arrow
Return

Performance shocks and misreporting

delete2013-07-01
delete40
PRE
AI
J
Joseph Gerakos *
A
Andrei Kovrijnykh
DOI:10.1016/j.jacceco.2013.04.001delete
deleteOriginal
deleteOriginal request for help
deleteShare
deleteSave
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
We propose a parsimonious stochastic model of reported earnings that links misreporting to performance shocks. Our main analytical prediction is that misreporting leads to a negative second-order autocorrelation in the residuals from a regression of current earnings on lagged earnings. We also propose a stylized dynamic model of earnings manipulation and demonstrate that both earnings smoothing and target-beating considerations result in the same predictions of negative second-order autocorrelations. Empirically, we find that the distribution of this measure is asymmetric around zero with 27% of the firms having significantly negative estimates. Using this measure, we specify a methodology to estimate the intensity of misreporting and to create estimates of unmanipulated earnings. Our estimates of unmanipulated earnings are more correlated with contemporaneous returns and have higher volatility than reported earnings. With respect to economic magnitude, we find that, in absolute terms, median misreporting is 0.7% of total assets. Moreover, firms in our sample subject to SEC AAERs have significantly higher estimates of manipulation intensity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Earnings management

Journal

Journal of Accounting and Economics cover
Journal of Accounting and Economics
IF:
6.8
Papers:
1.5K
Citations:
1.7W

Organization

U
university of chicago
Scholars:
4.4W
Papers: 3.7W
Citations: 80