Purpose - Since the 1960s earnings management has been a widely researched area and became presumably known by the current accounting scandals. This paper aims at empirically showing which factors affect earnings management. Design/methodology/approach - According to former research literature...

This paper investigates how manipulating different earnings components will affect the likelihood of accounting-related shareholder litigation. Firms can manipulate earnings upward by accelerating revenue recognition, understating expenses, and overstating gains associated with special items....