scholarly journals PRUDENTIAL REGULATORY REGIMES, ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ashraf ◽  
M. Kabir Hassan ◽  
Kyle J. Putnam ◽  
Arja Turunen-Red

We analyze if a change in accounting standard or a change in prudential regulationimpacts banks’ loan loss provision. We find that, in general, the banks using aprinciples-based accounting standard exhibit a lower level of earnings managementcompared to banks using a rules-based accounting standard. When a country movesfrom pro-cyclical macro-prudential regulations to a dynamic provisioning regime,banks are more likely to set aside a larger amount of loan loss provision for the purposeof income smoothing.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Bratten ◽  
Monika Causholli ◽  
Linda A. Myers

In this study, we examine whether banks’ use of the loan loss provision (LLP) to manage earnings is associated with (a) the extent to which banks hold assets subject to fair value reporting and (b) the use of an industry specialist auditor. We find that banks with a greater proportion of assets subject to fair value reporting (i.e., higher fair value exposure) use less LLP-based earnings management but more transaction-based earnings management (i.e., earnings management achieved by timing the realization of gains/losses). We also find that banks engaging industry specialist auditors use less LLP-based earnings management. Our findings suggest that banks’ use of the LLP to manage earnings is more limited when they have access to alternative earnings management tools and when they engage an auditor with more industry knowledge. Our results should be informative to regulators, members of the banking industry, and academics interested in the earnings management behavior of banks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-51
Author(s):  
Giacomo Ceccobelli ◽  
Alessandro Giosi

The purpose of this research is to investigate earnings management purposes in the banking industry via loan loss provisions using a sample of 156 banks from 19 European countries under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) over the period 2006-2016. Using regression analysis, banks are tested for income smoothing, capital management, and signaling purposes. This study contributes to the literature exploring the relationship between accounting quality and earnings management objectives by analyzing which one of the latter is the more important determinant. The hypotheses of income smoothing and signaling are strongly approved since loan loss provisions consist as a tool for smoothing the amount of net profit and to convey private information to the market; on the contrary, the capital management purpose is not supported. Additionally, the analysis finds that non-discretionary components of loan loss provisions (essentially non-performing loans) have played an important role, especially during the financial crisis. Furthermore, the research is aimed at investigating the peculiar regulatory and supervisory environment in the banking industry on the basis of a set of indexes included in the “Bank Regulation and Supervision Survey”, carried out by the World Bank. Unlike previous literature, this study takes into account the latest release of the survey, emphasizes the role of an on-site inspection as the main supervisory tool and extends the analysis of the interaction between bank regulation and supervision and earnings management. The results demonstrate that such controls can influence the behaviour of bank managers in terms of income smoothing and signaling practices. Therefore they can be considered as effective instruments for reducing banks’ management accounting discretion, making financial statements more reliable.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-693
Author(s):  
Jamal Abu-Serdaneh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate if Jordanian banks using provision accounts as a technique to smooth income, manage capital ratio, signal future earning and test other determinants affecting provision accounts. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted on all Jordanian listed banks, and it covers the period 2005-2014. Different models are applied to test the dependent variables (loan loss provision [LLP] accounts) and its effects on different explanatory variables by using several statistical techniques (e.g. multiple regression). Findings The results show that there is no conclusive evidence supports that Jordanian banks used provision to smooth income, manage capital ratio or engage in pro-cyclical behavior. However, a positive and significant effect between one year ahead change in earnings and loan loss allowance, indicating that banks may use provisions to signal future positive changes in earnings. In addition, the results show that loan-to-asset ratio and beginning loan loss allowance have positive effect on provision accounts. Practical implications The results of this study are useful in assisting the regulators (e.g. US Securities and Exchange Commission, central bank) in efforts toward improving the quality of the reported financial reporting in the banking industry and focus on LLP management motivations. This study gives shareholders further insight which enables them to better understand the actions of managers and thus increase their control over their investments. Additionally, auditors should be aware of different incentives for using LLP as a tool of earnings management to be able to detect eventual manipulation of accounting earnings. Originality/value Banking in is one of the most stringently regulated of sectors and, furthermore, has a major impact on other sectors and on economic growth in general. In view of such importance, this study focuses on the banking industry and contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it represents the first known study, to the best of author knowledge, which examines if Jordanian banks use LLP accounts as a tool to smooth income and/or to manage capital. Second, unlike most existing research, which usually studies one aspect of LLP, this study focuses on four main motivations influencing provision accounts in the banks of Jordan. Third, additional tests were carried out to check the robustness of results, for example, sensitivity analysis is used to examine the change of findings by repeating of tests after using different proxies. Fourth, as a difference from other studies, this study investigates the effects of global financial crisis of 2008 on income smoothing behavior of Jordanian banking sector. Fifth, this paper provides a timely contribution to the continuous debate of the effect of LLP on earnings management in a poorly exploited setting, emerging market context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate bank earnings management using loan loss provision. The paper examines income smoothing, which is a type of earnings management. It compares the income smoothing behaviour of banks in the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the panel fixed effect regression methodology to analyse bank income smoothing.FindingsThe findings show that bank income smoothing is present in the UK and Egypt and absent in France and South Africa. Banks in Egypt used LLPs to smooth income before the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, bank income smoothing is pronounced in France during and after the financial crisis but was absent in the pre-crisis period. Also, bank income smoothing is reduced in countries that (1) have strict banking supervision, (2) adopt common law particularly the United Kingdom, and by countries that adopt civil law, particularly France and Egypt. Bank earnings management is greater in countries that (3) adopt a mixed legal system, particularly South Africa, and in countries that adopt International Financial Reporting Standards accounting standards.Research limitations/implicationsThe implication of the findings is that country differences may affect banks' incentive to smooth income using loan loss provision.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper is that it explicitly analyses specific countries that have different supervisory regimes, different structure and accounting rules.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alhadab ◽  
Bassam Al-Own

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of equity incentives on earnings management that occurs via the use of loan loss provisions by using a sample of 204 bank-year observations over the period 2006-2011. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the data of 39 European banks to test the main hypothesis. Several valuation models and regressions are used to measure the main proxies for executives’ compensation and the determinant factors of loan loss provisions. Findings The empirical results reveal that earnings management that occurs via discretionary loan loss provisions is associated with equity incentives in the banking industry. In particular, European banks’ executives with high equity incentives are found to manage reported earnings upwards by reducing loan loss provisions. The results therefore show that income-increasing earnings management via discretionary loan loss provisions is widely practised by the executives of European banks and that this is partly motivated by executives’ compensation. Practical implications The findings of this paper present important implications for regulators in the European Union, who should take further steps to reform the regulatory environment to monitor and mitigate the earnings management practices that occur via the manipulation of loan loss provisions. Earnings management practices do not just negatively affect subsequent performance but are also found to lead to firms’ failure. Thus, regulators should take the necessary reforms to protect the wealth of stakeholders (investors, creditors, etc.). Originality/value This study provides the first evidence on the relationship between equity incentives and earnings management in the European banking industry. The study sheds more light on an issue of great interest to a broad audience that does not receive much attention in the prior research, thus opening new avenues for future research.


Accounting ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1179-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suripto Suripto ◽  
Supriyanto Supriyanto

This study aims to analyze company characteristics as a determinant of conventional and Islamic bank earnings management in several ASEAN countries (Association of South East Asian Nations). The Multiple Discriminant Analysis was applied to determine the differences between Islamic and Conventional Banks. This test was conducted based on Capital Adequacy Ratio, Income Before Tax and Interest, Non-Performing and Changing Loans, and Company's Size in the banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam from 2014 to 2018. The data obtained from 200 banking entities were analyzed discriminatively. The results showed that there were simultaneous differences between Capital Adequacy Ratio, Earnings Before Tax, Loan Loss Provision, Non-Performing and Changing Loans, and Company's Size as determinants of earnings management between Islamic and conventional banks. Also, it was found that Company's Size was the dominant variable determining the management differences. Based on Discriminant Analysis, there were significant differences in the determinants of conventional and Islamic earnings management. The Changing Loan variable showed the highest contribution in determining earnings management in Islamic banks. Overall, this study found that conventional banks dominated Islamic system in practicing earnings management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-137
Author(s):  
Ice Maria Ulfa ◽  
Bambang Subroto ◽  
Zaki Baridwan

Abstract: Fair Value Accounting and Earnings Management Using LLP and Realized Gains and Losses: Study in Banking Industry Listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange. This study examines whether earnings management can be limited by the implementation of fair value accounting in banking industry. The main contribution of this study is  providing provide empirical evidence about the impact of fair value accounting on earnings management in Indonesia. Earnings management is proxied by loan loss provision (LLP), the realized of gains and losses, and the trade-off between realized gains and losses and LLP following Bratten et al (2013). The study provides empirical evidence that earnings management is still performed by banks, by using LLP, realized gains and losses and also occurs trade-off between LLP and realized gains and losses as means to perform earnings management in accordance with the needs of management. If banks are exposed to fair value accounting, managers will have more flexibility in reporting banks’ financial performance to present a desired earning, by  providing them with additional earning managements tools. These findings can be informative for policymakers, banking practitioners, and academics.  Keywords: earnings management, fair value accounting, LLP, realized gains and losses, trade-off LLP and realized gains and losses.Abstrak: Akuntansi Nilai Wajar dan Manajemen Laba menggunakan CKPN dan Realized Gains and Losses: Studi pada Industri Perbankan yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Studi ini bertujuan untuk meneliti apakah manajemen laba dapat dibatasi oleh penerapan akuntansi nilai wajar dalam industri perbankan. Kontribusi dari penelitian ini adalah untuk memberikan bukti empiris tentang dampak penerapan akuntansi nilai wajar pada manajemen laba di Indonesia. Manajemen laba diproksikan oleh cadangan kerugian penurunan nilai (CKPN), realized of gains and losses, dan trade-off antara realized of gains and losses dan CKPN mengikuti model penelitian Bratten et al (2013). Studi ini memberikan bukti empiris bahwa manajemen laba masih dilakukan oleh bank menggunakan CKPN, realized of gains and losses dan juga terjadi trade-off antara CKPN dan realized of gains and losses sebagai sarana manajemen laba sesuai dengan kebutuhan manajemen. Konsekuensi dari paparan bank terhadap akuntansi nilai wajar dapat meningkatkan fleksibilitas manajer dalam melaporkan penghasilan yang diinginkan dengan memberikan mereka alat manajemen laba. Temuan-temuan tersebut dapat bersifat informatif bagi pembuat kebijakan, anggota industri perbankan, dan akademisi. Kata kunci: manajemen laba, akuntansi nilai wajar, CKPN, realized gains and losses, trade-off CKPN dan realized gains and losses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongyu Cao ◽  
Hasnah Shaari ◽  
Ray Donnelly

Purpose This paper aims to provide evidence that will inform the convergence debate regarding accounting standards. The authors assess the ability of impairment reversals allowed under International Accounting Standard 36 but disallowed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to provide useful information about a company. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a sample of 182 Malaysian firms that reversed impairment charges and a matched sample of firms which chose not to reverse their impairments. Further analysis examines if reversing an impairment charge is associated with motivations for and evidence of earnings management. Findings The authors find no evidence that the reversal of an impairment charge marks a company out as managing contemporaneous earnings. However, they document evidence that firms with high levels of abnormal accruals and weak corporate governance avoid earnings decline by reversing previously recognized impairments. In addition, companies that have engaged in big baths as evidenced by high accumulated impairment balances and prior changes in top management, use impairment reversals to avoid earnings declines. Research limitations/implications The results of this study support both the informative and opportunistic hypotheses of impairment reversal reporting using Financial Reporting Standard 136. Practical implications The results also demonstrate how companies that use impairment reversals opportunistically can be identified. Originality/value The results support IASB’s approach to the reversal of impairments. They also provide novel evidence as to how companies exploit a cookie-jar reserve created by a prior big bath opportunistically.


Author(s):  
Hasni Abdullah ◽  
Imbarine Bujang ◽  
Ismail Ahmad

Objective The main purpose of the study is to investigate the presence of earnings management incentive in affecting the LLP decision of commercial banks in Malaysia, focusing on the relation between loan loss provisions and earnings before tax and provisions. Methodology/Technique This study applies the pooled Ordinary Least Square model in assessing the determinants of the LLP. Findings The empirical findings clearly indicate that the LLP in Malaysian commercial banks is affected by earnings management for that particular period Type of Paper: Empirical paper Novelty : The expansion of the existing research in Malaysia in order to examine the extent to which the Malaysian banks engage in earnings and capital management, extends the period of investigation by considering the recent global financial crisis 2007-2009. Keywords: Loan Loss Provisions; Earnings Management; Capital Management; Macroeconomic Factors; Commercial Banks.


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