Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how private and public firms vary with respect to unconditional conservatism levels in financial reporting. The study also examines whether adoption of international accounting standards affects the association between conservatism and...

We present evidence that the managers of Indian firms fixate on operating profits, and thus manage such earnings. Specifically, they shift operating expenses to income-decreasing special items in order to inflate operating earnings (McVay, 2006. The Accounting Review, 81(3), 531). We also shed...

Using a sample of group affiliated and standalone firms for the years 2001-06 from India, a large emerging economy dominated by family business groups and firms with concentrated ownership, we examine the relationship between insider control and opportunistic earnings management with specific...

The paper examines whether financial distress and its severity have a role to play in managers' decisions with respect to the choice of earnings management strategies. The results suggest that firms in initial stages of distress engage in real earnings management through a reduction in the...