Increasingly, shareholders and regulators have been calling for a reigning in of executive salaries. Most of this discussion has focused on bonuses and stock options, the more observable portions of an executive compensation package. However long term incentive pay, such as supplemental...

This study investigates whether effective audit committees influence the association between management earnings forecasts and the properties of analysts‟ forecasts. We posit that this influence on the part of an audit committee would likely result from increased responsibility for monitoring...

The empirical corporate finance literature claims that better corporate governance constrains earnings management, while others argue that the unique legal and reporting structure of REITs may reduce the need for such internal corporate governance. Using a sample of publicly traded REITs for the...

There are two major mechanisms by which managers distribute cash to shareholders: through dividends and share repurchases. Historically, dividends have been the preferred method, but in recent years, share repurchases have become more popular, with more firms using repurchases than dividends to...

Using a unique database of monthly advertising spending in media outlets, we examine whether managers engage in real earnings management to meet quarterly financial reporting benchmarks. We extend prior literature by: (1) separately analyzing advertising activities, allowing us to explore novel...

This paper examines financial interlocks between banks and industrial companies, and its relationship to earnings quality and the cost of debt. This issue is especially pertinent given the inherent conflict of interest present between banks and industrial firms, and their poorly understood...

Accounting rules for valuing retained interest from securitizations require management to make assumptions concerning discount rates, default rates, and prepayment rates. These assumptions provide management with discretion to determine the “gain on sale” of the receivables. We investigate...

This study explores the impact of corporate takeover defenses on the extent of earnings management in the U.S. Theoretically, it is not obvious whether takeover defenses alleviate or exacerbate earnings management. I examine four well-known corporate takeover defenses; blank check preferred...

We relate impression and earnings management to the field of ethnostatistics, the study of how statistics are produced and managed. By further linking impression management and agency theory, we show that earnings management may exacerbate agency problems. We hypothesize that earnings-increasing...

This paper discusses the use of M&A to facilitate earnings management. The accounting procedures we analyse variously create earnings which would not be reported in the absence of M&A; or reduce reported earnings; or shift earnings between accounting periods. The motivation for deploying the...