The aim of this paper is to explain relationship between earning management, corporate governance and managerial optimism through the governance characteristics that are board of directors such as independence, duality and size and ownership structure such as managerial participation, block...

A key objective of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) was the restoration of public confidence in the integrity of audited financial statements. One section of SOA (Section 302) requires the chief executive officer(s) and the principal financial officer(s) to certify in each quarterly or annual report...

We examine the effectiveness of institutional investors in constraining aggressive earnings management induced by strong contractual incentives. To this end we focus on the consequences of earnings-related promises (covenants) negotiated between corporate controlling shareholders and minority...

I examine whether managers use discretion in revenue recognition to avoid three earnings benchmarks. I find that managers use discretion in both accrued revenue (i.e., accounts receivable) and deferred revenue (i.e., advances from customers) to avoid negative earnings surprises, but find little...

This monograph provides a thorough review of earnings quality issues and analysis. Its primary objectives are to help gain a deep understanding of earnings quality and facilitate the development of comprehensive, granular, and contextual earnings quality indicators and analyses. While there are...

This study investigates the effect of a security regulation that occurs concomitantly with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the information content of earnings announcements in Italy. To identify the effect of this regulation, we use a treatment (i.e., Italy) and a...

Managers have a variety of tools at their disposal to influence stakeholder perceptions. Earnings management and the strategic reporting of non‐GAAP earnings are just two of the available menu choices. We explore how real earnings management and accruals management influence the probability...

It is well documented that firms tend to manipulate earnings before IPO (initial public offerings) and SEO (seasoned equity offerings). This study contributes to the literature by providing the first evidence on whether and how fiscal support in the form of preferential tax treatment and...

During 2005 to 2007, the SEC ordered a pilot program in which one-third of the Russell 3000 index were arbitrarily chosen as pilot stocks and exempted from short-sale price tests. Pilot firms' discretionary accruals and likelihood of marginally beating earnings targets decrease during this...

This paper investigates the impact of margin trading on firms' financial reporting. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach that exploits staggered elimination of margin trading bans, it reports a significant effect of margin trading on earnings management. Treated firms increase...