IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/accoun/v51y2016i1p57-84.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fiscal Support and Earnings Management

Author

Listed:
  • He, Guanming

Abstract

It is well documented that firms tend to manipulate earnings before IPO (initial public offerings) and SEO (seasoned equity offerings). This study contributes to the literature by providing the first evidence on whether and how fiscal support in the form of preferential tax treatment and financial subsidy affects a firm's earnings management behaviors. Using data for Chinese firms that have conducted IPO and SEO, I find that firms have a lower level of earnings management prior to the offerings if they enjoy more preferential tax treatment or more financial subsidies from local governments. My results are consistent with the view that firms that receive stronger fiscal support have smaller demand for earnings management, which is a costly tool for a firm to achieve its desired earnings targets.

Suggested Citation

  • He, Guanming, 2016. "Fiscal Support and Earnings Management," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 57-84.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:accoun:v:51:y:2016:i:1:p:57-84
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intacc.2016.01.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020706316000108
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intacc.2016.01.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. SANJEEV BHOJRAJ & PAUL HRIBAR & MARC PICCONI & JOHN McINNIS, 2009. "Making Sense of Cents: An Examination of Firms That Marginally Miss or Beat Analyst Forecasts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 2361-2388, October.
    2. Siew Hong Teoh & Ivo Welch & T.J. Wong, 1998. "Earnings Management and the Long-Run Market Performance of Initial Public Offerings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(6), pages 1935-1974, December.
    3. Robert M. Bushman & Joseph D. Piotroski & Abbie J. Smith, 2004. "What Determines Corporate Transparency?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 207-252, May.
    4. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    5. Liu, Qiao & Lu, Zhou (Joe), 2007. "Corporate governance and earnings management in the Chinese listed companies: A tunneling perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 881-906, December.
    6. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 2000. "Investor protection and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-27.
    7. Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2000. "Do firms mislead investors by overstating earnings before seasoned equity offerings?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 339-371, June.
    8. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Gao, Daniel N. & Rui, Oliver M., 2005. "Is China's securities regulatory agency a toothless tiger? Evidence from enforcement actions," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 451-488.
    9. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    10. Larcker, David F. & Rusticus, Tjomme O., 2010. "On the use of instrumental variables in accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 186-205, April.
    11. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    12. Hung, Mingyi & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2012. "Political considerations in the decision of Chinese SOEs to list in Hong Kong," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 435-449.
    13. Gary C. Biddle & Gim S. Seow & Andrew F. Siegel, 1995. "Relative versus Incremental Information Content," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, September.
    14. Teoh, Siew Hong & Welch, Ivo & Wong, T. J., 1998. "Earnings management and the underperformance of seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 63-99, October.
    15. DeFond, Mark L. & Jiambalvo, James, 1994. "Debt covenant violation and manipulation of accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 145-176, January.
    16. Beatty, Anne & Liao, Scott & Yu, Jeff Jiewei, 2013. "The spillover effect of fraudulent financial reporting on peer firms' investments," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 183-205.
    17. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    18. David D. Li, 1998. "Changing Incentives of the Chinese Bureaucracy," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 130, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    19. In‐Mu Haw & Bingbing Hu & Lee‐Seok Hwang & Woody Wu, 2004. "Ultimate Ownership, Income Management, and Legal and Extra‐Legal Institutions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 423-462, May.
    20. Zuo LIU, 2006. "Taxation In China," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number t010, February.
    21. Yuan Ding & Hua Zhang & Junxi Zhang, 2007. "Private vs State Ownership and Earnings Management: evidence from Chinese listed companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 223-238, March.
    22. Steven Young, 1999. "Systematic Measurement Error in the Estimation of Discretionary Accruals: An Evaluation of Alternative Modelling Procedures," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7&8), pages 833-862.
    23. In†Mu Haw & Daqing Qi & Donghui Wu & Woody Wu, 2005. "Market Consequences of Earnings Management in Response to Security Regulations in China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 95-140, March.
    24. Rick L. Williams, 2000. "A Note on Robust Variance Estimation for Cluster-Correlated Data," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 645-646, June.
    25. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    26. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2006. "The Role of Accruals in Asymmetrically Timely Gain and Loss Recognition," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 207-242, May.
    27. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Gao, Daniel N. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Ownership structure, corporate governance, and fraud: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 424-448, June.
    28. Li, David D, 1998. "Changing Incentives of the Chinese Bureaucracy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 393-397, May.
    29. Chen, Xiao & Lee, Chi-Wen Jevons & Li, Jing, 2008. "Government assisted earnings management in China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 262-274.
    30. Wu, Liansheng & Wang, Yaping & Lin, Bing-Xuan & Li, Chen & Chen, Shaw, 2007. "Local tax rebates, corporate tax burdens, and firm migration: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 555-583.
    31. Katherine A. Gunny, 2010. "The Relation Between Earnings Management Using Real Activities Manipulation and Future Performance: Evidence from Meeting Earnings Benchmarks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 855-888, September.
    32. DuCharme, Larry L. & Malatesta, Paul H. & Sefcik, Stephan E., 2004. "Earnings management, stock issues, and shareholder lawsuits," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 27-49, January.
    33. McNichols, Maureen F., 2000. "Research design issues in earnings management studies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 313-345.
    34. Ferdinand A. Gul, 2006. "Auditors' Response to Political Connections and Cronyism in Malaysia," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 931-963, December.
    35. Stock, James H & Wright, Jonathan H & Yogo, Motohiro, 2002. "A Survey of Weak Instruments and Weak Identification in Generalized Method of Moments," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(4), pages 518-529, October.
    36. Ball, Ray & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2008. "Earnings quality at initial public offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 324-349, August.
    37. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    38. Joseph D. Piotroski & T. J. Wong & Tianyu Zhang, 2015. "Political Incentives to Suppress Negative Information: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 405-459, May.
    39. Aharony, J & Lee, CWJ & Wong, TJ, 2000. "Financial packaging of IPO firms in China," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 103-126.
    40. Wang, Qian & Wong, T.J. & Xia, Lijun, 2008. "State ownership, the institutional environment, and auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 112-134, September.
    41. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    42. Jing Liu & Doron Nissim & Jacob Thomas, 2002. "Equity Valuation Using Multiples," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 135-172, March.
    43. Steven Young, 1999. "Systematic Measurement Error in the Estimation of Discretionary Accruals: An Evaluation of Alternative Modelling Procedures," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7‐8), pages 833-862, September.
    44. Kasznik, R, 1999. "On the association between voluntary disclosure and earnings management," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 57-81.
    45. K. Peasnell & P. Pope & S. Young, 2000. "Detecting earnings management using cross-sectional abnormal accruals models," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 313-326.
    46. Burgstahler, David & Dichev, Ilia, 1997. "Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 99-126, December.
    47. Jennifer Francis & Katherine Schipper & Linda Vincent, 2003. "The Relative and Incremental Explanatory Power of Earnings and Alternative (to Earnings) Performance Measures for Returns," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 121-164, March.
    48. Cohen, Daniel A. & Zarowin, Paul, 2010. "Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, May.
    49. Hunt, Alister & Moyer, Susan E. & Shevlin, Terry, 1996. "Managing interacting accounting measures to meet multiple objectives: A study of LIFO firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 339-374, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Yang & Zhang, Yifei, 2020. "Do state subsidies increase corporate environmental spending?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Denis Cormier & Daniel Coulombe & Luania Gomez Gutierrez & Bruce J. Mcconomy, 2018. "Firms in Transition: A Review of the Venture Capital, IPO, and M&A Literature," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 9-88, March.
    3. Hu, Jinshuai & Jiang, Haiyan & Holmes, Mark, 2019. "Government subsidies and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    4. Zhao, Yujie & Zhou, Donghua & Zhao, Kangsheng & Zhou, Ping, 2019. "Is the squeaky wheel getting the grease? Earnings management and government subsidies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 297-312.
    5. Jiang, Haiyan & Hu, Yuanyuan & Zhang, Honghui & Zhou, Donghua, 2018. "Benefits of Downward Earnings Management and Political Connection: Evidence from Government Subsidy and Market Pricing," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 255-273.
    6. Philip Sinnadurai & Ravichandran Subramaniam & Susela Devi & Kyungyoung Ko, 2021. "Government Subsidisation and Shareholder Wealth Impact: Evidence from Malaysia," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, August.
    7. Guanming He & Xiaorong Li & Jingbo Luo, 2023. "The impact of the Shanghai–Hong Kong stock market connection on corporate innovation: Evidence from mainland China," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 3132-3161, July.
    8. Zhanguang Chen & Qiaowan Wang & Chao Dou & Tian Liang, 2020. "Government Background Customers and Private Enterprise Innovation from the Perspective of Supply Chain Risk Transmission," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, April.
    9. 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.
    10. Xin Cui & Shouyu Yao & Zhenming Fang & Hua Wang, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty exposure and earnings management: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 3937-3976, September.
    11. Shiyuan Liu & Jiang Du & Weike Zhang & Xiaoli Tian, 2021. "Opening the box of subsidies: which is more effective for innovation?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 421-449, September.
    12. Lim, Chu Yeong & Wang, Jiwei & Zeng, Cheng (Colin), 2018. "China's “Mercantilist” Government Subsidies, the Cost of Debt and Firm Performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 37-52.
    13. Jin-hui Luo & Zeyue Huang & Ruichao Zhu, 2021. "Does media coverage help firms “lobby” for government subsidies? Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 259-290, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Shaojuan Lai & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2015. "Does Religion Mitigate Earnings Management? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 699-749, October.
    2. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    3. Nguyet T. M. Nguyen & Abdullah Iqbal & Radha K. Shiwakoti, 2022. "The context of earnings management and its ability to predict future stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 123-169, July.
    4. Athanasakou, Vasiliki & Strong, Norman & Walker, Martin, 2010. "The association between classificatory and inter-temporal smoothing: Evidence from the UK's FRS 3," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 224-257, June.
    5. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Wang, Xue, 2020. "Multiple blockholders and earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Qin, Yiyi & Cai, Jun & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2021. "Do Japanese firms systematically inflate expected rate of returns from defined benefit pension plans?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Mohamed Khalil & Sandy Harianto & Yilmaz Guney, 2022. "Do political connections reduce earnings management?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 273-310, July.
    8. Liona Lai & Henry Tam, 2017. "Corporate governance, ownership structure and managing earnings to meet critical thresholds among Chinese listed firms," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 789-818, April.
    9. Chang, Chu-Hsuan & Lin, Hsiou-Wei William, 2018. "Does there prevail momentum in earnings management for seasoned equity offering firms?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 111-129.
    10. Kuo, Jing-Ming & Ning, Lutao & Song, Xiaoqi, 2014. "The Real and Accrual-based Earnings Management Behaviors: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 101-136.
    11. Aljughaiman, Abdullah A. & Nguyen, Tam Huy & Trinh, Vu Quang & Du, Anqi, 2023. "The Covid-19 outbreak, corporate financial distress and earnings management," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Jorge Farinha & Luis Filipe Viana, 2006. "Board structure and modified audit opinions: the case of the Portuguese Stock Exchange," CEF.UP Working Papers 0609, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    13. Jean Jinghan Chen & Peng Cheng & Xinrong Xiao, 2011. "Related party transactions as a source of earnings management," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 165-181.
    14. Jean J. Chen & Haitao Zhang, 2014. "The Impact of the Corporate Governance Code on Earnings Management – Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(3), pages 596-632, June.
    15. Jun Cai & Yiyi Qin & Anxing Wang, 2018. "Earnings, Mergers And Acquisitions Under Pension Disclosure Standards," Advances in Decision Sciences, Asia University, Taiwan, vol. 22(1), pages 137-179, December.
    16. Alhadab, Mohammad & Clacher, Iain, 2018. "The impact of audit quality on real and accrual earnings management around IPOs," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 442-461.
    17. Campa, Domenico & Camacho-Miñano, María-del-Mar, 2015. "The impact of SME’s pre-bankruptcy financial distress on earnings management tools," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 222-234.
    18. Jiang, Haiyan & Hu, Yuanyuan & Zhang, Honghui & Zhou, Donghua, 2018. "Benefits of Downward Earnings Management and Political Connection: Evidence from Government Subsidy and Market Pricing," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 255-273.
    19. Mohamed Khalil & Aydin Ozkan, 2016. "Board Independence, Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Egypt," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(1), pages 84-118, April.
    20. Zhi Wang & Geert Braam & Daniel Reimsbach & Jiaxin Wang, 2020. "Political embeddedness and firms’ choices of earnings management strategies in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4723-4755, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal support; Earnings management; Financial subsidy; Income tax preference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:accoun:v:51:y:2016:i:1:p:57-84. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620179 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.