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- Title
Managing Earnings Using Classification Shifting: Evidence from Quarterly Special Items.
- Authors
Yun Fan; Barua, Abhijit; Cready, William M.; Thomas, Wayne B.
- Abstract
McVay (2006) concludes that managers opportunistically shift core expenses to special items to inflate current core earnings, resulting in a positive relation between unexpected core earnings and income-decreasing special items. However, she further notes that this relation disappears when contemporaneous accruals are dropped from the core earnings expectations model. McVay (2006) calls for research to improve the core earnings expectations model and to provide additional cross-sectional tests of classification shifting. Using a core earnings expectations model that is not dependent on accrual special items, we show that classification shifting is more likely in the fourth quarter than in interim quarters. We also find more evidence of classification shifting when the ability of managers to manipulate accruals appears to be constrained and in meeting a range of earnings benchmarks. Overall, our evidence provides broad support for McVay's (2006) conclusion that managers engage in classification shifting. Our study also sheds new understanding of the conditions under which managers are more likely to employ classification shifting.
- Subjects
EARNINGS management; CORPORATE finance; FINANCIAL statements; ACCRUAL basis accounting; CORPORATE profits; MISLEADING financial statements
- Publication
Accounting Review, 2010, Vol 85, Issue 4, p1303
- ISSN
0001-4826
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2308/accr.2010.85.4.1303