Earnings and cash flow management using classification shifting: a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review

Purpose - This study aims to analyze the progress being made in the classification-shifting literature and provides opportunities for future research. Design/methodology/approach - Using a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review, this study analyzes 92 selected articles from reputable journals in the Scopus database. Findings - This study shows the progress of existing studies into the conceptual framework of classification shifting (CS), determinants and consequences and the development of methods to detect it. The authors find that the emerging themes in CS literature are female chief executive officers. The motivation for the income-increasing CS and the proposition of opportunistic for CS still dominate the focus of previous studies. The authors provide suggestions for improving the literature on the determinants and consequences of CS. If compared to determinants of CS, studies focusing on the consequences of CS are still scarce. They need to address endogeneity problems. The authors also find that the revenue-shifting methods still need to be validated to determine whether they can influence investor’s valuations. The results show that further studies should rule out the alternative mechanisms that affect abnormal core earnings and cash flows from operations. Originality/value - Although the CS issue has attracted the attention of regulators and researchers for nearly two decades, there is no literature review study focusing on CS. Thus, this study fills the gap in the literature by synthesizing the abundant but fragmented evidence of CS and providing suggestions to advance the CS literature.