The Investigation of Earning Management Effects on Earning Quality in Firms Under Financial Crises

Abstract

This paper analyzes earning management in firms under financial crises and its effects on earning quality compared with other firms during 2005-2010, using the data of 32 firms under financial crises and 82 other firms to test research hypothesis. The Iranian commercial Act of 141 is used to identify firms under financial crises. The findings show that the firms under financial crises through accrual manipulation and by real activities manipulating have managed earnings more than other firms, in four years before the begining of financial crises. Accounting and real activities manipulations are analyzed, using Kasznik, (1999), discretionary accruals model, and Roychowdhury, (2006), abnormal cash flow model, respectively. In the next step the impact of managed earning on the earning quality has been assessed by conditional conservatism criterion. Ball and Shivakumar (2005) model is used to measure conditional conservatism.Conditional conservatism tests show that, both groups of firms engage in aggressive accounting methods, and that in spite of the existence of more earning management in the firms under financial crises in comparison with other firms, there is not any difference between earning quality of firms with financial crises and other firms.

Keywords

• financial crises
• earning management
• discretionary accruals
• conditional conservatism