Kothari et al. (2005) propose ROA-matched models to estimate discretionary accruals for samples skewed toward firms with good or poor performance to reduce the frequency of Type I errors. Many researchers, however, use such models for unskewed samples. In these cases, ROA-matched models have no...

This study shows that firms collectively incur a cost for managing earnings and analyst expectations to meet earnings forecasts. We compare the coefficient in the regression of abnormal stock returns on earnings surprise (the earnings response coefficient (ERC)) across ranges of earnings...

Kothari et al. (2005) propose ROA matched models to estimate discretionary accruals for samples skewed toward firms with good or poor performance to reduce the frequency of Type I errors. Many researchers, however, use such models for unskewed samples. In these cases, ROA matched models have no...

The 1997-1998 Asian economic crisis threatened the survival of banks in many Asian countries. Local bank regulators encouraged or even forced ailing banks to merge as a way to reduce bank failure risk. Casting doubt on the wisdom of such policies, the paper shows that whether merging two banks...

This study examines how firms' tendency to manipulate accruals to meet quarterly earnings targets, as measured by abnormal accruals volatility, relates to transient and non-transient institutional shareholdings. Abnormal accruals volatility is found to increase with transient (short-term)...

Manipulation of earnings or analyst earnings expectations is costly to firms. Manipulators of earnings and/or analyst earnings expectations therefore are likely to report earnings that precisely meet or narrowly beat analyst earnings forecasts, resulting in a zero or small positive earnings...

Plant managers generally have no direct marketing responsibilities, but they have control over product quality and customer service. I hypothesize that many firms evaluate these managers on profit since sales, a component of profit, convey information on plant manager’s performance on product...