dates as well as provide areas of future research that can benefit from our dataset, which can be accessed online https://about.illinoisstate.edu/mktrimb/song-trimble-2022-dataset/ .


Author(s):  
Erick Rading Outa

AbstractThis study seeks to establish if the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Kenya has been associated with higher accounting quality for listed companies. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in its objectives and preamble, supposes that the beneficial effects from IFRS adoption include transparency, accounting quality and reduced cost of capital. Based on these assumptions, this study applied accounting quality measures; earnings management, timely loss recognition and value relevance to find out whether the adoption of IFRS has led to improvements in accounting quality in companies listed in Kenya. The methodology is based on prior literature definition of metrics of accounting quality mainly earnings management, timely loss recognition and value relevance. The study differs from the previous ones by overcoming difficulties in controlling for confounding factors faced in previous studies which could have led to less reliable results. Three out of the eight metrics indicated that quality had marginally improved while five indicated that it had marginally declined. These mixed outcomes are very much in line with findings in other studies and the study contributes to the debate by explaining why accounting quality outcomes are still not consistent with IFRS promises in spite of improved test conditions. Key words: IFRS; IAS; accounting quality; earnings management; timely loss recognition;


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Augusto Timm Rathke ◽  
Verônica de Fátima Santana ◽  
Isabel Maria Estima Costa Lourenço ◽  
Flávia Zóboli Dalmácio

Abstract This study analyzes the level of earnings management in Latin America after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and analyzes the role of cross-listing in the United States. The literature on earnings management in less developed countries is still under construction, and few studies focus on this issue, especially with respect to Latin America, despite its relevant role in the global economy. This paper fills this gap in the literature as it analyzes the level of IFRS earnings management regarding the first and main Latin American countries applying IFRS (Brazil and Chile), when compared to the main Anglo-Saxon countries with IFRS tradition (United Kingdom and Australia), and with the main Continental European economies (France and Germany). The results show that Latin American firms present a higher level of earnings management than Continental European and Anglo-Saxon firms, and this opportunistic behavior remains significant when only global players with cross-listing in the United States are analyzed. Thus, even with a unique set of high quality accounting standards (IFRS) and strong reporting incentives, countries' specific characteristics still play an important role in the way IFRS is implemented in each country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
I Wayan Wisnu Utama ◽  
Anis Purwanti

  The issue of the application of IFRS as a standard can encourage a decrease in the level of earnings management in a company so that the application of IFRS in financial statements has the purpose of providing reports that are faithful in nature so that the report users are reliable. The purpose of this study is to show a comparison of earnings management practices that occurred before and after the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Automotive and Component companies registered in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the period of 2009-2014. The data used in this study are secondary data in the form of the company’s financial statements. The variables in this study are earnings management before and after IFRS implementation. The sampling method in this study was purposive sampling with a sample of 12 automotive and component companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Discretionary accruals of Modified Jones Model is used to measure the earnings management. The analytical method used for hypothesis testing is Paired Sample T-test, a different test for two paired samples. The results of this study indicate that earnings management in the period after IFRS convergence was different than earnings management in the period before IFRS convergence in Automotive and Component companies. However, IFRS convergence has not guaranteed a decline in earnings management practices in Automotive and Component companies.  Keywords: Earnings Management, International Financial Reporting Standard, Discretionary Accrual


Author(s):  
Yosra Makni Fourati ◽  
Rania Chakroun Ghorbel

This study aims to examine the consequences of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) convergence in an emerging market. More specifically, we investigate whether the adoption of the new set of accounting standards in Malaysia is associated with lower earnings management. Using a sample of 3,340 firm-year observations across three reporting periods with different levels of IFRS adoption, we provide evidence that IFRS convergence improves earning quality. In particular, we find a significant decrease in the absolute value of discretionary acccruals in the partial IFRS-convergence period (2007-2011), whereas this effect is restrictive after the complete IFRS- implementation.


Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Ionel Jianu ◽  
Iulia Jianu

This study investigates the conformity to Benford’s Law of the information disclosed in financial statements. Using the first digit test of Benford’s Law, the study analyses the reliability of financial information provided by listed companies on an emerging capital market before and after the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The results of the study confirm the increase of reliability on the information disclosed in the financial statements after IFRS implementation. The study contributes to the existing literature by bringing new insights into the types of financial information that do not comply with Benford’s Law such as the amounts determined by estimates or by applying professional judgment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (73) ◽  
pp. 113-131
Author(s):  
Roberto Black ◽  
Sílvio Hiroshi Nakao

ABSTRACT This paper aims to investigate the existence of heterogeneity in earnings quality between different classes of companies after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS adoption is generally associated with an increase in the quality of financial statements. However, companies within the same country are likely to have different economic incentives regarding the disclosure of information. Thus, treating companies equally, without considering the related economic incentives, could contaminate earnings quality investigations. The case of Brazil is analyzed, which is a country classified as code-law, in which tax laws determined accounting practice and in which IFRS adoption is mandatory. First, Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Stock, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA) were separated into two classes: companies issuing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) before IFRS adoption and companies that did not issue ADRs until the adoption of IFRS. Then, this second class of companies was grouped, using cluster analysis, into two different subclasses according to economic incentives. Based on the groups identified, the quality of accounting earnings is tested for each class of the companies before and after IFRS adoption. This paper uses timely recognition of economic events, value relevance of net income, and earnings management as proxies for the quality of accounting earnings. The results indicate that a particular class of companies began showing conditional conservatism, value relevance of net income, and lower earnings management after IFRS adoption. On the other hand, these results were not found for the two other classes of companies.


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