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The Usefulness of Measures of Consistency of Discretionary Components of Accruals in the Detection of Earnings Management

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  • Salma S. Ibrahim

Abstract

Prior research has shown the prevalence of measurement error in models used to estimate aggregate discretionary accruals. In these models, the incremental information content of the various components of accruals is ignored. Limited prior research and data gathered from firms under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) litigation indicate that managers use either one or more than one component of accruals simultaneously, in a consistent way to manipulate bottom‐line earnings in a given direction. I propose two measures that capture the consistency between the discretionary components of accruals and test their significance in earnings management (EM) detection in firms that have artificially added accrual manipulation and firms that were targeted by the SEC for accrual manipulation. There is evidence that this information is incrementally useful in detecting EM. This finding paves the way for improvements in the discretionary accruals measure by including consistency information from the components of aggregate accruals.

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  • Salma S. Ibrahim, 2009. "The Usefulness of Measures of Consistency of Discretionary Components of Accruals in the Detection of Earnings Management," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9‐10), pages 1087-1116, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jbfnac:v:36:y:2009:i:9-10:p:1087-1116
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.2009.02171.x
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    3. Salma Ibrahim & Li Xu & Genese Rogers, 2011. "Real and accrual‐based earnings management and its legal consequences," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(1), pages 50-78, July.
    4. Lucie Courteau & Jennifer L. Kao & Yao Tian, 2013. "Does Accrual Management Impair the Performance of Earnings-Based Valuation Models?," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS12, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    5. Ibrahim, Salma & Xu, Li & Kalchev, Georgi & Deal, Candice Linette, 2013. "Legal Consequences of Earnings Components Management," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11, pages 229-259.
    6. Heinz, Philip & Patel, Chris & Hellmann, Andreas, 2013. "Some theoretical and methodological suggestions for studies examining accountants' professional judgments and earnings management," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 299-311.
    7. Pelucio-Grecco, Marta Cristina & Geron, Cecília Moraes Santostaso & Grecco, Gerson Begas & Lima, João Paulo Cavalcante, 2014. "The effect of IFRS on earnings management in Brazilian non-financial public companies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 42-66.
    8. Marta Cristina Pelucio Grecco, 2013. "The Effect of Brazilian convergence to IFRS on earnings managment by listed Brazilian nonfinancial companies," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 10(4), pages 110-132, October.
    9. Franck Missonier‐Piera & Cédric Spadetti, 2023. "The consequences of earnings management for the acquisition premium in friendly takeovers," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1-2), pages 308-334, January.
    10. Christian Calmès & Denis Cormier & Francois Éric Racicot & Raymond Théoret, 2012. "Firms' Accruals and Tobin’s q," RePAd Working Paper Series UQO-DSA-wp032012, Département des sciences administratives, UQO.

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