The impact of IFRS on earnings management: evidence from Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Eiler ◽  
Jose Miranda-Lopez ◽  
Isho Tama-Sweet
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Managerial Incentives ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Earnings Smoothing ◽  
The Impact

PurposePrior literature investigating the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) finds that managerial incentives, capital market institutions and accounting standards interact to endogenously determine accounting outcomes. In this paper, we investigate the impact of changing from local GAAP to IFRS in 2012 on earnings management by public firms in Mexico. Given the institutional environment and managerial incentives in Mexico, there is not a clear theoretical prediction for the impact of Mexico's adoption of IFRS on earnings management. Thus, it is an empirical question whether a change in accounting standards had any effect on earnings management.Design/methodology/approachWe use three measures of earnings smoothing and one measure of upwards earnings management. Logistic regression analysis along with t-tests across two time periods, pre-IFRS (2009–2011) and post-IFRS (2013–2015) are used to determine if there is a significant change in the earnings management of Mexican firms, and if this change is different for companies cross-listed in the US and companies listed only in the Bolsa.FindingsWe hypothesize and find that adopting IFRS is associated with lower earnings management via earnings smoothing in Mexico, and the reduction is greater for firms cross-listed in the United States. Our results support the contention that strong institutions and enforcement aid in the implementation of new accounting standards.Originality/valueFirst, we contribute to the literature on the adoption of IFRS around the world. The consensus in the literature is that the impact of IFRS on financial reporting is country-specific. To our knowledge, we are the first to conduct such research on Mexico. Second, our findings indicate that IFRS adoption is associated with a reduction in earnings management through income smoothing by firms in Mexico. This contributes to a small but growing body of literature documenting consequences of improvements in Mexican capital markets. Results of research in this area provide important insights to capital market participants and regulators in Mexico.

IFRS and accounting quality: legal origin, regional, and disclosure impacts

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Dayanandan ◽  
Han Donker ◽  
Mike Ivanof ◽  
Gökhan Karahan
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether the quality of financial reporting has improved after the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Europe and across the world. The study investigates the impact of IFRS on income smoothing and earnings management in different geographic regions under different legal origins and disclosure environments. Design/methodology/approach To measure income smoothing in the pre- and post-IFRS periods, the authors use the coefficient of variation and the panel unit root model proposed by Im et al. (2003) for testing whether net income is stationary throughout the sample period. The study uses a dynamic panel estimation framework, as it captures the dynamics of IFRS on discretionary accruals efficiently. Discretionary accruals are used to measure earnings management. Findings The results suggest that the adoption of high quality standards, such as IFRS, reduces income smoothing and earnings management. In addition, the study finds that earnings management has decreased in the post-IFRS period, in particular, for French and Scandinavian civil law countries, but not for German civil law countries and common law countries. The latter can be explained by the fact that common law countries have strong investor protection laws, strict law enforcement and high disclosure levels of financial information. The study also finds empirical evidence that the adoption of IFRS reduces earnings management in countries with high levels of financial disclosure. Overall, the study shows that the adoption of IFRS improved the quality of financial reporting. Originality/value This study is useful for accounting standard setters across the world, including those countries that have not yet decided to adopt IFRS. The study contributes to the literature by examining the adoption of IFRS in income smoothing and earnings management under different legal regimes and disclosure environments by using advanced empirical methodologies.

The impact of principles-based vs rules-based accounting standards on reporting quality and earnings management

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Sundvik
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Absolute Magnitude ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether principles-based vs rules-based accounting standards have an effect on measures of financial reporting quality and earnings management strategies. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a firm-year-specific variable that captures the extent to which firms’ accounting and operating behavior is affected by the characteristics of a specific standard in the USA. Measures of absolute accruals, financial misconducts, signed abnormal accruals and abnormal cash flows are used to assess the effects. Findings The results show that absolute magnitude of accruals and probability of financial misconduct is lower, and accrual earnings management is higher when firms’ standards are more based on principles. The study also suggests that potentially costlier real earnings management is a consequence of rules-based standards. Research limitations/implications This study relies heavily on measures from the prior accounting literature, hence, care has been exercised in generalizing the findings. Practical implications This study has direct implications for a number of stakeholders, including standard setters, policymakers, securities regulators, researchers, investors, financial statement preparers and auditors. For example, the future development of accounting standards can be supported by the empirical conclusions in this study together with previous standard-setting ambitions, commentaries, experiments and analytical work. Originality/value This study extends prior single-country studies on reporting quality and cross-country studies on transition effects of firms switching from local to International Accounting Standards by observing the impact of accounting standard characteristics on additional measures of reporting quality and accrual as well as real earnings management when holding institutional factors constant. The study also offers archival evidence complementing prior commentaries, experiments and analytical work.

scholarly journals The impact of IFRS-based accounting standards on earnings management: evidence from Malaysia

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Yosra Makni Fourati ◽  
Rania Chakroun Ghorbel
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Absolute Value ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Earning Quality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

This study aims to examine the consequences of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) convergence in an emerging market. More specifically, we investigate whether the adoption of the new set of accounting standards in Malaysia is associated with lower earnings management. Using a sample of 3,340 firm-year observations across three reporting periods with different levels of IFRS adoption, we provide evidence that IFRS convergence improves earning quality. In particular, we find a significant decrease in the absolute value of discretionary acccruals in the partial IFRS-convergence period (2007-2011), whereas this effect is restrictive after the complete IFRS- implementation.

scholarly journals Earnings Management through Tax Reserves and Auditor-Provided Tax Services

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Chunlai Ye
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Earnings Forecast ◽  
Large Firms ◽  
Fin 48 ◽  
Management Incentives ◽  
Consensus Forecasts ◽  
Earnings Smoothing ◽  
Tax Reserves

This study investigates whether firms continue to use tax reserves to achieve financial reporting objectives in the post-FIN 48 period and the effect of auditor-provided tax services on earnings management through tax reserves. Three types of earnings management incentives are considered in this study: meeting or beating the consensus forecasts, income smoothing, and taking an “earnings bath.” The analyses yield evidence that only non-large firms manipulate tax reserves to meet/beat earnings forecast in the post-FIN 48 period; however, tax reserves are still utilized by both large and non-large firms to smooth earnings. Moreover, evidence is provided that the auditor who provides more tax services facilitates large firms’ earnings smoothing in the post-FIN 48 period, implying independence impairment. But this behavior does not exist within non-large firms, arguably because the auditor does not compromise independence for less important clients.

The role of state ownership on earnings quality: evidence across public and private European firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Gaio ◽  
Inês Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Capital Markets ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Sample

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of state ownership on financial reporting quality regarding the characteristics of conservatism and earnings management. Design/methodology/approach Using a large sample of public and private European firms during the period 2003-2010, the authors test the hypotheses following Ball and Shivakumar’s (2005) model for conservatism and the modified Jones (1991) model proposed by Dechow and Sloan (1995) for earnings management. To ensure that the results are robust, the authors conduct sensitivity analysis with regard to potential endogeneity and selection bias. Findings The authors find that state-owned firms are less conservative than non-state-owned firms, which is consistent with the idea that there is less need for accounting conservatism due to government protection. The authors also show that capital markets play an important role in shaping the relation between state ownership and earnings management. Among public firms, the authors find that state-owned firms have higher abnormal accruals and worse accruals quality than non-state-owned firms, which suggests that state-owned firms are not immune to capital market pressures. Research limitations/implications The study has two limitations. First, as state-owned and non-state-owned firms face quite different incentive structures, management behavior might be determined by factors that have yet to be identified. Second, prior research results suggest an inverted U-shape relation between ownership concentration and earnings management (Ding et al., 2007). It would be interesting to investigate the impact of different levels of state ownership on earnings quality. Practical implications As the paper investigates the role of state ownership on earnings quality using a sample of European firms, it brings new insights regarding the role of state ownership in accounting quality and firm performance. In addition, it considers the role of capital markets in the relation between the quality of financial reporting and ownership by considering a sample with both public and private firms. Originality/value The study contributes to the debate about state intervention in the corporate sector, by extending the knowledge of the effects of government ownership on earnings quality by using a large sample of European firms. Furthermore, the authors also introduce the effect of capital market forces on managers’ behavior in state-owned and non-state-owned companies by analyzing private and publicly listed firms.

Impairment reversals: unbiased reporting or earnings management

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongyu Cao ◽  
Hasnah Shaari ◽  
Ray Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Reporting Standard ◽  
Accounting Standard ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Support ◽  
A Company

Purpose This paper aims to provide evidence that will inform the convergence debate regarding accounting standards. The authors assess the ability of impairment reversals allowed under International Accounting Standard 36 but disallowed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to provide useful information about a company. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a sample of 182 Malaysian firms that reversed impairment charges and a matched sample of firms which chose not to reverse their impairments. Further analysis examines if reversing an impairment charge is associated with motivations for and evidence of earnings management. Findings The authors find no evidence that the reversal of an impairment charge marks a company out as managing contemporaneous earnings. However, they document evidence that firms with high levels of abnormal accruals and weak corporate governance avoid earnings decline by reversing previously recognized impairments. In addition, companies that have engaged in big baths as evidenced by high accumulated impairment balances and prior changes in top management, use impairment reversals to avoid earnings declines. Research limitations/implications The results of this study support both the informative and opportunistic hypotheses of impairment reversal reporting using Financial Reporting Standard 136. Practical implications The results also demonstrate how companies that use impairment reversals opportunistically can be identified. Originality/value The results support IASB’s approach to the reversal of impairments. They also provide novel evidence as to how companies exploit a cookie-jar reserve created by a prior big bath opportunistically.

The impact of the global economic crisis of 2008 on earnings quality in Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-421
Author(s):  
Jose Miranda-Lopez ◽  
Ivan Valdovinos-Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Accounting Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Economic Crisis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the earnings quality of companies listed on Mexico’s primary stock market, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (Bolsa) before and during the global economic crisis of 2008. Previous research has shown that these economic events can have potentially conflicting effects on the quality of earnings of listed companies in capital markets around the world. Design/methodology/approach This paper operationalizes earnings quality based on earnings management. Therefore, four constructs to proxy for earnings quality are developed from previous literature, and multiple regression analysis along with tests of differences across two time periods, 2005–2007 and 2008–2010, are used to determine if there is a significant change in the accounting quality of companies listed on the Bolsa before and after the start of the global economic crisis. Findings Results indicate a statistically significant decrease of earnings quality on three out of the four constructs used to proxy for earnings management. There is only one construct in this category that shows a significant increase of earnings quality. Research limitations/implications There are different number of constructs and methodologies used to test for earnings quality. This study draws on four different constructs on two dimensions of earnings quality from previous literature, but other methodologies and constructs can potentially be used as well, such as discretionary accruals. Furthermore, there is a chance that there can be confounding factors affecting the results of this study besides the effects of the global economic crisis. Finally, the sample used in this study comprises non-financial public companies listed on the Bolsa, which can affect the generalization of the results to countries other than Mexico. Practical implications The results of this study can be of interest to Mexican and foreign investors, standard setters and regulators of the Bolsa, as the results show a strong incentive to manage companies’ earnings using income smoothing in an emerging economy during an economic crisis even after converging to a higher-quality set of accounting standards. Results can also be of interests to investors and regulators in other Latin-American countries with economies similar to that of Mexico. Originality/value This is the first study to test the quality of earnings of Mexican companies before and during the global economic crisis of 2008. Thus, this study contributes to the accounting quality literature by offering evidence showing a significant increase of income smoothing during the global economic crisis for companies listed in a developing economy with a relevant history of economic crises, even when these companies were using recently converged, higher-quality accounting standards.

scholarly journals The Impact of Financial Statement Comparability on Earnings Management: Evidence from Frontier Markets

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Wil Martens ◽  
Prem W. S. Yapa ◽  
Maryam Safari
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Developed Markets ◽  
Accounting Comparability ◽  
The Impact

This paper examined whether financial statement comparability constrains opportunistic earnings management in frontier market countries. Using a large sample of 19 frontier market countries, and an accounting comparability method that maps comparability across several accounting standards, the results show that enhanced financial comparability constrains accruals earnings management (AEM). Contrary to developed markets and novel to this study, a significant relationship between financial comparability and real earnings management (REM) was not found. For greater robustness, AEM and REM were also tested on both International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adopting and non-adopting countries. The results suggest IFRS adoption constrains AEM, yet exhibited no impact on constraining REM. Additionally, the use of BigN auditors failed to conclusively show an ability to moderate EM. When combined, the results suggest that frontier markets engage in less REM than expected. It is also noted that the legal roots (civil vs. common law) play a significant role in constraining earnings management. Common law countries exhibited lower AEM when comparability increased; this significance was not found in countries that were rooted in civil law. Contributions from this study show that findings from developed markets cannot be generalised to frontier markets.

The bidirectional relationship between ESG performance and earnings management – empirical evidence from Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 322-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Velte
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thomson Reuters ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance as a whole and individually in its three pillars and their influence on earnings management. Design/methodology/approach Companies listed on the German Prime Standard (DAX30, TecDAX and MDAX) for the business years 2011-2017 (548 firm-year observations) are included in the empirical quantitative study. A correlation and regression analysis is conducted to analyze the impact of ESG performance as determined by the Asset4 database of Thomson Reuters on accruals-based earnings management (AEM) and real earnings management (REM). Findings ESG performance has a negative influence on AEM but not on REM. Moreover, by dividing the three different factors of ESG performance, governance performance has the strongest negative impact on AEM in comparison to environmental and social performance. This study also suggests a bidirectional relationship between ESG performance and earnings management. Originality/value The analysis makes a key contribution to research as the link between ESG performance and their three components and earnings management are analyzed for the German two-tier system for the first time. Corporate practice, regulators and researchers should recognize that ESG performance and financial reporting should be discussed together.

International accounting standards and accounting quality in code-law countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim El-Sayed Ebaid
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Accounting Quality ◽  
Regulatory Requirement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Egyptian Government

Purpose – This study aims to examine whether the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) leads to accounting quality improvements in Egypt as a code-law country. In particular, the study examines earnings management, the construct often used to assess accounting quality. Design/methodology/approach – The study compares earnings management practice for Egyptian listed companies before (2000-2006) and after (2007-2009) the adoption of IFRS. Findings – The findings of the study reveal that accounting quality, as measured by earnings management, has decreased in post-adoption period compared to pre-adoption period. IFRS are set up to provide high-quality financial reporting. However, this cannot be achieved solely by a regulatory requirement to follow. The accounting system is a complementary component of the country’s overall institutional system. Institutional improvements did not simultaneously take place by the Egyptian government around the adoption of IFRS. The Egyptian government did not introduce a more effective enforcement system, mandatory corporate governance regulations, investor protection mechanisms and sufficient institutional knowledge of IFRS during that period. Thus, even if IFRS are higher quality standards, the institutional features of Egyptian market could eliminate any improvement in accounting quality arising from adopting IFRS. Research/limitations/implications – The results of the study are consistent with prior research suggesting that the adoption of IFRS, which are generally perceived to be of higher quality than domestic standards, does not necessarily lead to higher accounting quality in code-law countries like Egypt. The overall results indicate that incentives dominate accounting standards in determining accounting quality in Egypt. Originality/value – The main reason why countries adopt IFRS invariably is to improve accounting quality. It is, therefore, of interest to ascertain if this goal has been met, especially, in code-law countries such as Egypt.

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