Corporate bond issuers attempt to influence bond ratings through their discretion over reported numbers, which could diminish credit rating quality. I find that cash flow management is negatively associated with rating quality, while accruals management is not. These results suggest that rating...

We examine the implication of management for credit rating quality by focusing on the relation between management tenure and rating quality. Using a large sample of corporate bond issues in the U.S., we find robust evidence that firms with longer-tenured CEOs have lower rating quality, as...