IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jiaata/v52y2023ics1061951823000460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Boundaries of the firm and real earnings management

Author

Listed:
  • Marisetty, Vijaya Bhaskar
  • Moturi, Sairam

Abstract

Despite harmful effects, Real Earnings Management (REM) is increasingly becoming a more popular method of earnings management than Accruals based Earnings Management (AEM) (Cohen et al., 2008; Commerford et al., 2018). We argue that when a firm’s organizational structure has extended boundaries with other firms, the benefits due to REM can outweigh the costs. We use family business groups, that extend firm boundaries with other affiliated firms, for testing our conjecture. Using a large dataset of 11,417 firm-year observations of Indian firms, we show that REM is significantly higher in business group affiliated firms compared to standalone firms. Further, intra-group transactions, in the form of purchases, sales, and cash flows from operating activities, contribute to higher REM activities. More importantly, when group affiliated firms engage in intragroup transactions and report higher REM, mainly in the form of abnormal production, they experience an increase in their future profitability and a decrease in their cost of equity.

Suggested Citation

  • Marisetty, Vijaya Bhaskar & Moturi, Sairam, 2023. "Boundaries of the firm and real earnings management," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jiaata:v:52:y:2023:i:c:s1061951823000460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2023.100567
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1061951823000460
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2023.100567?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. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-74, January.
    2. repec:eme:maj000:maj-01-2016-1310 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2000. "Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 867-891, April.
    4. Pappas, Kostas & Walsh, Eamonn & Xu, Alice Liang, 2019. "Real earnings management and loan contract terms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 373-401.
    5. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Lingxiang Li, 2016. "Abnormal real operations, real earnings management, and subsequent crashes in stock prices," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 217-260, February.
    6. Singhal, Rajeev & Zhu, Yun (Ellen), 2013. "Bankruptcy risk, costs and corporate diversification," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1475-1489.
    7. Hribar, Paul & Jenkins, Nicole Thorne & Johnson, W. Bruce, 2006. "Stock repurchases as an earnings management device," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-2), pages 3-27, April.
    8. 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.
    9. Connie L. Becker & Mark L. Defond & James Jiambalvo & K.R. Subramanyam, 1998. "The Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    10. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    11. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    12. Jeong†Bon Kim & Cheong H. Yi, 2006. "Ownership Structure, Business Group Affiliation, Listing Status, and Earnings Management: Evidence from Korea," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 427-464, June.
    13. Nan Jia & Jing Shi & Yongxiang Wang, 2013. "Coinsurance Within Business Groups: Evidence from Related Party Transactions in an Emerging Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(10), pages 2295-2313, October.
    14. Michael Ryngaert & Shawn Thomas, 2012. "Not All Related Party Transactions (RPTs) Are the Same: Ex Ante Versus Ex Post RPTs," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 845-882, June.
    15. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    16. Ferris, Stephen P. & Kumar, Raman & Sarin, Atulya, 1995. "The role of corporate groupings in controlling agency conflicts: The case of keiretsu," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 3(2-3), pages 319-335, July.
    17. 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.
    18. Marianne Bertrand & Paras Mehta & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "Ferreting out Tunneling: An Application to Indian Business Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 121-148.
    19. Gopalan, Radhakrishnan & Nanda, Vikram & Seru, Amit, 2007. "Affiliated firms and financial support: Evidence from Indian business groups," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 759-795, December.
    20. Mohammad Badrul Muttakin & Arifur Khan & Dessalegn Getie Mihret, 2017. "Business group affiliation, earnings management and audit quality: evidence from Bangladesh," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4/5), pages 427-444, April.
    21. Myojung Cho & Gopal V. Krishnan, 2023. "Principles-based accounting standards and audit outcomes: empirical evidence," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 164-200, March.
    22. Aharony, Joseph & Wang, Jiwei & Yuan, Hongqi, 2010. "Tunneling as an incentive for earnings management during the IPO process in China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-26, January.
    23. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Lingxiang Li, 2016. "Abnormal real operations, real earnings management, and subsequent crashes in stock prices," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 217-260, February.
    24. Joni, Joni & Ahmed, Kamran & Hamilton, Jane, 2020. "Politically connected boards, family and business group affiliations, and cost of capital: Evidence from Indonesia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    25. Chu, Ling & Simunic, Dan A. & Ye, Minlei & Zhang, Ping, 2018. "Transaction costs and competition among audit firms in local markets," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 129-147.
    26. 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.
    27. Ahrum Choi & Byungcherl Charlie Sohn & Desmond Yuen, 2018. "Do auditors care about real earnings management in their audit fee decisions?," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1-2), pages 21-41, January.
    28. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    29. 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.
    30. Klein, Benjamin & Crawford, Robert G & Alchian, Armen A, 1978. "Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 297-326, October.
    31. Anup Srivastava, 2019. "Improving the measures of real earnings management," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1277-1316, December.
    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. Maria Angela Manzi & Antonio Netti & Christian Favino & Fabrizia Sarto, 2025. "Financial accounting in family business: a systematic literature review and future research agenda," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(1), pages 231-275, March.
    2. Ameneh Bazrafshan, 2025. "The impact of U.S. economic sanctions on corporate innovation and fraud," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(1), pages 56-74, February.

    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. Eiler, Lisa A. & Filzen, Joshua J. & Jackson, Mark & Tama-Sweet, Isho, 2021. "Real earnings management and the properties of analysts' forecasts," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    2. Cao, Zhangfan & Rees, William & Zhang, Zhifang, 2023. "The effect of real earnings smoothing on corporate labour investment," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    3. Fernando Comiran & Subprasiri Siriviriyakul, 2023. "Detecting overproduction: Evidence from inventory write‐down," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3351-3386, September.
    4. 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.
    5. Chen, Ching-Lung & Weng, Pei-Yu & Fan, Hung-Shu, 2023. "Exploring the role of excess control rights on real earnings management in family-controlled firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    6. Min Liu, 2020. "Real and accrual-based earnings management in the pre- and post- engagement partner signature requirement periods in the United Kingdom," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 1133-1161, April.
    7. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2022. "Related Party Transactions and Earnings Management: The Moderating Effect of ESG Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Michał Kałdoński & Tomasz Jewartowski, 2024. "Governance through exit: Pension fund reform impact on real earnings management of portfolio companies," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1349-1389, November.
    9. Khosa,Amrinder & Ahmed,Kamran & Henry,Darren, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Related Party Transactions, and Firm Valuation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108492195, June.
    10. Galdi, Fernando Caio & Johnson, E. Scott, 2021. "Accounting for inventory costs and real earnings management behavior," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    11. Agnihotri, Arpita & Bhattacharya, Saurabh, 2019. "Internationalization, related party transactions, and firm ownership structure: Empirical evidence from an emerging market," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 340-352.
    12. Al-Shattarat, Basiem & Hussainey, Khaled & Al-Shattarat, Wasim, 2022. "The impact of abnormal real earnings management to meet earnings benchmarks on future operating performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Li, Chihua & Tseng, Yijie & Chen, Tsung-Kang, 2016. "Top management team expertise and corporate real earnings management activities," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 117-132.
    14. Roy Kouwenberg & Pipat Thontirawong, 2016. "Group affiliation and earnings management of Asian IPO issuers," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 897-917, November.
    15. 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.
    16. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Wang, Xue, 2020. "Multiple blockholders and earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. El Diri, Malek & Lambrinoudakis, Costas & Alhadab, Mohammad, 2020. "Corporate governance and earnings management in concentrated markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 291-306.
    18. Nitai Chandra Debnath & Suman Paul Chowdhury & Safaeduzzaman Khan, 2022. "The impact of audit quality on real earnings management: evidence from Bangladesh," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 218-231, June.
    19. Huang, Wei & Goodell, John W. & Zhang, Hong, 2019. "Pre-merger management in developing markets: The role of earnings glamor," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Bansal, Shashank & Singh, Harminder, 2023. "Does market competition foster related party transactions? Evidence from emerging market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Real earnings management; Firm boundaries; Related party transactions; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:jiaata:v:52:y:2023:i:c:s1061951823000460. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-international-accounting-auditing-and-taxation .

    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.