Interpreting the decades of earnings management
Purpose
The present article aims at systematizing the literature on EM that spans over three decades (1987–2023) to analyze the growth and development in the EM research following changes in reporting standards, economic conditions and legislations over the period.
Design/methodology/approach
The study covers 3,742 articles on earnings management (EM) indexed in SCOPUS and the Web of Science databases from 1987 to 2023. The study aims at the systematization of bibliometric data using R Studio, Biblioshiny and VOS Viewer software.
Findings
The study reveals that the research in the pre-SOX era gave more thrust to the development of cross-sectional models for the detection of accrual EM proxies, whereas research on EM had shifted to managerial discretions based on real transactions in the post-SOX era. Later, in the post-GFC era, the focus of EM research was redefined towards investor protection due to the collapse of the global economy that led to the erosion of investors’ wealth. In the modern era, research on EM focuses on ethical aspects such as CSR compliance, ESG framework and so on.
Practical implications
The findings of the study will aid the policymakers in addressing the EM based on real transactions and also incorporate the variations and changes in multiple green reporting standards to ensure fairness and transparency in reported figures.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature by quadrisecting the entire research on earnings management to analyze the growth and development in EM research and makes novel suggestions that future research on earnings management can be expanded towards the role of non-financial disclosure in managerial discretions and also the insider biases in green reporting.
Top-30
Journals
|
1
|
|
|
American Journal of Business
1 publication, 100%
|
|
|
1
|
Publishers
|
1
|
|
|
Emerald
1 publication, 100%
|
|
|
1
|
- We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
- Statistics recalculated weekly.