We examine the relation between passive ownership and financial reporting quality measured by Beneish's (1999) earnings' manipulation score (M-score). We find that passive ownership is negatively related to M-score and to the likelihood of being designated as a “manipulator” firm. However,...

Auditor resignations are considered more negative signals than auditor dismissals, but firms' self-reported distinction between the two may not offer a complete or reliable representation of the nature of the auditor change. 8-K regulations require the disclosure of the adjournment of an audit...

This paper assesses the income smoothing strategies and analyzes what motivates organizations to engage in smoothing their earnings. An ethical framework is drawn upon to evaluate the implications of these issues. It concludes with suggestions and implications for the policy makers, researchers...

I investigate whether and how private equity fund managers (GPs) inflate their interim fund valuations (net asset values, or NAVs) during fundraising periods. Specifically, I study the extent to which the GPs inflate NAVs by managing valuation assumptions (e.g., valuation multiples), influencing...

We analyse to what extent the accrual anomaly is related to the choice of the accounting system as well as firm-level heterogeneity in corporate governance mechanisms. Using a unique dataset of listed German firms over the period 1995 to 2005 we first corroborate former results indicating that...

While it is generally maintained that earnings management can occur to inform as well as to mislead, evidence that earnings management informs has been scarce, and evidence that credibility increases with signal costliness inexistent. We provide evidence that firms use discretion over financial...

We examine the potential confounding effects that awarding outside directors stock options may have on the quality of financial disclosure. By aligning their interests with those of shareholders, directors should be more inclined to monitor and disclose relevant information to investors....

Despite decades of research on how, why, and when companies manage earnings, there is a paucity of evidence about the geographic location of earnings management within multinational firms. In this study, we examine where companies manage earnings using a sample of 2,067 U.S. multinational firms...

The present research attempts to investigate the relationship between agency problems that rise due to the free cash flow with long term profitability and income management; and also the effects of the structure of ownership on income management. The criterion used for measuring long-term...

This paper suggests that the financial crisis, which made itself felt at end of 2008, gave company pension funds in the Netherlands cause to manage the funding ratio, in order to prevent it from dropping below the level of the required minimum funding ratio. On the other hand, industry-wide...