We document pervasive evidence of reversals in firm-level working capital accruals over adjacent fiscal years. We demonstrate that the majority of these accrual reversals relate to ‘good' accruals that: (i) correctly anticipate future benefits; (ii) lead to higher earnings persistence; and (iii)...

Accounting earnings summarize periodic corporate financial performance and are key determinants of stock prices. We review research on the usefulness of accounting earnings, including research on the link between accounting earnings and firm value and research on the usefulness of accounting...