IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlawec/v51y2008i4p619-639.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Legal Inforcement, Short Maturity Debt, and the Incentive to Manage Earnings

Author

Listed:
  • Manu Gupta
  • Inder K. Khurana
  • Raynolde Pereira

Abstract

Prior research contends that weak legal regimes discourage lender enforcement of contracts by making it either costly or ineffective. However, Diamond observes that this lender passivity can be overcome by structuring debt as a short-term loan. His argument is that an arrival of bad news in the presence of short-term debt can result in externalities that will trigger a run on the firm and that this in turn creates ex ante incentives for lenders to enforce their contracts. We examine whether short-term debt creates an incentive for borrowers to delay the recognition of bad news through earnings management. Using a sample of firm-level data from 33 countries over a 10-year period, we find that short-term debt induces greater earnings management. This impact of short-term debt is especially greater in countries with weak legal regimes. This evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that borrowers will manage earnings to circumvent lender enforcement. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation

  • Manu Gupta & Inder K. Khurana & Raynolde Pereira, 2008. "Legal Inforcement, Short Maturity Debt, and the Incentive to Manage Earnings," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(4), pages 619-639, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:v:51:y:2008:i:4:p:619-639
    DOI: 10.1086/590128
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/590128
    File Function: link to full text
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/590128?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. Douglas W. Diamond & Philip H. Dybvig, 2000. "Bank runs, deposit insurance, and liquidity," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 24(Win), pages 14-23.
    2. Kornai, J, 1979. "Resource-Constrained versus Demand-Constrained Systems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(4), pages 801-819, July.
    3. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    4. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    5. Shane A. Johnson, 2003. "Debt Maturity and the Effects of Growth Opportunities and Liquidity Risk on Leverage," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 209-236.
    6. Core, John E, 2000. "The Directors' and Officers' Insurance Premium: An Outside Assessment of the Quality of Corporate Governance," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 449-477, October.
    7. Reynolds, J. Kenneth & Francis, Jere R., 2000. "Does size matter? The influence of large clients on office-level auditor reporting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 375-400, December.
    8. Stohs, Mark Hoven & Mauer, David C, 1996. "The Determinants of Corporate Debt Maturity Structure," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 69(3), pages 279-312, July.
    9. Stijn Claessens & Leora F. Klapper, 2005. "Bankruptcy around the World: Explanations of Its Relative Use," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 253-283.
    10. Dechow, Patricia M. & Kothari, S. P. & L. Watts, Ross, 1998. "The relation between earnings and cash flows," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 133-168, May.
    11. Levine, Ross, 2002. "Bank-Based or Market-Based Financial Systems: Which Is Better?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 398-428, October.
    12. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Skinner, Douglas J., 1994. "Accounting choice in troubled companies," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 113-143, January.
    13. 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.
    14. Stijn Claessens & Luc Laeven, 2003. "Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2401-2436, December.
    15. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1999. "Institutions, financial markets, and firm debt maturity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 295-336, December.
    16. Barber, Brad M. & Lyon, John D., 1996. "Detecting abnormal operating performance: The empirical power and specification of test statistics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 359-399, July.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. Mark L. Defond & Mingyi Hung, 2004. "Investor Protection and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Worldwide CEO Turnover," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 269-312, May.
    20. Guedes, Jose & Opler, Tim, 1996. "The Determinants of the Maturity of Corporate Debt Issues," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(5), pages 1809-1833, December.
    21. Douglas W. Diamond, 2004. "Presidential Address, Committing to Commit: Short-term Debt When Enforcement Is Costly," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(4), pages 1447-1479, August.
    22. Subramanyam, K. R., 1996. "The pricing of discretionary accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1-3), pages 249-281, October.
    23. Mayer,Colin & Vives,Xavier (ed.), 1993. "Capital Markets and Financial Intermediation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521443975, October.
    24. Sweeney, Amy Patricia, 1994. "Debt-covenant violations and managers' accounting responses," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 281-308, May.
    25. Dechow, Patricia M., 1994. "Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance : The role of accounting accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-42, July.
    26. 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.
    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. Fung, Simon Y.K. & Goodwin, John, 2013. "Short-term debt maturity, monitoring and accruals-based earnings management," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 67-82.
    2. Gupta, Manu & Prakash, Puneet & Rangan, Nanda K., 2017. "Determinants of underwriting spreads internationally: Evidence from SEOs," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-22.
    3. Laura Arnedo & Fermín Lizarraga & Santiago Sánchez, 2012. "The role of accounting accruals for the prediction of future cash flows: evidence from Spain," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 499-520, December.
    4. Liem Nguyen Thanh & Trung Trinh Quoc & Khuong Nguyen Vinh & Thuy Cao Thi Mien, 2022. "Is short term debt maturity linked to real earning management?," Management, Sciendo, vol. 26(1), pages 189-203, January.
    5. Ammar Hussain & Minhas Akbar & Muhmmad Kaleem Khan & Marcela Sokolová & Ahsan Akbar, 2022. "The Interplay of Leverage, Financing Constraints and Real Earnings Management: A Panel Data Approach," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Riccardo Palumbo & Pierangelo Rosati, 2022. "Exploring the Relationship between New Bank Debt and Earnings Management: Evidence from Italian SMEs," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Wu, Julia Yonghua & Opare, Solomon & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin & Habib, Ahsan, 2022. "Determinants and consequences of debt maturity structure: A systematic review of the international literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Huai Zhang & Jin Zhang, 2023. "Political corruption and accounting choices," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 443-481, March.
    9. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Lemma, Tesfaye T. & Negash, Minga & Mlilo, Mthokozisi & Lulseged, Ayalew, 2018. "Institutional ownership, product market competition, and earnings management: Some evidence from international data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 151-163.

    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. 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.
    2. Filip, Andrei & Raffournier, Bernard, 2014. "Financial Crisis And Earnings Management: The European Evidence," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 455-478.
    3. Juan García Lara & Beatriz Osma & Evi Neophytou, 2009. "Earnings quality in ex‐post failed firms," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 119-138.
    4. Dichev, Ilia D. & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2013. "Earnings quality: Evidence from the field," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 1-33.
    5. 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.
    6. Ammar Abid & Muhammad Shaique & Muhammad Anwar ul Haq, 2018. "Do Big Four Auditors Always Provide Higher Audit Quality? Evidence from Pakistan," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-22, June.
    7. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Wang, Xue, 2020. "Multiple blockholders and earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Yixuan Qin & Chengsi Zhang, 2022. "Financial structure and earnings manipulation activities in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2593-2621, August.
    9. Anagnostopoulou, Seraina C. & Tsekrekos, Andrianos E., 2013. "Do firms that wish to be acquired manage their earnings? Evidence from major European countries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 57-68.
    10. David Folsom & Paul Hribar & Richard D. Mergenthaler & Kyle Peterson, 2017. "Principles-Based Standards and Earnings Attributes," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(8), pages 2592-2615, August.
    11. Fung, Simon Y.K. & Goodwin, John, 2013. "Short-term debt maturity, monitoring and accruals-based earnings management," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 67-82.
    12. 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.
    13. Marra, Antonio & Mazzola, Pietro & Prencipe, Annalisa, 2011. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management Pre- and Post-IFRS," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 205-230, June.
    14. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-76.
    15. 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.
    16. Sam Bock Park & Sung-Kyoo Kim & Sangryul Lee, 2021. "Earnings Management of Insolvent Firms and the Prediction of Corporate Defaults via Discretionary Accruals," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-24, March.
    17. Reguera Alvarado, Nuria & Laffarga Briones, Joaquina & de Fuentes Ruiz, Pilar, 2015. "Modelos de gestión de resultados: un estudio transnacional," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 11-19.
    18. Florian Kiy & Theresa Zick, 2020. "Effects of declining bank health on borrowers’ earnings quality: evidence from the European sovereign debt crisis," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(4), pages 615-673, May.
    19. Zhijun Lin & Ming Liu & Carlos Noronha, 2016. "The Impact of Corporate Governance on Informative Earnings Management in the Chinese Market," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(3), pages 568-609, September.
    20. Maria Tsipouridou & Charalambos Spathis, 2014. "Audit opinion and earnings management: Evidence from Greece," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 38-54, March.

    More about this item

    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:ucp:jlawec:v:51:y:2008:i:4:p:619-639. 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: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLE .

    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.