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An examination of real activities management and corporate cash holdings

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  • Greiner, Adam J.

Abstract

I examine the relation between aggressive income increasing real activities management (RAM) and corporate cash holdings. Motivated by Jensen's (1986) concerns about free cash flows, I investigate whether aggressive cuts in discretionary expenditures are associated with higher levels and changes of cash holdings. Using empirical models from prior research, I document that aggressive income increasing RAM is associated with higher cash holdings and this positive association is stronger in weakly governed firms. I also find that weakly governed firms with aggressive income increasing RAM and high levels of cash tend to spend more on future investments, suggesting an effort to reduce accumulated cash and increase real assets under control. My results are robust to endogeneity, additional control variables, and alternative design choices. Evidence in this study provides a link between corporate cash holdings and aggressive cuts in discretionary expenses that allow managers to report higher earnings, indicating that efforts to achieve financial reporting objectives have implications for cash management.

Suggested Citation

  • Greiner, Adam J., 2017. "An examination of real activities management and corporate cash holdings," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 79-90.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:39:y:2017:i:c:p:79-90
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2017.10.002
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    Cited by:

    1. William Grieser & Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2021. "Doing good when doing well: evidence on real earnings management," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 906-932, September.
    2. Safaa Alsmadi & Ahmad Alkhataybeh & Mohammad Ziad Shakhatreh, 2022. "Corporate cash holdings and disclosure violations: an empirical investigation of Jordanian listed companies," Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 568-580, January.
    3. Farinha, Jorge & Mateus, Cesario & Soares, Nuno, 2018. "Cash holdings and earnings quality: evidence from the Main and Alternative UK markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 238-252.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Real activities management; Cash holdings; Corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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