We examine the change in the level and significance of accrual and real earnings management over the period 1996–2018. Our univariate results show that both accrual and real earnings management continue to persist, although they have significantly decreased over time. After controlling for significant factors that have been shown to affect earnings management, we find that both accrual and real-activities earnings management have significantly decreased in the short term after the regulations, but accrual earnings management reverted back to its pre-regulation levels in the long run. Further, contrary to the findings of prior research (e.g., Cohen et al. in Account Rev 83:757–787, 2008) that managers have shifted away from accruals to real earnings management in the short-term post-regulation period, we find evidence that firms actually reduced real earnings management both in the short- and long-term post-regulation periods. The results are robust to alternative sample designs and inclusion of additional control variables, and go against the widely held beliefs that accruals-based earnings management is significantly less prevalent now than it used to be.

我们研究了 1996 年至 2018 年期间应计盈余管理和实际盈余管理水平和重要性的变化。我们的单变量结果表明，应计盈余管理和实际盈余管理都继续存在，尽管随着时间的推移它们已经显着下降。在控制了已显示出影响盈余管理的重要因素后，我们发现监管后短期内应计盈余管理和实际活动盈余管理均显着下降，但应计盈余管理在监管后恢复到监管前水平。长跑。此外，与先前研究（例如 Cohen 等人在 Account Rev 83:757–787, 2008 中）的发现相反，管理者在短期后监管时期已从应计项目转向实际盈余管理，我们发现有证据表明，企业在监管后的短期和长期期间实际上减少了实际盈余管理。结果对于替代样本设计和包含额外的控制变量是稳健的，并且与基于应计项目的盈余管理现在比以前明显不那么普遍的普遍看法背道而驰。