This study examines the ability of revenue and accrual models to detect simulated and actual earnings management. The results indicate that revenue models are less biased, better specified, and more powerful than commonly used accrual models. Using a simulation procedure, I find that revenue...

This paper examines the implications of using the absolute value of discretionary accruals when testing for earnings management. First, we analytically develop the mean and variance of the distribution of absolute discretionary accruals, and show that the expected value is an increasing function...

This paper investigates potential cases of earnings management by observing the pattern of quarterly earnings changes. We identify firms for which the sign of (seasonal) earnings changes observed in interim quarters reverses in the fourth quarter. We hypothesize that a firm performing poorly in...

This paper provides evidence on the characteristics of firms that include pro forma earnings information in their press releases and on whether the usefulness of pro forma earnings to investors varies systematically with these characteristics. Using a sample of 249 press releases from 1997-99,...

This paper provides additional evidence on earnings management via the deferred tax asset valuation allowance account (VAA). Earlier publications that do not find evidence of earnings management via the VAA examine contractual incentives using broad samples. A more recent publication finds...

While analyst earnings forecasts are crucial earnings benchmarks in equity valuation, existing studies provide no consensus on whether the market rewards firms for beating analyst earnings expectations. Using a sample of 9,898 firm-year observations from 1,821 unique Chinese listed firms over...

Prior research has documented a "kink" in the earnings distribution: too few firms report small losses, too many firms report small profits. We investigate whether boosting of discretionary accruals to report a small profit is a reasonable explanation for this "kink". Overall, we are unable to...

Using a sample of firms that have consecutive earnings growth for more than 20 quarters (earnings strings), I assess the relationship between earnings persistence and the extent to which investors are able to anticipate breaks of earnings strings. I find that firm-specific earnings persistence...

In the wake of Enron-era scandals, practitioners warn that earnings guidance invites earnings management as executives scramble to achieve previously announced targets. Concurrent academic studies show that company executives manage earnings to achieve benchmark targets. This study attempts to...

The paper examines three benchmark earnings concepts: (i) permanent earnings with the cost-of-equity determining the capitalization, (ii) permanent earnings with the risk-free rate determining the capitalization, and (iii) economic earnings (Hicks's concept). The concepts can be measured...