Persistency of earnings is an important measure of eamings quality. It is generally accepted that the more the persistency is, the higher the quality of earnings is. We analyze the characteristic factors influencing e...Persistency of earnings is an important measure of eamings quality. It is generally accepted that the more the persistency is, the higher the quality of earnings is. We analyze the characteristic factors influencing earnings persistency, use data of A-share listed companies during 1998-2004, and find that earnings persistency is significantly related to the nature of earnings, the cash content of earnings and the quality of accruals.展开更多
This study examines the relationship between accruals quality and the underpricing of corporate bonds in China and how underwriter reputation affects this relationship.We?nd that(1)accruals quality is negatively assoc...This study examines the relationship between accruals quality and the underpricing of corporate bonds in China and how underwriter reputation affects this relationship.We?nd that(1)accruals quality is negatively associated with the magnitude of bond underpricing and(2)the impact of low accruals quality on underpricing is partially offset by hiring reputable underwriters.A path analysis shows that approximately 11% of the effect of accruals quality on underpricing is attributable to the indirect path through reputable underwriters,suggesting that accruals quality is more effective than reputable underwriters in lowering bond underpricing.These?ndings are signi?cant for initial bond offerings,but not for secondary bond offerings.We also?nd that low accruals quality is associated with more restrictive non-price contract terms such as greater collateral requirements and stricter covenants.展开更多
We examine the association between auditor choice and the accruals patterns of Chinese listed firms that cross-list in Hong Kong.Our evidence suggests that the clients of Big 4 auditors report lower unsigned discretio...We examine the association between auditor choice and the accruals patterns of Chinese listed firms that cross-list in Hong Kong.Our evidence suggests that the clients of Big 4 auditors report lower unsigned discretionary accruals relative to the clients of non-Big 4 auditors.Further,we find that cross-listed firms with non-Big 4 auditors are more likely to understate their earnings and experience larger reversals of accruals in the future than cross-listed firms with Big 4 auditors.These findings suggest that Big 4 auditors play a meaningful role in improving earnings quality for cross-listed firms,which helps to explain why crosslisted firms have higher earnings quality than their domestic counterparts,as documented in the previous literature.展开更多
This study aims to analyze the challenges and implications of implementing the accrual basis in governmental accounting through a literature review approach.The method used is a systematic review of 15 scientific jour...This study aims to analyze the challenges and implications of implementing the accrual basis in governmental accounting through a literature review approach.The method used is a systematic review of 15 scientific journals,consisting of 10 national and 5 international journals published within the last five years(2019-2024).The findings reveal that the implementation of the accrual basis in Indonesia still faces several obstacles,particularly in terms of the competency of public officials,the limitations of integrated financial information systems,and inconsistencies between regulations and financial reporting practices.Nevertheless,the accrual basis has been found to improve the quality of financial information,enhance budgetary accountability,and support more efficient and transparent public financial governance.These findings are in line with practices in several countries that have successfully adopted accrual accounting in the public sector.This study recommends improving the capacity of human resources,strengthening financial information systems,and harmonizing inter-agency policies to ensure that the implementation of accrual-based accounting provides optimal benefits for public sector financial management.展开更多
The paper provides a broad discussion of the topic "accruals". Though much of what is said is familiar from the literature on accruals, the paper tries to develop concepts and show how theses forge tight lin...The paper provides a broad discussion of the topic "accruals". Though much of what is said is familiar from the literature on accruals, the paper tries to develop concepts and show how theses forge tight links across a variety of themes. The starting point of the analysis concerns the construct of an accrual.The case is made that it should rest solely on consecutive balance sheets and the splitting of assets/liabilities into(i) cash and approximate cash,assets/liabilities and(ii) all other kinds of assets/liabilities. Given this divide of assets/liabilities one can measure the components in the foundation equation: cash earnings + net accrual = comprehensive earnings. The paper then proceeds to discuss how the net accrual relates to growth in a firm's operating activities and the extent to which it can be informative or misleading.This topic in turn integrates with the issue of a firm's quality of earnings and the role of accounting conservatism. Among the remaining topics, the paper discusses how one conceptualizes diagnostics to assess whether or not a period's accrual is likely to be biased upwards or downwards. It gives rise to a consideration of how one constructs accruals that may be more informative than GAAP accruals and the role of value-relevance studies to assess the information content of accrual constructs. The paper ends with a list of suggestions how future research may be modified in light of the discussions in this paper.展开更多
Jordan is one of many countries that intends to reform its public sector by adopting accrual accounting,which is primarily carried out through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation ...Jordan is one of many countries that intends to reform its public sector by adopting accrual accounting,which is primarily carried out through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation plan,scheduled to be completed by 2021.Considering the difficulties of adoption,this process cannot be completed without an appropriate Information Technology(IT)system capable of providing the accounting information required for this reform.Therefore,this study aims to examine the influence of IT on accrual accounting adoption in the Jordanian public sector.The study employed the quantitative survey approach.Based on 331 usable questionnaires,the descriptive findings showed that the use of IT in the Jordanian public sector is relevant to daily accounting transactions in general and to accrual accounting in particular.The regression analysis showed a positive,significant relationship between IT use and accrual accounting practice.The IT specialist should be able to understand the needs of public sector in adopting accrual-based accounting.In line with today’s digitalization age,which integrates advanced technologies and numerous techniques,this study suggests that a combination of accounting and IT experts is a value added to sharpen the competitiveness of public sector reform.This study contributes to the extant literature in public sector,concerning the relationship between IT and accrual accounting adoption in the context of Jordan.展开更多
Earnings management has attracted lots of academicians towards the research due to the emerging frauds and downfall of great corporate giants of the world. Mainly earnings measurement is based on the accounting estima...Earnings management has attracted lots of academicians towards the research due to the emerging frauds and downfall of great corporate giants of the world. Mainly earnings measurement is based on the accounting estimates which managers can easily manipulate for their self-interest. The study investigates the relationship between cost of capital and the earnings measurement for the Indian firms. Measurement of earnings is mostly computed by taking either discretionary accruals （DAC） or non-discretionary accruals （NDAC）. Present study has used Dechow, Sloan, and Sweeney （1995） model for earnings measurement and for analyzing the results. Panel data regression has also been used. Findings of the study conclude that DAC has a significant influence on cost of capital, but NDAC has no influence.展开更多
In this paper it is examined whether firms following International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） exhibit higher accounting quality. While IFRS are supposed to improve international comparisons by harmonisatio...In this paper it is examined whether firms following International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） exhibit higher accounting quality. While IFRS are supposed to improve international comparisons by harmonisation and definition of strong principles, Ball （2006） and Nobes （2006） were concerned about differences in the application of IFRS cross-countries and firms. Barth, Landsman ＆ Lang （2008） stated that the flexibility of principles- based International Accounting Standards （IAS） could create incentives for firms to manage earnings. This paper contributes to analyse the impact of IFRS on accounting quality for European firms. The findings show that for firms in the European Union （EU） IFRS produce a negative effect on accounting quality that continues after 2005, when IFRS becomes mandatory. By contrast, for European firms which are not EU members the IFRS adoption increases accounting quality. These results support the concerns about IFRS application and flexibility and indicate that accounting quality does not improve just because the adoption of IFRS is mandatory.展开更多
The main objective of this study is to examine the nature relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. The other specific objective is to assess the level of earnings quality of...The main objective of this study is to examine the nature relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. The other specific objective is to assess the level of earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. The expo facto design was adopted for this study on 47 listed firms on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. This design relies on secondary data in exploring the relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality. The result revealed that book-tax ratio has no significant positive association with earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. This suggests that taxable income does not convey additional incremental information on earnings with respect to contemporaneous stock returns and accruals. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that have investigated the relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality in different sectors in Nigeria. The result has implication on capital market and earnings quality. Thus, the result of this study will be useful to capital market regulators, standard setters, and future researchers.展开更多
Nowadays, earnings management is a hot issue, but most of the researches focus on the incentives of earnings management and few of them refer to the effect of audit quality on earnings management. In this study, we di...Nowadays, earnings management is a hot issue, but most of the researches focus on the incentives of earnings management and few of them refer to the effect of audit quality on earnings management. In this study, we directly examine the effect of external audit quality on earnings management by using discretionary accruals. We find that the discretionary accruals of non-dual audit companies are significantly greater than those of dual audit companies. We also find that clients of non-First Ten auditors intend to report greater discretionary accruals than those of First Ten auditors.展开更多
This study examines the relationship among independent boards of directors, board size, managerial share ownership （MSO）, and earnings quality. The study of these relationships is controlled by firm size based on a ...This study examines the relationship among independent boards of directors, board size, managerial share ownership （MSO）, and earnings quality. The study of these relationships is controlled by firm size based on a sample of 114 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange （TSE） for the period from 2008 to 2010. The results demonstrate that there was an insignificant positive relationship among independent boards of directors, managerial ownership, and earnings quality. Subsequent analysis shows an insignificant negative relationship between board size and earnings quality. It also provides evidence of the negative relationship between firm size as a control variable and earnings quality. This can be attributed to the fact that large firms are claimed to be politically sensitive and thus have the incentive to lessen variances in changes in their reported earnings.展开更多
Corporate accounting frauds over the last two decades have caused massive erosion of investor wealth and shattered public confidence in regulators and capital markets. Deliberate manipulation of financial numbers by a...Corporate accounting frauds over the last two decades have caused massive erosion of investor wealth and shattered public confidence in regulators and capital markets. Deliberate manipulation of financial numbers by a company is rarely a one-off event; it is more a culture of widespread earnings management that permeates an organization and eventually leads to a full-blown accounting fraud. This paper looks at earnings management practices in Indian companies and examines the extent of earnings management prevalent across firms of varying market capitalization. The present study examines 130 listed Indian companies during the period of 2013-2015. The findings of this study provide a measure of the quality of financial reporting in India. Modified Jones model （1995） is used to estimate discretionary accruals （DA）, which is considered as a proxy for earnings management. The average DA is estimated at 5.6% of the total assets of the firms, which is comparable to the estimates in other parts of the world （about 1%-5% of total assets）. A sector-specific analysis reveals presence of higher earnings manipulation in the consumer durable and energy sectors. Large cap companies are found to show a lower level of eamings management as compared to the small-cap firms. The study also finds a dip in the magnitude of DA in 2015, which is the first year of application of the new Companies Act 2013. Subsequent years will reveal the true success of the new Act in enforcing a stricter regime of corporate governance and greater accountability of corporate boards and audit committees. International studies point towards a high degree of correlation between effective audit committees and lower levels of earnings management in companies. Further work in this field from an Indian context will help identify factors that have a constraining effect on earnings management, and ultimately help preserve the sanctity of reported financial numbers.展开更多
Good corporate reputations are critical not only because of the potential for value creation, but also because their intangible character makes replication by competing firms considerably more difficult. This paper te...Good corporate reputations are critical not only because of the potential for value creation, but also because their intangible character makes replication by competing firms considerably more difficult. This paper tests the relationship between the reputation and the earnings quality. Through a partial correlation test and a regression test, I do find the evidence that the reputation is not only positively correlated with superior earnings quality, but also does have positive effect on superior earnings quality, as well as the superior total sales do in Chinese public companies.展开更多
How do auditors react to insider trading in client firms？ This paper examines the effects of insider trading on the audit report date. Insiders tend to urge managers to manage earnings to make more profits through tr...How do auditors react to insider trading in client firms？ This paper examines the effects of insider trading on the audit report date. Insiders tend to urge managers to manage earnings to make more profits through trading their own firm＇s shares. If auditors play an important role in monitoring managers, they may pay more attention to insider trading, which may delay the filing of audit reports. We find that the more the insiders trade their stocks, the longer the audit report lag is. In addition, to address the effectiveness of auditors＇ efforts to prevent managers from earnings management, we test whether an extra effort by auditors can reduce aggressive accounting. We also find that auditors deter aggressive accounting by stretching report lag in response to insider trading, implying that auditors＇ efforts weaken insiders＇ opportunistic behavior. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that insider trading is a significant determinant of the audit report lag. We suggest that auditors are interested in insiders＇ activity and it can enhance the quality of accounting information.展开更多
In this study the authors analyse the possible effect of firms＇ economic conditions and financial performance on accounting quality. Bradshaw, et al. （2004）, Gelos ＆ WEI （2005） stated that financial reporting qu...In this study the authors analyse the possible effect of firms＇ economic conditions and financial performance on accounting quality. Bradshaw, et al. （2004）, Gelos ＆ WEI （2005） stated that financial reporting quality is fundamental for investors and it affects international capital movements. Following Schipper ＆ Vicent （2003）, the authors estimated accounting quality by abnormal accruals and earnings persistence. The authors＇ contribution consists of investigating a huge number of firms from 17 European countries using unbalanced panel data. The authors found evidence that economic conditions affect accounting quality： big firms and those with high current earnings exhibit better financial information. These results are robust because they do not depend on the accounting quality proxy, even when the authors estimated regression with economical and financial factors alone or together. Financial performance does not seem to affect accounting quality. However, this relation is not linear because in high leveraged firms, the capital structure becomes determinant.展开更多
Markets can get the confidence of investors enhancing the quality of governance and audit systems surrounding a firm. Financial reporting is a main component of them, being the basis for information necessary to inves...Markets can get the confidence of investors enhancing the quality of governance and audit systems surrounding a firm. Financial reporting is a main component of them, being the basis for information necessary to investors＇ decisions. Managers have a chance to manipulate information provided in financial statements, in order to offer a better image of a firm to its potential and effective investors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of detecting extreme cases of earnings management and to check the predictive ability of the discretionary accruals models on the event of fraudulent earnings restatement. Through the abuse of reporting incentives, a manager gives out false information that should be averted and punished by regulators in a fair market system. The authors check the efficacy of different earnings management detection models in predicting discretionary manipulations and study the correlation between the frequency of manipulation and the event of fraud.展开更多
Prior research documents income-decreasing earnings management in the situation when true earnings exceed the targets by a substantial amount and in the situation when true earnings fall far below the targets and acco...Prior research documents income-decreasing earnings management in the situation when true earnings exceed the targets by a substantial amount and in the situation when true earnings fall far below the targets and accounting reserves are not sufficient to reach the targets. These two situations are well-known as cookie jar and big bath earnings management. True earnings are defined as pre-managed earnings （PMEs） and are measured as reported earnings minus adjusted discretionary accruals （DAs）. However, the use of PMEs can induce a spurious association between earnings management and PMEs above or below the benchmarks, which are known as the backing-out problem （Lim ＆ Lustgarten, 2002）. This study reexamines the cookie jar and big bath type of earnings management and addresses in particular the issue of backing-out problem. By using an Australian sample of 3,326 observations covering all listed firms in the Australian Securities Exchange （ASX） for a period from 1999 to 2006, this study suggests that the finding of cookie jar accounting is not simply a consequence of the backing-out problem. The results show that an income-decreasing earnings management occurs when PMEs are well above the targets. This is consistent with the first argument of cookie jar accounting--Finns reduce current earnings in order to save some income for the future. However, the results do not support the big bath accounting theory.展开更多
There are three ways to manage earnings, namely, accruals earnings management, real activities manipulation, and shifting of core expense. The famous methods to manage earnings are accruals earnings management and rea...There are three ways to manage earnings, namely, accruals earnings management, real activities manipulation, and shifting of core expense. The famous methods to manage earnings are accruals earnings management and real activities manipulation. Usually, real activities manipulation is conducted on the going period. The action will increase the loss for the firms at the end of the period. To avoid the loss, managers will manage earnings through accruals （discretionary accruals）. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. To investigate the issue, this study collected data from Indonesia Stock Exchange （IDX）. Samples of this study are the manufacturing companies. There are 196 firms from the year 2003 to 2007. The results of this study support the research hypothesis that real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. The higher the real activities manipulation effects, the higher the accruals earnings management at the end of the period.There are three ways to manage earnings, namely, accruals earnings management, real activities manipulation, and shifting of core expense. The famous methods to manage earnings are accruals earnings management and real activities manipulation. Usually, real activities manipulation is conducted on the going period. The action will increase the loss for the firms at the end of the period. To avoid the loss, managers will manage earnings through accruals （discretionary accruals）. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. To investigate the issue, this study collected data from Indonesia Stock Exchange （IDX）. Samples of this study are the manufacturing companies. There are 196 firms from the year 2003 to 2007. The results of this study support the research hypothesis that real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. The higher the real activities manipulation effects, the higher the accruals earnings management at the end of the period.展开更多
This paper studies the issue of earnings management of loss listed companies in our country. We find that the loss llsted companies did not make any significant profit-making earnings management during the first loss ...This paper studies the issue of earnings management of loss listed companies in our country. We find that the loss llsted companies did not make any significant profit-making earnings management during the first loss year, while in the turning-around year, they made clear profit-making earnings management. This shows that the loss listed companies in order to avoid continuous losses, to prevent the company＇s stock price continued to decline, will be in the loss-making annual profit management.展开更多
文摘Persistency of earnings is an important measure of eamings quality. It is generally accepted that the more the persistency is, the higher the quality of earnings is. We analyze the characteristic factors influencing earnings persistency, use data of A-share listed companies during 1998-2004, and find that earnings persistency is significantly related to the nature of earnings, the cash content of earnings and the quality of accruals.
基金funding support from the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant no.20130161110045)
文摘This study examines the relationship between accruals quality and the underpricing of corporate bonds in China and how underwriter reputation affects this relationship.We?nd that(1)accruals quality is negatively associated with the magnitude of bond underpricing and(2)the impact of low accruals quality on underpricing is partially offset by hiring reputable underwriters.A path analysis shows that approximately 11% of the effect of accruals quality on underpricing is attributable to the indirect path through reputable underwriters,suggesting that accruals quality is more effective than reputable underwriters in lowering bond underpricing.These?ndings are signi?cant for initial bond offerings,but not for secondary bond offerings.We also?nd that low accruals quality is associated with more restrictive non-price contract terms such as greater collateral requirements and stricter covenants.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China supported this study(ProjectNos.70802067,71002026,and 70772080)
文摘We examine the association between auditor choice and the accruals patterns of Chinese listed firms that cross-list in Hong Kong.Our evidence suggests that the clients of Big 4 auditors report lower unsigned discretionary accruals relative to the clients of non-Big 4 auditors.Further,we find that cross-listed firms with non-Big 4 auditors are more likely to understate their earnings and experience larger reversals of accruals in the future than cross-listed firms with Big 4 auditors.These findings suggest that Big 4 auditors play a meaningful role in improving earnings quality for cross-listed firms,which helps to explain why crosslisted firms have higher earnings quality than their domestic counterparts,as documented in the previous literature.
文摘This study aims to analyze the challenges and implications of implementing the accrual basis in governmental accounting through a literature review approach.The method used is a systematic review of 15 scientific journals,consisting of 10 national and 5 international journals published within the last five years(2019-2024).The findings reveal that the implementation of the accrual basis in Indonesia still faces several obstacles,particularly in terms of the competency of public officials,the limitations of integrated financial information systems,and inconsistencies between regulations and financial reporting practices.Nevertheless,the accrual basis has been found to improve the quality of financial information,enhance budgetary accountability,and support more efficient and transparent public financial governance.These findings are in line with practices in several countries that have successfully adopted accrual accounting in the public sector.This study recommends improving the capacity of human resources,strengthening financial information systems,and harmonizing inter-agency policies to ensure that the implementation of accrual-based accounting provides optimal benefits for public sector financial management.
文摘The paper provides a broad discussion of the topic "accruals". Though much of what is said is familiar from the literature on accruals, the paper tries to develop concepts and show how theses forge tight links across a variety of themes. The starting point of the analysis concerns the construct of an accrual.The case is made that it should rest solely on consecutive balance sheets and the splitting of assets/liabilities into(i) cash and approximate cash,assets/liabilities and(ii) all other kinds of assets/liabilities. Given this divide of assets/liabilities one can measure the components in the foundation equation: cash earnings + net accrual = comprehensive earnings. The paper then proceeds to discuss how the net accrual relates to growth in a firm's operating activities and the extent to which it can be informative or misleading.This topic in turn integrates with the issue of a firm's quality of earnings and the role of accounting conservatism. Among the remaining topics, the paper discusses how one conceptualizes diagnostics to assess whether or not a period's accrual is likely to be biased upwards or downwards. It gives rise to a consideration of how one constructs accruals that may be more informative than GAAP accruals and the role of value-relevance studies to assess the information content of accrual constructs. The paper ends with a list of suggestions how future research may be modified in light of the discussions in this paper.
文摘Jordan is one of many countries that intends to reform its public sector by adopting accrual accounting,which is primarily carried out through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation plan,scheduled to be completed by 2021.Considering the difficulties of adoption,this process cannot be completed without an appropriate Information Technology(IT)system capable of providing the accounting information required for this reform.Therefore,this study aims to examine the influence of IT on accrual accounting adoption in the Jordanian public sector.The study employed the quantitative survey approach.Based on 331 usable questionnaires,the descriptive findings showed that the use of IT in the Jordanian public sector is relevant to daily accounting transactions in general and to accrual accounting in particular.The regression analysis showed a positive,significant relationship between IT use and accrual accounting practice.The IT specialist should be able to understand the needs of public sector in adopting accrual-based accounting.In line with today’s digitalization age,which integrates advanced technologies and numerous techniques,this study suggests that a combination of accounting and IT experts is a value added to sharpen the competitiveness of public sector reform.This study contributes to the extant literature in public sector,concerning the relationship between IT and accrual accounting adoption in the context of Jordan.
文摘Earnings management has attracted lots of academicians towards the research due to the emerging frauds and downfall of great corporate giants of the world. Mainly earnings measurement is based on the accounting estimates which managers can easily manipulate for their self-interest. The study investigates the relationship between cost of capital and the earnings measurement for the Indian firms. Measurement of earnings is mostly computed by taking either discretionary accruals （DAC） or non-discretionary accruals （NDAC）. Present study has used Dechow, Sloan, and Sweeney （1995） model for earnings measurement and for analyzing the results. Panel data regression has also been used. Findings of the study conclude that DAC has a significant influence on cost of capital, but NDAC has no influence.
文摘In this paper it is examined whether firms following International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） exhibit higher accounting quality. While IFRS are supposed to improve international comparisons by harmonisation and definition of strong principles, Ball （2006） and Nobes （2006） were concerned about differences in the application of IFRS cross-countries and firms. Barth, Landsman ＆ Lang （2008） stated that the flexibility of principles- based International Accounting Standards （IAS） could create incentives for firms to manage earnings. This paper contributes to analyse the impact of IFRS on accounting quality for European firms. The findings show that for firms in the European Union （EU） IFRS produce a negative effect on accounting quality that continues after 2005, when IFRS becomes mandatory. By contrast, for European firms which are not EU members the IFRS adoption increases accounting quality. These results support the concerns about IFRS application and flexibility and indicate that accounting quality does not improve just because the adoption of IFRS is mandatory.
文摘The main objective of this study is to examine the nature relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. The other specific objective is to assess the level of earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. The expo facto design was adopted for this study on 47 listed firms on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. This design relies on secondary data in exploring the relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality. The result revealed that book-tax ratio has no significant positive association with earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria. This suggests that taxable income does not convey additional incremental information on earnings with respect to contemporaneous stock returns and accruals. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that have investigated the relationship between book-tax ratio and earnings quality in different sectors in Nigeria. The result has implication on capital market and earnings quality. Thus, the result of this study will be useful to capital market regulators, standard setters, and future researchers.
文摘Nowadays, earnings management is a hot issue, but most of the researches focus on the incentives of earnings management and few of them refer to the effect of audit quality on earnings management. In this study, we directly examine the effect of external audit quality on earnings management by using discretionary accruals. We find that the discretionary accruals of non-dual audit companies are significantly greater than those of dual audit companies. We also find that clients of non-First Ten auditors intend to report greater discretionary accruals than those of First Ten auditors.
文摘This study examines the relationship among independent boards of directors, board size, managerial share ownership （MSO）, and earnings quality. The study of these relationships is controlled by firm size based on a sample of 114 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange （TSE） for the period from 2008 to 2010. The results demonstrate that there was an insignificant positive relationship among independent boards of directors, managerial ownership, and earnings quality. Subsequent analysis shows an insignificant negative relationship between board size and earnings quality. It also provides evidence of the negative relationship between firm size as a control variable and earnings quality. This can be attributed to the fact that large firms are claimed to be politically sensitive and thus have the incentive to lessen variances in changes in their reported earnings.
文摘Corporate accounting frauds over the last two decades have caused massive erosion of investor wealth and shattered public confidence in regulators and capital markets. Deliberate manipulation of financial numbers by a company is rarely a one-off event; it is more a culture of widespread earnings management that permeates an organization and eventually leads to a full-blown accounting fraud. This paper looks at earnings management practices in Indian companies and examines the extent of earnings management prevalent across firms of varying market capitalization. The present study examines 130 listed Indian companies during the period of 2013-2015. The findings of this study provide a measure of the quality of financial reporting in India. Modified Jones model （1995） is used to estimate discretionary accruals （DA）, which is considered as a proxy for earnings management. The average DA is estimated at 5.6% of the total assets of the firms, which is comparable to the estimates in other parts of the world （about 1%-5% of total assets）. A sector-specific analysis reveals presence of higher earnings manipulation in the consumer durable and energy sectors. Large cap companies are found to show a lower level of eamings management as compared to the small-cap firms. The study also finds a dip in the magnitude of DA in 2015, which is the first year of application of the new Companies Act 2013. Subsequent years will reveal the true success of the new Act in enforcing a stricter regime of corporate governance and greater accountability of corporate boards and audit committees. International studies point towards a high degree of correlation between effective audit committees and lower levels of earnings management in companies. Further work in this field from an Indian context will help identify factors that have a constraining effect on earnings management, and ultimately help preserve the sanctity of reported financial numbers.
文摘Good corporate reputations are critical not only because of the potential for value creation, but also because their intangible character makes replication by competing firms considerably more difficult. This paper tests the relationship between the reputation and the earnings quality. Through a partial correlation test and a regression test, I do find the evidence that the reputation is not only positively correlated with superior earnings quality, but also does have positive effect on superior earnings quality, as well as the superior total sales do in Chinese public companies.
文摘How do auditors react to insider trading in client firms？ This paper examines the effects of insider trading on the audit report date. Insiders tend to urge managers to manage earnings to make more profits through trading their own firm＇s shares. If auditors play an important role in monitoring managers, they may pay more attention to insider trading, which may delay the filing of audit reports. We find that the more the insiders trade their stocks, the longer the audit report lag is. In addition, to address the effectiveness of auditors＇ efforts to prevent managers from earnings management, we test whether an extra effort by auditors can reduce aggressive accounting. We also find that auditors deter aggressive accounting by stretching report lag in response to insider trading, implying that auditors＇ efforts weaken insiders＇ opportunistic behavior. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that insider trading is a significant determinant of the audit report lag. We suggest that auditors are interested in insiders＇ activity and it can enhance the quality of accounting information.
文摘In this study the authors analyse the possible effect of firms＇ economic conditions and financial performance on accounting quality. Bradshaw, et al. （2004）, Gelos ＆ WEI （2005） stated that financial reporting quality is fundamental for investors and it affects international capital movements. Following Schipper ＆ Vicent （2003）, the authors estimated accounting quality by abnormal accruals and earnings persistence. The authors＇ contribution consists of investigating a huge number of firms from 17 European countries using unbalanced panel data. The authors found evidence that economic conditions affect accounting quality： big firms and those with high current earnings exhibit better financial information. These results are robust because they do not depend on the accounting quality proxy, even when the authors estimated regression with economical and financial factors alone or together. Financial performance does not seem to affect accounting quality. However, this relation is not linear because in high leveraged firms, the capital structure becomes determinant.
文摘Markets can get the confidence of investors enhancing the quality of governance and audit systems surrounding a firm. Financial reporting is a main component of them, being the basis for information necessary to investors＇ decisions. Managers have a chance to manipulate information provided in financial statements, in order to offer a better image of a firm to its potential and effective investors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of detecting extreme cases of earnings management and to check the predictive ability of the discretionary accruals models on the event of fraudulent earnings restatement. Through the abuse of reporting incentives, a manager gives out false information that should be averted and punished by regulators in a fair market system. The authors check the efficacy of different earnings management detection models in predicting discretionary manipulations and study the correlation between the frequency of manipulation and the event of fraud.
文摘Prior research documents income-decreasing earnings management in the situation when true earnings exceed the targets by a substantial amount and in the situation when true earnings fall far below the targets and accounting reserves are not sufficient to reach the targets. These two situations are well-known as cookie jar and big bath earnings management. True earnings are defined as pre-managed earnings （PMEs） and are measured as reported earnings minus adjusted discretionary accruals （DAs）. However, the use of PMEs can induce a spurious association between earnings management and PMEs above or below the benchmarks, which are known as the backing-out problem （Lim ＆ Lustgarten, 2002）. This study reexamines the cookie jar and big bath type of earnings management and addresses in particular the issue of backing-out problem. By using an Australian sample of 3,326 observations covering all listed firms in the Australian Securities Exchange （ASX） for a period from 1999 to 2006, this study suggests that the finding of cookie jar accounting is not simply a consequence of the backing-out problem. The results show that an income-decreasing earnings management occurs when PMEs are well above the targets. This is consistent with the first argument of cookie jar accounting--Finns reduce current earnings in order to save some income for the future. However, the results do not support the big bath accounting theory.
文摘There are three ways to manage earnings, namely, accruals earnings management, real activities manipulation, and shifting of core expense. The famous methods to manage earnings are accruals earnings management and real activities manipulation. Usually, real activities manipulation is conducted on the going period. The action will increase the loss for the firms at the end of the period. To avoid the loss, managers will manage earnings through accruals （discretionary accruals）. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. To investigate the issue, this study collected data from Indonesia Stock Exchange （IDX）. Samples of this study are the manufacturing companies. There are 196 firms from the year 2003 to 2007. The results of this study support the research hypothesis that real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. The higher the real activities manipulation effects, the higher the accruals earnings management at the end of the period.There are three ways to manage earnings, namely, accruals earnings management, real activities manipulation, and shifting of core expense. The famous methods to manage earnings are accruals earnings management and real activities manipulation. Usually, real activities manipulation is conducted on the going period. The action will increase the loss for the firms at the end of the period. To avoid the loss, managers will manage earnings through accruals （discretionary accruals）. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. To investigate the issue, this study collected data from Indonesia Stock Exchange （IDX）. Samples of this study are the manufacturing companies. There are 196 firms from the year 2003 to 2007. The results of this study support the research hypothesis that real activities manipulation positively influences accruals earnings management. The higher the real activities manipulation effects, the higher the accruals earnings management at the end of the period.
文摘This paper studies the issue of earnings management of loss listed companies in our country. We find that the loss llsted companies did not make any significant profit-making earnings management during the first loss year, while in the turning-around year, they made clear profit-making earnings management. This shows that the loss listed companies in order to avoid continuous losses, to prevent the company＇s stock price continued to decline, will be in the loss-making annual profit management.
