The Covid-19 outbreak, corporate financial distress and earnings management

Aljughaiman, AA, Nguyen, TH ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7170-5882, Trinh, VQ and Du, A, 2023. The Covid-19 outbreak, corporate financial distress and earnings management. International Review of Financial Analysis, 88: 102675. ISSN 1057-5219

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Abstract

This study explores the association between the Covid-19 outbreak, corporate financial distress and earnings management practices in China. We investigate whether firms took advantage of the downturn in economic conditions during the pandemic to adjust their earnings using different earnings management techniques. Utilising a sample of 1832 listed firms and underlying theoretical frameworks (i.e., positive accounting and signalling theory), we find that firms were more inclined to manage earnings during the pandemic period. They favoured using the accrual-based rather than the real activity-based earnings management technique. We also find that firms engaged more in income-increasing practices in the shadow of the outbreak. In addition, our results further demonstrate that financially distressed firms were involved in earnings management, particularly accrual-based earnings management. However, compared to privately-owned firms, state-owned enterprises seem to be involved less in earnings management during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings from this study raise some concerns for policymakers about the credibility of financial reporting information during Covid-19.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Review of Financial Analysis
Creators:	Aljughaiman, A.A., Nguyen, T.H., Trinh, V.Q. and Du, A.
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date:	July 2023
Volume:	88
ISSN:	1057-5219
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102675 DOI 1859351 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	12 Feb 2024 15:57
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2024 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/50843

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