The Association between Auditor Litigation and Abnormal Accruals

2001 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Heninger
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Abnormal Accruals ◽  
Univariate Analyses ◽  
Auditor Litigation

Concern that earnings management erodes the quality of financial reporting has prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to question the role of the external auditor. To help address that concern, this study examines the relation between earnings management and auditor litigation. While prior research on the relation between auditor litigation and total accruals has yielded inconclusive results, I find that the risk of auditor litigation is positively associated with a sharper measure of earnings management—abnormal accruals. Using a larger and more recent sample, this study provides evidence that the probability of auditor litigation increases as clients report more positive (income-increasing) abnormal accruals. This result holds in: (1) univariate analyses, (2) logit analyses that also control for auditor size, client importance to the auditor, length of the auditor-client relationship, client industry, client financial condition, client size, and client growth, and in (3) the subsample of lawsuits alleging wrongdoing in the more recent time period (1984–1998).

scholarly journals Earnings Management: The Role Of Accounting Professionals

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Carruth
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Markets ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Accounting Fraud ◽  
Earnings Expectations ◽  
Corporate Executives ◽  
Accounting Professionals

In todays financial markets there is a great deal of pressure for corporations to meet investors earnings expectations. Failure to do so may result in the loss of millions of dollars in stock capitalization. As a result, an increasing number of corporate executives have succumbed to the temptation to manage their earnings in order to achieve targeted profits. The number of companies under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for possible accounting fraud related to earnings management has increased significantly in recent years. This article identifies and discusses four common areas of potential financial reporting abuse: restructuring costs, miscellaneous reserve accounts, materiality, and manipulation of revenue recognition. In addition, this paper discusses the vital role of accounting professionals as gatekeepers responsible for helping to maintain the viability of our financial markets.

Litigation Risk and Abnormal Accruals

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff P. Boone ◽  
Inder K. Khurana ◽  
K. K. Raman
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Equation System ◽  
Simultaneous Equation ◽  
Litigation Risk ◽  
Securities Litigation ◽  
Simultaneous Equation System ◽  
Specific Risk ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Abnormal Accruals ◽  
Auditor Litigation

SUMMARY In this paper, we examine the relation between auditor litigation risk and abnormal accruals over the 1989–2007 time period. We address potential endogeneity in prior studies by jointly modeling abnormal accruals and litigation risk in a simultaneous equation system. Our findings suggest that client-specific litigation risk affects auditor incentives to acquiesce to client demands for earnings management, i.e., the higher the risk of auditor litigation, the greater the auditor's restraining influence on the abnormal accruals reported by the client. We also find evidence that abnormal accruals increase the likelihood of auditor litigation. We also document that the 1995 Public Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) lowered the client-specific risk of auditor litigation. Litigation reform remains a topic of ongoing interest. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the effects of litigation reform (and related changes in legal exposure) on auditor incentives and earnings management.

CFO/CEO-Board Social Ties, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Earnings Management

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopal V. Krishnan ◽  
K. K. Raman ◽  
Ke Yang ◽  
Wei Yu
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Board Of Directors

SYNOPSIS Prior research suggests that the efficacy of a formally independent member of the board of directors could be undermined by social ties with the CEO. In this study, we examine the relation between CFO/CEO-board social ties and earnings management over the 2000–2007 time period. Our results suggest that CFOs/CEOs picked more socially connected directors in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) time period (possibly as a way out of the mandated independence requirements). Our results also suggest a positive relation between CFO/CEO-board social ties and earnings management. Still, the increase in managerial/board risk aversion since SOX appears to have negated the effect of social ties on earnings management in the post-SOX period. Board independence and financial reporting quality remain topics of ongoing interest. The study is important in advancing our understanding of the role of social ties in earnings management.

scholarly journals An empirical analysis of the effect of audit quality on financial reporting fraud

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4-4) ◽  
pp. 391-399
Author(s):  
Fujen Daniel Hsiao ◽  
Jerry W. Lin ◽  
Joon S. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Financial Reporting Fraud

Several highly publicized financial reporting fraud cases (e.g., Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom) have put the role of external auditors and quality of their audit in ensuring corporate financial reporting quality under considerable scrutiny. Much research has been conducted on the determinants of earnings management. Since earnings management is inherently unobservable, most studies use various measures of accruals as proxies for earnings management. This study examines the relationship between audit quality and a more direct measure of earnings management – financial reporting fraud. Contrary to the concerns that nonaudit services are the primary reason for auditor independence impairment that results in lower audit and earnings quality, this study finds no significant relationship between reporting fraud and fees paid to auditors for various services.

scholarly journals The Role of IFRS on Financial Reporting Quality and Global Convergence: A Conceptual Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Auwalu Musa
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Accounting Quality ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
The World ◽  
Timely Loss Recognition

This study examines the role of International Financial Reporting Standards on financial reporting quality and the global convergence. The IFRS adoption is already an issue of global relevance across countries of the world due to the quest for uniformity, reliability and comparability of financial statements of companies. The adoption of IFRS in Europe is an example of accounting quality across-borders with different institutional frameworks and enforcement rules. This allows investigating whether, and to what extent accounting regulation per se can affect the quality of financial reporting and leads to convergence in financial reporting. Specifically, the study review how the change in the recognition and measurement of firms operating accrual item, the loan loss provision, affects income smoothing behaviour and timely loss recognition. The study found that the IFRS convergence reduces the scope for earnings management, is related to more timely loss recognition and leads to more value relevant accounting measures. Thus, the study reviews background and guidance on the change in financial reporting quality following extensive IFRS adoption around the world countries. The study found that a difference in accounting quality is related to country’s overall infrastructure setting. The study also highlights the importance of investor protection for financial reporting quality and the need for regulators to design mechanisms that limit managers' earnings management practice. The study found from different literatures that the adoption of IFRS leads to higher quality of accounting numbers and improve foreign direct investment across countries.

Ownership structure and real earnings management: evidence from an emerging market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaker Dahan AL-Duais ◽  
Mazrah Malek ◽  
Mohamad Ali Abdul Hamid ◽  
Amal Mohammed Almasawa
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the monitoring role of ownership structure (OWS) on real earnings management (REM) practices; previous studies primarily examined the effect of OWS on accrual-based earnings management.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of this study is 490 companies listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange during the period 2013–2016 (1,960 company-year observations). The regression of a feasible generalized least square was used for data analysis. The authors use three regression models ordinary least squares, panel-corrected standard errors and Driscoll–Kraay standard errors to corroborate the findings and also examine alternative REM measures.FindingsAnalysis of the data shows that family, foreign and institutional ownership has a positive link with the quality of financial reporting and, to a large extent, is capable of alleviating REM. The findings also indicate that some form of OWS significantly affects REM, corroborating existing theories on corporate governance (CG) and the perspectives of practitioners.Practical implicationsThe evidence concerns the significant role played by the OWS in reducing REM activities. The findings are useful in support of regulatory activities, particularly in the design of policies to regulate the OWS. The results may also provide useful insights to inform other policymakers, investors, shareholders and researchers about the active role of family, foreign and institutional investors in monitoring Malaysia's public listed companies (PLCs) to strengthen CG practices. This also leads to less REM and enhances the quality of financial reporting.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this work is pioneering research from a developing country, specifically from Malaysia, to investigate the manner in which all possible OWSs influence REM. More importantly, the study recommends that regulators and researchers do not envisage OWS as a holistic phenomenon.

The Impact of Going Concern on Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Vietnam

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phung Anh Thu ◽  
Nguyen Vinh Khuong
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Going Concern ◽  
Debt Covenant

The investigation was conducted to contribute empirical evidence of the association between going concern and financial reporting quality of listed firms on the Vietnam stock market. Based on data from 279 companies listed on the HNX and HOSE exchanges in Vietnam for the period 2009-2015, the quantitative research. Results found that the relationship between the going concern and financial reporting quality of listed firms. Research results are significant for investors, regulators to the transparency of financial reporting information. Keywords Going concern, financial reporting quality, listed firms References Agrawal, K., & Chatterjee, C. (2015). Earnings management and financial distress: Evidence from India. Global Business Review, 16(5_suppl), 140S-154S.Bergstresser, D., & Philippon, T. (2006). CEO incentives and earnings management. Journal of Financial Economics, 80(3), 511–529.Burgstahler, D., & Dichev, I. (1997). Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 24(1), 99–126.Charitou, A., Lambertides, N., & Trigeorgis, L. (2007a). Earnings behaviour of financially distressed firms: The role of institutional ownership. Abacus, 43(3), 271–296.Chen, Y., Chen, C., & Huang, S. (2010). An appraisal of financially distressed companies’ earnings management: Evidence from listed companies in China. Pacific Accounting Review, 22(1), 22–41Dechow, P., & Dichev, I. (2002). The Quality of Accruals and Earnings: The Role of Accrual Estimation Errors. The Accounting Review, 77, 35-59.DeFond, M., & Jiambalvo, J. (1994). Debt covenant violation and manipulation of accruals. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 17(1), 145–176.DeFond, M.L., & Park, C.W. (1997). Smoothing income in anticipation of future earnings. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 23(2), 115–139.Dichev, I., & Skinner, D. (2004). Large sample evidence on the debt covenant hypothesis. Journal of Accounting Research, 40(4), 1091–1123.Đinh Thị Thu T., Nguyễn Vĩnh K. (2016). Tác động của hành vi điều chỉnh thu nhập đến khả năng hoạt động liên tục trong kế toán: Nghiên cứu thực nghiệm cho các doanh nghiệp niêm yết tại Việt Nam, Tạp chí phát triển khoa học và công nghệ, Quí 3, tr.96-108.Đỗ Thị Vân Trang (2015). Các mô hình đánh giá chất lượng báo cáo tài chính, Tạp chí chứng khoán Việt Nam, 200, tr 18-21.Habib, A., Uddin Bhuiyan, B., & Islam, A. (2013). Financial distress, earnings management and market pricing of accruals during the global financial crisis. Managerial Finance, 39(2), 155-180.Jaggi, B., & Lee, P. (2002). Earnings management response to debt covenant violations and debt restructuring. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 17(4), 295–324.Kasznik, R., (1999). On the association between voluntary disclosure and earnings management. Journal of accounting research, 37(1), pp.57-81.Lu, J. (1999). An empirical study of earnings management by loss-making listed Chinese companies. KuaijiYanjiu (Accounting Research), (9), 25–35.McNichols, M.F. and Stubben, S.R., (2008). Does earnings management affect firms’ investment decisions?. The accounting review, 83(6), pp.1571-1603.Selahudin, N.F., Zakaria, N.B., & Sanusi, Z.M. (2014). Remodelling the earnings management with the appear- ance of leverage, financial distress and free cash flow: Malaysia and Thailand evidences. Journal of Applied Sciences, 14(21), 2644–2661.Skinner, D.J., & Sloan, R. (2002). Earnings surprises, growth expectations, and stock returns or don’t let an earnings torpedo sink your portfolio. Review of Accounting Studies, 7(2/3), 289–312.Sweeney, A.P., (1994). Debt-covenant violations and managers' accounting responses. Journal of Accounting & Economics, 17(3): 281-308.Trần Thị Thùy Linh, Mai Hoàng Hạnh (2015). Chất lượng báo cáo tài chính và kỳ hạn nợ ảnh hưởng đến hiệu quả hoạt động của doanh nghiệp Việt Nam, Tạp chí phát triển kinh tế, 10, tr.27-50.Trương Thị Thùy Dương (2017). Nâng cao chất lượng báo cáo tài chính công ty đại chúng, Tạp chí tài chính, 1(3), tr.55-56.Uwuigbe, Ranti, Bernard, (2015). Assessment of the effects of firm’s characteristics on earnings management of listed firms in Nigeria, Asian Economic and Financial Review,5(2):218-228.

Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in the EU: a panel data analysis approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Eu

Purpose Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions. Findings Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality. Practical implications Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports. Social implications Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information. Originality/value This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity in earnings quality between different classes of companies after IFRS adoption: evidence from Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (73) ◽  
pp. 113-131
Author(s):  
Roberto Black ◽  
Sílvio Hiroshi Nakao
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Value Relevance ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Accounting Earnings ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Before And After

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.

Accounting Standards and Earnings Quality — Evidence from Registered ADRs

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 1850022
Author(s):  
Yaseen S. Alhaj-Yaseen ◽  
Kean Wu ◽  
Leslie B. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Reporting Standard ◽  
International Financial Reporting Standard ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Gaap

This paper examines the changes in earnings quality of registered American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as a result of switching accounting standards. We aim to shed light on the potential impact of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption on US firms. A suboptimal approach to achieve this goal is through examination of US firms’ surrogates such as ADRs. Unlike previous studies, we made a distinction between registered and unregistered ADRs and affirmed that registered ADRs are the closest surrogates with which to conduct our analysis because they are exclusively required to adhere to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s stringent disclosure requirements. When cross-listing their equity on the US exchanges, foreign issuers can file their financial reports with the SEC using IFRS, US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), or their domestic GAAP with reconciliation to US GAAP. An improvement in earnings quality is documented when ADRs adopt US GAAP or IFRS versus domestic GAAP. However, when the comparison is made between US GAAP and IFRS, no difference in earnings quality is documented. These results indicate that switching to high-quality accounting standards is likely to improve earnings quality. This improvement is maximized when the difference between reporting standards is high and minimized if otherwise. Our conclusion is that the adoption of IFRS in the US is unlikely to change earnings quality of local issuers. Moreover, we drew a distinction between reconciliation with and adoption of high-quality accountings standards and find that while the former can enhance earnings quality, the latter can further improve it.

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