We test whether investment explains the accrual anomaly by distinguishing between accruals related to new investment and so-called ‘nontransaction' accruals, items such as depreciation and asset write-downs that do not represent new investment expenditures. The two types of accruals have very...

Higher accruals are associated with lower subsequent earnings. We show this phenomenon can be explained by the way sales, profits, and working capital respond to changes in a firm's product markets. Empirically, high accruals predict high subsequent sales growth but a long-lasting drop in both...

Prior studies employ a two period empirical model and interpret the negative association between accruals in period one and returns in period two as evidence that investors misprice the information contained in accruals. In contrast to prior studies, I employ a three period log-linear model...

There are several explanations for why accruals persist into earnings at lower rates than cash flows. These include that accruals contain estimation error, diminishing returns to investment, and product-markets shocks. We predict that the mixed attribute GAAP measurement model along with the...