International Financial Reporting Standards And New Directions In Earnings Management

The fiscal market is an unpredictable torrent of information that modern organizations strive to understand. Business professionals dedicate themselves to understanding uncertain results around economic performance to improve management, reporting standards, and predict trends in financial statements. International Financial Reporting Standards and New Directions in Earnings Management is an essential reference source that discusses identifying the behavioral patterns of managers and the accounting policies they use in different opportunistic circumstances. Featuring research on topics such as earnings quality, risk reports, and investor protection, this book is ideal for regulatory authorities, accountants, impression managers, auditors, academics, students, and researchers seeking coverage on the theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies that relate to the different themes within earnings management.

This book provides researchers and scholars with a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of earnings management theory and literature. While it raises new questions for future research, the book can be also helpful to other parties who rely on financial reporting in making decisions like regulators, policy makers, shareholders, investors, and gatekeepers e.g., auditors and analysts. The book summarizes the existing literature and provides insight into new areas of research such as the differences between earnings management, fraud, earnings quality, impression management, and expectation management; the trade-off between earnings management activities; the special measures of earnings management; and the classification of earnings management motives based on a comprehensive theoretical framework.

This book provides an overview of earnings quality (EQ) in the context of financial reporting and offers suggestions for defining and measuring it. Although EQ has received increasing attention from investors, creditors, regulators, and researchers in different areas, there are various definitions of it and different approaches for its measurement. The book describes the relationship between EQ and earnings management (EM) since they can be considered related challenges, especially in the context of international financial reporting standards (IAS/IFRSs). EM occurs when managers make discretionary accounting choices that are regarded as either an efficient communication of private information to improve the informativeness of a firm’s current and future performance, or a distorting disclosure to mislead the firm’s true performance. The intentional manipulation of earnings by managers, within the limits allowed by the accounting standards, may alter the usefulness of financial reporting and lead to lower quality of earnings. The use of fair value in financial reporting has created a current debate about the impact it might have on EQ. At times, the high subjectivity in estimating fair value can allow opportunities for the exercise of management judgments and intentional bias, which can reduce the quality of financial reporting. Management discretion can result in high EM and hence in a reduction of EQ. Particularly during difficult financial periods, managers engage in EM to mask the negative effects of the turmoil, and in such circumstances accruals and earnings smoothing are attempts to reduce abnormal variations of earnings in such circumstances. This book is a valuable resource for those interested in wider perspectives on EQ and it adds to the research studies on this topic in the context of financial reporting.

Earnings management is an issue that directly affects the overall integrity and quality of financial reporting and to date, many studies have been conducted in an attempt to gain an understanding of whether firms are engaging in earnings management, why they do so, what are the motives that drive managers' discretionary behaviour, what are the economic consequences and whether investors can see through this behaviour? In this book, Chapter One reviews the developments and the trends in the contemporary earnings management research and discuss several possible avenues for future research. Chapter Two provides an overview of the most recent studies on earnings management in relation to the financial crisis and the institutional environment and firm characteristics. Chapter Three provides a description of the nowadays most commonly used methods for measuring earnings management in accounting and finance literature. Chapter Four examines earnings management and corporate social responsibility as an entrenchment strategy.

Globalization and the accompanying investment facilities available have resulted in rapid popularity for international financial reporting standards (IFRS). However, differences often exist in terms of what firms report, and once inconsistency between tax regulations and financial reporting regulations occur, differences between taxable and accounting practices are inevitable. This book introduces a new approach to corporate financial reporting by investigating goal incongruence (GING) in the context of the principal and agent (PA) setting. The authors argue that improving the method for the disclosure of information would not only increase the quality of corporate financial information and reporting but also reduce the possibility of any GING arising. This book presents the financial implications of international accounting and financial reporting standards (IAS and IFRS), presenting numerous real-life situations, cases, examples and implications to reveal how GING might influence the implementation of corporate financial reporting of profit volumes and sizes, which are the leading drivers of and widely accepted proxies for corporate financial performance.

Better analysis for more accurate international financial valuation International Financial Statement Analysis provides the most up-to-date detail for the successful assessment of company performance and financial position regardless of country of origin. The seasoned experts at the CFA Institute offer readers a rich, clear reference, covering all aspects from financial reporting mechanics and standards to understanding income and balance sheets. Comprehensive guidance toward effective analysis techniques helps readers make real-world use of the knowledge presented, with this new third edition containing the most current standards and methods for the post-crisis world. Coverage includes the complete statement analysis process, plus information on income tax accounting, employee compensation, and the impact of foreign exchange rates on the statements of multinational corporations. Financial statement analysis gives investment professionals important insights into the true financial condition of a company. With it, realistic valuations can be made for investment, lending, or merger and acquisition purposes. The process is becoming increasingly complex, but this book helps readers deal with the practical challenges that arise at the international level. Understand the accounting mechanics behind financial reporting Discover the differences between statements from around the world Learn how each financial statement element affects securities valuation Master analysis for clues into operations and risk characteristics Amid an uncertain global economic climate, in today's volatile international markets, the ability to effectively evaluate financial statements is a critical skill. Standards and conditions are continuously evolving, and investment professionals need a strong, up-to-date resource for the latest rules and best practices. International Financial Statement Analysis provides this and more, with clarity and expert advice.

Contributions to International Accounting aims to address a vital gap in research by focusing on providing relevant and timely studies on International Financial Reporting Standards implementation for local and international policymakers.