The Effect of the Determinants of Accounting Discretion on the Relationship Between Earnings Management and Stock Returns

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Sondes Draief
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Stock Returns ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Growth Options ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Distressed Firms ◽  
The Relationship

This research investigates the effect of the determinants of accounting discretion (beating last year’s earnings, overinvestment problems, growth options, debt, and financial risk) on the relationship between earnings management and stock returns. We use discretionary accruals as a proxy of earnings management.Based on a sample of 486 American firms for the period 2002-2010, our results show that discretionary accruals are positively priced by the market. This relation is even stronger when firms beat last year’s earnings, have higher growth options and increase their debt ratio. Indeed, firms’ accounting manipulations are used, in these circumstances, to convey private information about future prospects and signal good financial situation to external investors. However, discretionary accruals are negatively priced by investors in distressed firms and when overinvestment problems are intense. These firms have greater motivation to use opportunistic earnings management to camouflage the fall of firm value.

Financial Distress, the Severity of Financial Distress and Direction of Earnings Management: Evidences from Indian Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 231971452110393
Author(s):  
Debdas Rakshit ◽  
Chanchal Chatterjee ◽  
Ananya Paul
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Distressed Firms ◽  
Distance To Default ◽  
The Relationship

This paper investigates the relationship between earnings management and financial distress and considers whether this relationship varies based on the severity of financial distress and signs of discretionary accruals (a proxy for earnings management). For this purpose, multiple regression analysis has been employed on a sample of 192 financially distressed Indian firms during the period 2011–2018, counting to 1,272 firm-year observations. Discretionary accruals are estimated by the Modified Jones model and Raman and Shahrur (2008) model, while Altman’s Z-score and distance-to-default model are used to detect the degree of financial distress. The findings disclose that the low distressed firms are indulged in higher earnings management than high distressed firms. Also, the low distressed firms are engaged more in income-decreasing earnings management. However, the results are not consistent across both earnings management and distress measures. The findings have significant implications for investors and creditors. They need to be aware of this fact while evaluating creditworthiness of a firm since firms with even a low degree of financial distress can indulge in earnings management to camouflage their true financial condition.

The Relationship between Aggressive Real Earnings Management and Current and Future Audit Fees

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Greiner ◽  
Mark J. Kohlbeck ◽  
Thomas J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Pricing Behavior ◽  
Reported Earnings ◽  
The Relationship

SUMMARY We examine the relationship between aggressive income-increasing real earnings management (REM) and current and future audit fees. Managers pursue REM activities to influence reported earnings and, as a consequence, alter cash flows and sacrifice firm value. We posit that the implications of REM are considered in auditors' assessments of engagement risk related to the client's economic condition and result in higher audit fees. We find that, with the exception of abnormal reductions in SG&A, aggressive income-increasing REM is positively associated with both current and future audit fees. Additional analyses provide evidence consistent with increased effort combined with increased risk contributing to the current pricing effect, with increased business risk primarily driving the future pricing effect. We, therefore, provide evidence that aggressive income-increasing REM activities have a significant influence on auditor pricing behavior, consistent with the audit framework associating engagement risk with audit fees. JEL Classifications: G21; G34; M41. Data Availability: The data in this study are available from public sources indicated in the paper.

Relationship between earnings management, CEO compensation, and stock return on Tehran Stock Exchange

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Mahdi Moardi ◽  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Simin Poursasan ◽  
Homa Molavi
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Cash Flow ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Stock Return ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Cash Flow ◽  
Accruals Quality ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between earnings management and chief executive officers’ (CEOs) compensation. Owing to the fact that earnings management does not have only opportunistic effects, but signaling effects, this study focuses on accruals quality to examine earnings management incentives. Thus, accruals quality is described against future cash flow. The empirical evidences suggest that a positive relationship between discretionary accruals and future cash flow provides predictive elements for earnings management, whereas a negative relationship between discretionary accruals and future cash implies to opportunistic elements for earnings management. Should there is no significant relationship between discretionary accruals and future cash flow, there will be no earnings management, and such a result suggests that incentives and managers’ performance in these firms differ. Design/methodology/approach The statistical population of this research consists of all listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2009–2016. Panel data method is applied in order to estimate the research model. Findings Findings of the study show that there is no significant relationship between discretionary accruals and future cash flow in pharmaceutical and food industries, thus they have neither predictive nor opportunist earnings management, while the results evidence a negative significant relationship between discretionary accruals and future cash flow in machineries, automobile, mineral and chemical industries. Furthermore, it can be alleged that there is no significant difference between CEOs’ compensation in firms with opportunistic earnings management (OEM) and other types of earnings management. It shows that firms do not have appropriate plans for CEOs’ compensation. Moreover, the relationship between earnings management and stock return has been investigated in this study. We document that stock return is influenced by accruals quality and its components. In other words, stock return significantly differs in firms with OEM and firms without any kind of earnings management. Research limitations/implications The authors’ findings provide contributions; for managers, it is noticeable that stock markets have sufficient comprehension about financial statements and the undertaken procedures on them, resulting in a higher return base on fair information. For investors and regulators, using the findings, may have deeper understanding to distinguish between industries that are recognized as opportunistic and non-opportunistic, which, in turn, results in better decision and regulation. Originality/value Previous studies have been mostly investigated OEM, while the current study examines both signaling and opportunistic aspects of earnings management.

Corporate social responsibility disclosures and earnings quality

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Mohammad I Azim
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opportunistic Behaviour ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Responsible Manner

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the relationship between CSR disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Findings – Results show that managers in an emerging economy manage earnings when they provide more CSR disclosures. Such earnings management is achieved through income increasing discretionary accruals. Furthermore, companies from export-oriented industries dominated by powerful stakeholders (international buyers) disclosing more CSR activities, provide transparent financial reports through constraining earnings management. Originality/value – The findings of this study are significant for both investors and policymakers. Investors should not take for granted that firms engage in CSR activities, behave ethically and provide transparent financial reports. As we document that firms might manipulate earnings through discretionary accruals and provide less transparent financial reports to shareholders, the credibility of firms’ CSR policies should be assessed with caution. Policies directing at promoting socially responsible practices instead of motivating the desired behaviour, may provide managers with additional incentives to utilise CSR for opportunistic behaviour. Thus, policymakers need to be cautious about this opportunistic behaviour and enhance monitoring to enforce social compliance. Possibly, some guidelines can be introduced to confirm that CSR disclosures are based on actual practice and not just a “green wash” statement to deceive stakeholders.

scholarly journals Earnings Volatility, the Use of Financial Derivatives and Earnings Management: Evidence from an Emerging Market

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Lian Kee Phua ◽  
Char-Lee Lok ◽  
Yong Xia Chua ◽  
Tan-Chin Lim
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Earnings Volatility ◽  
Financial Firms ◽  
Currency Exchange ◽  
The Face ◽  
Earnings Trends ◽  
The Relationship

In the face of crises such as Covid-19, businesses become devastated by greater risk exposure, particularly in currency exchange, supply chain disruption, and fluctuation in commodity prices that cause volatile earnings trends. Higher earnings volatility is frequently associated with greater risk. Consequently, firms could be inspired to engage in earnings management or derivative use as attempts to mitigate earnings volatility. Using a sample of 169 of the largest non-financial firms with 507 firm-years observations from an emerging market, the researchers examined the relationship among derivative use, earnings volatility, and earnings management. The results of a panel regression analysis showed that derivative use by Malaysian public listed companies was positively connected with earnings volatility, inferring that the use of derivatives did not mitigate earnings volatility as intended. This study also found that both earnings volatility and derivative use have a positive relationship with earnings management. This implies that firms engage in earnings management to curb earnings volatility under circumstances where derivative use is associated with higher earnings volatility. Evidence derived from this study contributes to extant literature on financial risk management involving financial instruments, an area that is very much understudied in the contexts of emerging markets.

scholarly journals Earnings management, directors’ discretions and information content affecting discretionary accruals of Malaysian publicly listed companies

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-634
Author(s):  
Yap Voon Choong ◽  
Kok Thim Chan ◽  
John Stanley Murugeshu
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Agency Cost ◽  
Share Price ◽  
Future Earnings ◽  
Financial Variables ◽  
Political Costs

Managers have reporting discretion permitted by accounting standards over a combination of earnings management choices. The objective of this study is to identify the types of discretionary accounting choices that are indicative of earnings management. Based on a sample of 947 companies listed on the Malaysian stock exchange, the results indicate that a number of firm specific financial variables that proxy for agency cost, political costs and information asymmetry capture discretionary accruals behaviour. This study also seeks to examine the explanatory power of the earnings management in predicting future earnings and firm value. The results indicate that discretionary accruals can improve the informativeness of a firm’s current and past earnings when predicting future earnings and share price

scholarly journals Auditor report and earnings management: Evidence from FTSE 350 companies in the UK

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alhadab
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
The Relationship

This paper examines the relationship between audit report and real-based and accrual-based earnings management based on a UK sample. Prior research has mostly focused on US data and examined the relationship between auditor report (qualified vs. non-qualified) and earnings management (proxied by discretionary accruals), and found evidence that qualified audit report is positively associated with the level of discretionary accruals. Despite the importance of the role of audit firms to constrain the use of earnings management, there is no research to date has examined the relationship between auditor reports and real earnings management activities based on UK sample. This paper therefore fills this gap in the literature by providing the first evidence for UK FTSE 350 companies that auditor report is positively associated with real and accrual earnings management. The paper also provide evidence that firms received qualified audit report share different characteristics as compared to firms received un-qualified audit report.

scholarly journals The Impact Of Audit Committee Multiple-Directorships On Earnings Management: Evidence From France

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Baccouche ◽  
Manel Hadriche ◽  
Abdelwehed Omri
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Multiple Directorships ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between Audit Committee Multiple-Directorships and earnings management. Precisely, we empirically investigate the effect of the multiple directorships held by audit committee directors on the level of earnings management of listed French companies. Our investigation has been achieved on a sample of 88 non financial French listed firms that belong to the SBF 120 index, for the financial year 2008. The results suggest that the accumulation of several outside directorships by audit committee members may lead to a higher degree of earnings management, as measured by the magnitude of discretionary accruals. Therefore, our findings show that audit committee cant provide effective monitoring of earnings management when its members held many additional outside directorships.

The effects of liquidity trading on insider trade timing when an underlying option is present

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 1250-1270
Author(s):  
Han Ching Huang ◽  
Pei-Shan Tung
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Insider Trading ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Trading Volume ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Trading Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Announcements ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the underlying option impacts an insider’s propensity to purchase and sell before corporate announcements, the proportion of insiders’ trading after announcements relative to before announcements, and the insider’s profitability around corporate announcements. Design/methodology/approach The authors test whether the timing information and option have impacted on the tendency of insider trade, the percentage of all shares traded by insiders in the post-announcement to pre-announcement periods and the average cumulative abnormal stock returns during the pre-announcement period. Findings Insiders’ propensity to trade before announcements is higher for stocks without options listed than for stocks with traded options. This result is stronger for unscheduled announcements than for scheduled ones. The proportion of insiders’ trade volume after announcements relative to before announcements in stocks that have not options listed is higher than those in stocks with traded options. The positive relationship between the insiders’ signed volume and the informational content of corporate announcements is stronger in stocks without traded options than in stocks with options listed. Insider trades prior to unscheduled announcement are more profitable than those before scheduled ones. Research limitations/implications The paper examines whether there is a difference between the effects of optioned stock and non-optioned stock. Roll et al. (2010) use the relative trading volume of options to stock ratio (O/S) to proxy for informed options trading activity. Future research could explore the impact of O/S. Moreover, the authors examine how insiders with private information use such information to trade in their own firms. Mehta et al. (2017) argue that insiders also use private information to facilitate trading (shadow trading) in linked firms, such as supply chain partners or competitors. Therefore, future research could consider the impact of shadow trading. Social implications Since the insider’s propensity to buy before announcements in stocks without options listed is larger than in stocks with traded options and the relationship is stronger for unscheduled announcements than for scheduled ones, the efforts of regulators should focus on monitoring insider trading in stocks without options listed prior to unscheduled announcements. Originality/value First, Lei and Wang (2014) find that the increasing pattern of insider’s propensity to trade before unscheduled announcements is larger than that before scheduled announcements. The authors document the underlying option has impacted the insider’s propensity to purchase and sell, and the relationship is stronger for unscheduled announcements than for scheduled ones. Second, related studies show insider’s trading activity has shifted from periods before corporate announcements to periods after corporate announcements to decrease litigation risk. This paper find the underlying option has influenced the proportion of insiders’ trading after announcements relative to before announcements when the illegal insider trade-related penalties increase.

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