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Do managers manage earnings to ‘just meet or beat’ analyst forecasts?

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  • Habib, Ahsan
  • Hossain, Mahmud

Abstract

This paper examines whether managers manage earnings to ‘just meet or beat’ analyst forecasts in Australia. Previous Australian studies on benchmark-beating have focused on loss avoidance and small earnings increases as benchmarks [Coulton, J., Taylor, S., & Taylor, S. (2005). Is ‘benchmark beating’ by Australian firms evidence of earnings management? Accounting and Finance, 45, 553–576; Holland, D., & Ramsay, A. (2003). Do Australian companies manage earnings to meet simple earnings benchmarks? Accounting and Finance, 43, 41–62]. This paper extends this earlier research on benchmark-beating in Australia by incorporating analyst forecast as an important benchmark. Using three different models of unexpected accruals as proxies for earnings management, this study did not find any significant difference between the mean and median unexpected accruals of the “‘just meet or beat” group as against the “just miss” group. Furthermore, for a long period of time (1997–2002), the proportion of Australian firms ‘just meeting or beating’ analyst forecasts benchmark increased, although such increase was not statistically significant.

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  • Habib, Ahsan & Hossain, Mahmud, 2008. "Do managers manage earnings to ‘just meet or beat’ analyst forecasts?," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 79-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jiaata:v:17:y:2008:i:2:p:79-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2008.07.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiaomeng Chen, 2010. "Australian evidence on the accuracy of analysts' expectations," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(1), pages 94-116, July.
    2. Richard Kent & James Routledge & Karen McPherson, 2017. "Use of benchmarks in predicting earnings management?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(1), pages 239-260, March.
    3. Chii-Shyan Kuo & Jia-Jye Yu & Feng-Chen Chang, 2022. "Revenue recognition and channel stuffing in the Taiwanese semiconductor industry," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 352-361, September.
    4. Mariela Carvajal & Jeffrey J. Coulton & Andrew B. Jackson & Tom Smith, 2017. "Earnings benchmark hierarchy," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(1), pages 87-111, March.
    5. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-429 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Dykxhoorn, Hans J. & Sinning, Kathleen E., 2010. "A review and analysis of international accounting research in JIAAT: 2002–2010," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 137-153.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Analyst earnings forecasts; Earnings management; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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