Earnings Presentation Effects on Manager Reporting Choices and Investor Decisions

We survey recent (mainly US) research on the effects of earnings presentation attributes on manager and user behaviour. The literature we discuss relates to three primary earnings presentation attributes: (1) disaggregation (vertical and horizontal), (2) location (recognition vs. disclosure, which statement for recognized items, and within statement classification, labeling and subtotals) and (3) narrative attributes (location of key amounts within narratives, readability, medium, and timing of disclosure). We show that disaggregation operates mainly by directly affecting information content. Location operates mainly by indirectly affecting information content through changes in managers' actions and by affecting ease of processing. And narrative presentation attributes operate mainly by affecting ease of processing. These differences in mechanisms determine the implications of the presentation attributes for contracting and valuation uses of accounting information. They also have implications for future research and standard setting