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Earnings Management Surrounding Seasoned Bond Offerings: Do Managers Mislead Ratings Agencies and the Bond Market?

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  • Caton, Gary L.
  • Chiyachantana, Chiraphol N.
  • Chua, Choong-Tze
  • Goh, Jeremy

Abstract

We study earnings management (EM) efforts surrounding seasoned bond offerings using discretionary current accruals. We find that issuers tend to inflate earnings performance prior to an offering. In order for EM efforts to effectively mislead ratings agencies and the bond market, they must lead to inflated bond ratings and decreased offering yields. Regression results indicate the opposite; aggressive EM efforts are associated with lower initial ratings and higher offering yields. We also find a statistically lower proportion of subsequent downgrades for firms with the most aggressive EM efforts, which is inconsistent with these firms’ inflated initial ratings. While some firms may attempt to mislead ratings agencies and market participants by window-dressing earnings, these efforts appear to be counterproductive.

Suggested Citation

  • Caton, Gary L. & Chiyachantana, Chiraphol N. & Chua, Choong-Tze & Goh, Jeremy, 2011. "Earnings Management Surrounding Seasoned Bond Offerings: Do Managers Mislead Ratings Agencies and the Bond Market?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 687-708, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jfinqa:v:46:y:2011:i:03:p:687-708_00
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    Cited by:

    1. He, Wen & Ng, Lilian & Zaiats, Nataliya & Zhang, Bohui, 2017. "Dividend policy and earnings management across countries," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 267-286.
    2. Olukemi Fasipe & Huey-Lian Sun, 2020. "Real activities manipulation in stock-for-stock mergers," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 44(3), pages 570-586, July.
    3. Zalata, Alaa Mansour & Roberts, Clare, 2017. "Managing earnings using classification shifting: UK evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 52-65.
    4. He, Wen & Hu, Maggie (Rong), 2016. "Religion and bank loan terms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 205-215.
    5. Eliza Xia Zhang, 2020. "The impact of cash flow management versus accruals management on credit rating performance and usage," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1163-1193, May.
    6. Brasch, Annika & Eierle, Brigitte & Jarvis, Robin, 2022. "Research and development investments, development costs capitalization, and credit ratings: Exploratory evidence from UK R&D-active private firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).

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