Financial Reporting Standard No3 (FRS 3): Reporting Financial Performance, which came into force in 1993, increased UK firms' discretion in classifying exceptional items. We examine how this increased discretion affected their use of classificatory smoothing and inter-temporal smoothing through...

We examine whether UK firms engage in earnings management or forecast guidance to ensure that their reported earnings meet analyst earnings expectations. We explore two earnings management mechanisms: (a) positive abnormal working capital accruals; and (b) classification shifting of core...

We examine the economic consequences of the mandatory adoption of IFRS in EU countries by showing which types of economies have the largest reduction in investment-cash flow sensitivity post-IFRS. We also examine whether the reduction in investment-cash flow sensitivity depends on firm size as...

This study explores the market response to achieving analyst earnings expectations, distinguishing between expectations achieved through earnings forecast guidance and earnings management. We consider three earnings management tools: real earnings management, working capital accruals management,...

DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006) (D&D hereafter) argue that ‘payout policy is not irrelevant and investment is not the sole determinant of value, even in frictionless markets.' We first re-examine their critique using M&M's (1961) multiperiod valuation framework and identify non-essential...