There is significant disagreement about whether, when and why IPO firms manage earnings. We contribute to the literature by precisely identifying the timing and motives behind earnings management by IPO firms. We emphasize that the period around IPO is characterized by two distinct events: the...

Following a 2008 rule change by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission designed to simplify and expand smaller firms’ abilities to raise public equity, small firms increasingly issue public equity via confidentially-marketed public offerings (CMPOs). CMPOs pair confidential pre-offering...