Real Activities Manipulation and Subsequent Accounting Performance ---Yes, the Manipulating Direction Matters

Previous studies reveal mixed results for the association between managers¡¯ aggressive real activities manipulation and a firm¡¯s subsequent performance. To examine the effects of real activities manipulation on a firm¡¯s subsequent accounting performance, this study incorporates the manipulating patterns (income-increasing vs. income-decreasing) into model, and uses unbalanced- panel data to establish the empirical regressions. The results reveal that a firm¡¯s income-increasing real activities manipulation is associated with a remarkable subsequent accounting performance. This finding supports the signal future prospect hypothesis of firms¡¯ strategic earnings reporting through aggressive real activities manipulation. However, the conjecture that the income-decreasing real activities manipulation is associated with better subsequent performance gains supported only in some settings. This study demonstrates some diagnostic checks, and provides evidence that the results are robust to the various specifications.