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Options trading and earnings management: Evidence from the penny pilot program

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  • Hao, (Grace) Qing
  • Li, Keming

Abstract

Using a difference-in-differences approach that relies on the exogenous increase in options trading activity generated by the Securities and Exchange Commission's Penny Pilot Program, we find a negative causal effect of options trading on earnings management. With a reduced magnitude of discretionary accruals, the pilot firms are less likely to marginally beat earnings targets and less likely to have financial misstatements during the pilot period. Cross-sectional analysis shows that the effects are more pronounced among firms with a small or less independent board or a small audit committee. Furthermore, the pilot firms receive more market attention, and their stock price efficiency improves more than the nonpilot firms during the pilot period. The evidence is consistent with the argument that active options trading enhances market scrutiny of firms' reporting behavior, improving financial reporting quality and price efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Hao, (Grace) Qing & Li, Keming, 2022. "Options trading and earnings management: Evidence from the penny pilot program," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:77:y:2022:i:c:s092911992200133x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102290
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    3. Hendijani Zadeh, Mohammad & Jalali, Zahra, 2024. "Do options trading activities affect underlying firms' asymmetric cost behavior?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Options market; Trading volume; Earnings management; Penny pilot program; Discretionary accruals; Restatements;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

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