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Unexpected Accruals and Conditional Accounting Conservatism

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  • Jinhan Pae

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of management discretion over accruals on conditional accounting conservatism, defined as the tendency of accountants to recognize bad news on a timelier basis than good news. Prior research suggests that conditional accounting conservatism reflected in earnings is mainly due to the accrual component of earnings, not the cash flow component of earnings. After decomposing total accruals into expected and unexpected accruals, I find that (1) conditional accounting conservatism reflected in accruals is mainly due to unexpected accruals; (2) the negative association between unconditional and conditional accounting conservatism is mainly attributable to unexpected accruals; and (3) firms with higher leverage exhibit conditionally more conservative accounting primarily through unexpected accruals. These results are robust to accrual models that take into account the systematic association between accruals and cash flows and their non‐linearity and to the asymmetric persistence of earnings changes specification of conditional accounting conservatism. Taken together, these results suggest that managers exercise their discretion over accruals to expedite the recognition of bad news rather than good news.

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  • Jinhan Pae, 2007. "Unexpected Accruals and Conditional Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5‐6), pages 681-704, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jbfnac:v:34:y:2007:i:5-6:p:681-704
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.2007.02018.x
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    1. Robert E. Houmes & Terrance R. Skantz, 2010. "Highly Valued Equity and Discretionary Accruals," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1‐2), pages 60-92, January.
    2. Christoph Kaserer & Carmen Klingler, 2008. "The Accrual Anomaly Under Different Accounting Standards - Lessons Learned from the German Experiment," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(7-8), pages 837-859.
    3. Chang, Chu-Hsuan & Lin, Hsiou-Wei William, 2018. "Does there prevail momentum in earnings management for seasoned equity offering firms?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 111-129.
    4. William Beaver & Bradford Cornell & Wayne R. Landsman & Stephen R. Stubben, 2008. "The Impact of Analysts' Forecast Errors and Forecast Revisions on Stock Prices," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5‐6), pages 709-740, June.
    5. M. Humayun Kabir & Fawzi Laswad, 2014. "The Behaviour of Earnings, Accruals and Impairment Losses of Failed New Zealand Finance Companies," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 24(3), pages 262-275, September.
    6. Nguyet T. M. Nguyen & Abdullah Iqbal & Radha K. Shiwakoti, 2022. "The context of earnings management and its ability to predict future stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 123-169, July.
    7. Lawrence, Alastair & Sloan, Richard & Sun, Yuan, 2013. "Non-discretionary conservatism: Evidence and implications," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 112-133.
    8. Christoph Kaserer & Carmen Klingler, 2008. "The Accrual Anomaly Under Different Accounting Standards – Lessons Learned from the German Experiment," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(7‐8), pages 837-859, September.
    9. Nguyen, Hang Thu & Alphonse, Pascal & Nguyen, Hiep Manh, 2022. "Financial distress and the accrual anomaly," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).

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