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How do stock-for-stock acquirers manage earnings? The accruals feature of real earnings management

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  • Chang, Che-Chia
  • Pan, Hunghua

Abstract

This paper investigates whether stock-for-stock acquirers undertake real activities to manage earnings before merger announcements. Our results show that stock-for-stock acquirers present unusually high levels of credit sales and overproduction in the quarter immediately before the merger announcement. We also find that the accruals feature of real earnings management can explain the stock-for-stock acquirers’ high discretionary current accruals. In addition, stock-for-stock acquirer firms that accelerate their credit sales experience subsequent market underperformance. Overall, we provide a novel insight into the accruals feature of real earnings management.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang, Che-Chia & Pan, Hunghua, 2020. "How do stock-for-stock acquirers manage earnings? The accruals feature of real earnings management," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:16:y:2020:i:2:s1815566920300199
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2020.100202
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    Cited by:

    1. Ahsan Habib & Dinithi Ranasinghe & Julia Yonghua Wu & Pallab Kumar Biswas & Fawad Ahmad, 2022. "Real earnings management: A review of the international literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4279-4344, December.
    2. Ioannis Dokas & Christos Leontidis & Nicolaos Eriotis & Konstantinos Hazakis, 2021. "Earnings Management. An overview of the relative literature," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 25-55.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate mergers; Discretionary current accruals; Real earnings management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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