利润操纵行为影响会计稳健性吗?——基于季度盈余不同汇总方法的经验证据

本文使用季度盈余的方法研究会计稳健性。以往文献主要使用会计年度(即公历年度)盈余分析我国上市公司的会计稳健性,相对无法有效地分离或控制利润操纵行为对会计稳健性的影响。本文使用不同的方法对季度盈余进行汇总,得到会计年度盈余及其他三种受利润操纵行为影响较弱的年度盈余。研究发现,我国上市公司的会计年度盈余和其他三种年度盈余都表现出了稳健性特征。这一经验证据表明,我国上市公司的报告盈余具有实质意义上的稳健性,利润操纵行为并未影响会计盈余的稳健性。     

会计-税收差异、操纵性应计利润与盈余管理

本文利用2007年中国上市公司的经验数据，实证检验了会计-税收差异与主流的Jones模型估计出的操纵性应计利润在识别公司盈余管理行为上的能力。经过研究，我们发现，与国外大多数文献的研究成果一致，会计-税收差异能够识别上市公司盈余管理行为，而主流的Jones模型在利用中国上市公司财务数据探测盈余管理行为时则存在严重的系统性偏误，会计-税收差异较之主流的Jones模型在识别上市公司盈余管理行为上能提供增量信息。     

中国亏损上市公司第四季度盈余管理的实证研究

本文对中国A股上市公司是否在第四季度进行盈余管理以避免当年亏损或下一年亏损进行了实证研究,发现上市公司的确会在第四季度进行盈余管理来实现当年扭亏为盈或者调低利润,为下一年扭亏做好准备。因此审计师与投资者对上市公司第四季度的财务数据应该高度关注,并提高对会计信息质量的鉴别能力。     

基于修正Jones模型的旅游行业上市公司盈余管理分析

上市公司的盈余管理问题一直是研究热点,本文以目前我国A股市场上的33家旅游相关公司为研究对象,运用修正Jones模型对其盈余管理进行分析,研究发现这些公司普遍存在盈余管理现象,既有扩大利润的盈余管理也有隐藏利润的盈余管理。文章分析研究旅游类上市公司盈余管理,既有助于监管机构对其进行管理,又有助于投资者的投资决策分析。     

阈值处的盈余分布断层:盈余管理解释的实证检验

本文利用中国沪深两市2008-2010年A股上市公司财务数据,检验了阈值处的盈余分布断层是否由盈余管理引起。检验结果表明,避免报告亏损和避免盈余下降动机诱发了阈值两侧样本公司盈余的异常变动,这些异常变动包括:第四季度初的微损公司和微利公司中有异常高比例的公司报告年度微利;第四季度初的盈余微增长公司和盈余微下降公司中有异常高比例的公司报告年度微增长。正是这些公司的盈余的异常变动导致了阈值处的盈余分布断层。本文的研究不仅为盈余分布断层的盈余管理解释提供了充分证据支持,也为投资者和监管机构及时发现公司的盈余管理行为提供了参考依据。     

上市公司股利政策对盈余管理的影响及相应的市场反应

本文基于私有信息传递的视角,以2003-2010年上海证券交易所A股市场上的上市公司为研究样本,检验了上市公司现金股利政策对盈余管理的影响及其相应的市场反应。统计结果显示,与其他公司相比,现金分红的公司倾向于上调应计利润即有正向盈余管理的偏好,并且市场能够识别出这类上市公司的盈余管理行为,分红预案公布期间现金分红公司股票的累积异常收益率与盈余管理变量是正相关的。     

会计制度改革、盈余稳健性与盈余管理

本文以1994-2007我国会计制度改革为研究背景,分析了盈余稳健性和盈余管理之间的内在关系和相互影响,并以此为基础检验了我国会计准则的执行质量。研究得出,扣除操控性应计利润后,上市公司的盈余稳健性同会计制度中稳健性原则的运用程度仍紧密相关。并且,强化稳健性原则和限制公允价值的运用显著降低了公司高估盈余的水平,而弱化稳健性原则和扩大公允价值的运用,则导致了公司盈余管理水平的显著提高。总体而言,没有证据表明盈余稳健性的提高导致了上市公司的大清洗行为。     

中国亏损上市公司盈余管理实证研究

本文对中国亏损上市公司的盈余管理问题进行研究,发现亏损上市公司在首次亏损年度没有进行明显的调减利润的盈余管理,而在扭亏年度则进行了明显的调增利润的盈余管理。这表明,亏损上市公司为了避免出现连续亏损,为了防止公司股价持续降低会在扭亏年度进行盈余管理。     

盈余管理方式与信贷资源配置

本文以2006—2013年我国A股上市公司为研究对象,从真实盈余管理和应计盈余管理双重视角,考察了盈余管理行为对信贷资源配置的影响。研究发现:企业通过盈余管理上调利润越多,获取了更多的信贷资源;国有企业通过应计盈余管理获取信贷资源的现象更明显,非国有企业通过真实盈余管理获取信贷资源的现象更明显。研究表明:一方面,企业通过盈余管理满足银行对自身盈利能力的要求,获取了更多的信贷资源;另一方面,我国银行无法识别贷款企业的盈余管理行为,盈余管理加大了银行的信贷风险。本文从贷款企业的盈余管理行为出发,为优化信贷资源配置提供了一个全新的视角,弥补了现有文献较为片面的认识。     

避免亏损的盈余管理程度:上市公司与非上市公司的比较

本文以非上市公司盈余管理程度作为基准,运用参数估计的方法,对股票市场是否提高了公司盈余管理程度的问题进行研究。研究结论显示,1998年至2004年我国上市公司与非上市公司每年都存在避免亏损的盈余管理;在上市公司中,盈余管理公司比例为15.87%,它们提高ROA数据0.0122;在非上市公司中,盈余管理公司比例则只有5.49%,它们提高ROA数据0.0009。上市公司盈余管理频率大约为非上市公司的3倍,平均盈余管理幅度大约为非上市公司的13倍;两类公司盈余管理程度差异随着时间的推移而不断增大,因为非上市公司盈余管理程度在年度上的分布比较稳定,而上市公司盈余管理程度则随着时间的推移而不断增大。研究结论表明,股票市场提高了公司的盈余管理程度。     

Information Quality of Interim Financial Statements

Expressing concern about the Canadian capital market environment, Boritz (2006) suggested that the accounting and auditing profession may be paying limited attention to quarterly reports. This study investigates whether fourth‐quarter adjustments are significantly different from the previous three, thereby limiting the reliability or faithful representation of the firms' results for each quarter. This study includes four years (2003–2006) of quarterly financial information of 353 Canadian public companies. Our results indicate that the volatility of net income in each of the first three quarters is considerably lower than in the final quarter. While lower volatility can improve predictability, the resulting relevance may be limited. The low volatility of reported earnings in the first three quarters suggests that either earnings management is taking place or that management may not be exercising sufficient care at the end of each of the first three quarters on the measurements that generally accepted accounting principles call for and readers of financial statements expect. This could result in quarterly financial statements that do not faithfully represent the underlying resources and obligations of the reporting firms at the end of the quarter, or the firm's performance during the quarter. Our findings support Boritz's proposition for increased audit requirements for interim reports and changes in the approach to the annual audit to integrate it more closely with interim financial reporting.     

Disclosure timing: Determinants of quarterly earnings release dates

Existing research on discretionary disclosures provides valuable insights on the potentials causes and consequences of alternative forms of disclosure. However, relatively little is known about how managers choose to time the release of financial information. This paper focuses on the quarterly earnings release dates and investigates why some choose to release earnings information relatively early, compared to others. The results indicate that the reporting lag (days between fiscal period end and quarterly earnings release date) is shorter for firms facing greater demand for information from investors and greater litigation costs. The reporting lag, however, is longer for firms with greater block ownership and those whose operations are somewhat more complex.     

Operating performance following dividend decreases and omissions

Using quarterly data and benchmarks based on past performance characteristics, I find little evidence that earnings change following 661 dividend decreases and 484 dividend omissions between 1980 and 1998. The exception is that earnings deteriorate during the quarter of dividend omissions, but they recover within a couple of quarters. My results further suggest that the lack of a more pronounced earnings decline is neither attributable to a contemporaneous and confounding increase in share repurchases, to earnings management, nor to improving investment opportunities, and the results are similar for firms that are not predicted to cut dividend payouts based on their financial flexibility. Instead, I find some evidence that the negative stock price reaction reflects the dismal performance during the quarter of the announcement, especially for firms that omit dividends, and that the market interprets the dividend announcements too pessimistically.     

Earnings management and the allocation of net periodic pension costs to interim periods

We examine the pattern of reported quarterly net periodic pension costs. Quarterly pension costs are one of the largest single expense items for firms with pension plans (around 15% of income before extraordinary items in our sample). Under ASC 270, net pension costs should be recognized as incurred, or as the benefit provided by the expense is realized. We find that over the period of 2004–2010, there is significant variation in the amount of quarterly pension cost firms report. In addition, we find that income-increasing changes in pension costs are significantly associated with meeting or beating analysts' forecasts in a given quarter. We also show that income-decreasing changes to net periodic pension costs that would cause a firm to miss its earnings forecast are extremely rare. Finally, we find evidence that income-increasing and income-decreasing changes in quarterly pension costs are “settled up” in the fourth quarter (e.g., they are reversed).     

Stock Price Reaction to Evidence of Earnings Management: Implications for Supplementary Financial Disclosure

We condition security price reactions to quarterly earnings announcements on whether firms disclose supplementary balance sheet and/or cashflow information that can be used to estimate the consequences of earnings management. Disclosure of supplementary information is voluntary, and thus, we consider the possibility that firms that disclose balance sheet and/or cashflow information differ systematically from firms that do not disclose. Results indicate that investors discount evidence of earnings management at the disclosure date when supplementary information is disclosed. Such results indicate more informed earnings interpretations of quarterly earnings when firms provide balance sheet and/or cashflow information concurrently.

When and why do IPO firms manage earnings?

There is significant disagreement about whether, when, and why IPO firms manage earnings. We precisely identify the timing and motives behind earnings management by IPO firms. The period around an IPO is characterized by two events: the IPO itself and the lockup expiration. Both the raising of capital at the IPO and the exit by pre-IPO shareholders at lockup expiration create incentives for firms to manage earnings. To disentangle the effect of these events, we examine quarterly, rather than annual, abnormal accruals. We find no evidence of income-increasing earnings management before the IPO. However, IPO firms exhibit positive abnormal accruals in the quarter before and the quarter of the lockup expiration. Positive abnormal accruals are concentrated in less scrutinized firms and firms with high selling by pre-IPO shareholders. Moreover, we find that these accruals subsequently reverse and that such reversals contribute to long-run IPO underperformance.     

The use of advertising activities to meet earnings benchmarks: evidence from monthly data

Using a unique database of monthly media advertising spending, 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 the possibility that managers could reduce or boost advertising to meet benchmarks; (2) analyzing actual activities as opposed to inferring them from reported expenses, which are also subject to accrual choices; (3) investigating the timing, within a quarter, of altered advertising spending; and (4) examining quarterly earnings benchmarks. We find that managers, on average, reduce advertising spending to avoid losses and earnings decreases. However, we also report that firms in the late stages of their life cycle increase advertising to meet earnings benchmarks. Finally, we find some evidence that firms increase advertising in the third month of a fiscal quarter and in the fourth quarter to beat prior year’s earnings.     

Reexamination of earnings management before and after SOX: Evidence from SEC staff accounting bulletins 99-100

A substantial literature suggests that earnings management improved for U.S. firms in the post-2002 time period as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (henceforth, SOX) (Coates and Srinivasan, 2014) which was passed in the latter part of 2002. However, few papers have explored the impact of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletins (SABs) 99-100 in the year 2000 following their passage in late 1999. As a result, some of the reductions in earnings management that prior research attributes to SOX may have been due to these two SABs. We find that in 2000 there was a significant decline in the zero earnings discontinuity in quarterly earnings considered by prior research to be evidence of earnings management to avoid small losses. Surprisingly, we find only mixed evidence that SOX provided an incremental impact to that of the SABs, which occurs mainly in the quarterly distribution of EPS rather than in scaled quarterly earnings. We also find evidence that the passage of the SABs significantly reduced the practice where firms take write-offs in the fourth quarter that turn a profit for the year into a loss. Overall, our findings suggest that the decline in quarterly earnings management started well before SOX due to the SEC’s initiatives.     

Information asymmetry,mutual funds and earnings management: Evidence from China

This paper investigates how information asymmetry and mutual fund ownership affect listed companies’ earnings management. We show that (1) reducing information asymmetry improves firms’ earnings management behavior; (2) relative to short-term mutual funds, long-term mutual funds promote earnings quality by adopting a monitoring role; and (3) by dividing firms into high/low information asymmetry groups, we find that the information environment significantly increases the effect of long-term mutual funds on firms’ earnings management. In this paper, we provide new evidence for the role that institutional investors play in a typical emerging capital market. Our results have clear policy implications: to increase earnings quality, it is essential to improve information transparency and develop long-term institutional investors.     

The rewards to meeting or beating earnings expectations

This paper finds that firms that meet or beat current analysts’ earnings expectations (MBE) enjoy a higher return over the quarter than firms with similar quarterly earnings forecast errors that fail to meet these expectations. Further, such a premium to MBE, although somewhat smaller, exists in the cases where MBE is likely to have been achieved through earnings or expectations management. The findings also indicate that the premium to MBE is a leading indicator of future performance. This premium and its predictive ability are only marginally affected by whether the MBE is genuine or the result of earnings or expectations management.