The effect of accounting comparability on the accrual-based and real earnings management

摘要

This study investigates whether and how managers' opportunistic earnings management activities are affected by the degree of their firms' accounting comparability with other firms. Using a large sample of U.S. firms, I find that managers' real earnings management (REM) increases whereas their accrual-based earnings management (AEM) decreases with the degree of their firms' accounting comparability with other firms. I also find that this opportunistic behavior to "escape" from AEM to REM facing higher accounting comparability is mitigated when firms' information environment and/or audit quality are better. These findings are robust to various sensitivity tests including the one to address the possible endogeneity of accounting comparability. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.