IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intfin/v80y2022ics1042443122001135.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Insider trading restrictions and real activities earnings management: International evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Hu, Fang
  • Kusnadi, Yuanto
  • Wang, Jiwei
  • Wang, Yujie

Abstract

We examine the implications of insider trading restrictions on firms’ real activities earnings management in an international setting. Using a sample of 28 countries over the period from 1992 to 2007, we find evidence that is supportive of the substitution hypothesis, in that managers have incentives to substitute accruals earnings management for real activities earnings management. This effect is found to be more pronounced for firms in countries with more restrictive insider trading regulation. Our result is robust to alternative measures of real activities earnings management and insider trading restrictions, alternative sub-samples, alternative regression specifications, and controlling for endogeneity. In addition, we find that the positive association between insider trading restrictions and the substitution effect is more prominent for firms in countries with strong institutional infrastructure. Overall, our results are important in highlighting the role of insider trading restrictions in shaping corporate financial reporting policies. In particular, we find strong evidence to suggest that the extent of restriction of such laws influence managerial incentives to engage in earnings manipulation through real activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Fang & Kusnadi, Yuanto & Wang, Jiwei & Wang, Yujie, 2022. "Insider trading restrictions and real activities earnings management: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:80:y:2022:i:c:s1042443122001135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2022.101641
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1042443122001135
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intfin.2022.101641?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2006. "What Works in Securities Laws?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 1-32, February.
    2. Utpal Bhattacharya & Hazem Daouk, 2002. "The World Price of Insider Trading," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 75-108, February.
    3. Denis, David J. & Xu, Jin, 2013. "Insider trading restrictions and top executive compensation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 91-112.
    4. Ivy Xiying Zhang & Yong Zhang, 2018. "Insider Trading Restrictions and Insiders’ Supply of Information: Evidence from Earnings Smoothing," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(2), pages 898-929, June.
    5. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    6. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    7. Laura Nyantung Beny, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Matter? Some Preliminary Comparative Evidence," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp741, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    8. Dechow, Patricia M. & Kothari, S. P. & L. Watts, Ross, 1998. "The relation between earnings and cash flows," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 133-168, May.
    9. Enomoto, Masahiro & Kimura, Fumihiko & Yamaguchi, Tomoyasu, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management: An international comparison for investor protection," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 183-198.
    10. Katherine A. Gunny, 2010. "The Relation Between Earnings Management Using Real Activities Manipulation and Future Performance: Evidence from Meeting Earnings Benchmarks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 855-888, September.
    11. Julan Du & Shang-Jin Wei, 2004. "Does Insider Trading Raise Market Volatility?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(498), pages 916-942, October.
    12. Nuno Fernandes & Miguel A. Ferreira, 2009. "Insider Trading Laws and Stock Price Informativeness," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(5), pages 1845-1887, May.
    13. Djankov, Simeon & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2008. "The law and economics of self-dealing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 430-465, June.
    14. Ahrum Choi & Jong‐Hag Choi & Byungcherl Charlie Sohn, 2018. "The Joint Effect of Audit Quality and Legal Regimes on the Use of Real Earnings Management: International Evidence," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(4), pages 2225-2257, December.
    15. Beatriz Garcia Osma & Elvira Scarlat & Karin Shields, 2020. "Insider trading restrictions and earnings management," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 205-237, April.
    16. Cohen, Daniel A. & Zarowin, Paul, 2010. "Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, May.
    17. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    18. Robert M. Bushman & Joseph D. Piotroski & Abbie J. Smith, 2005. "Insider Trading Restrictions and Analysts' Incentives to Follow Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 35-66, February.
    19. Ball, Ray & Kothari, S. P. & Robin, Ashok, 2000. "The effect of international institutional factors on properties of accounting earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-51, February.
    20. Anup Srivastava, 2019. "Improving the measures of real earnings management," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1277-1316, December.
    21. Jayaraman, Sudarshan, 2012. "The effect of enforcement on timely loss recognition: Evidence from insider trading laws," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 77-97.
    22. Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2015. "Insider trading restrictions and corporate risk-taking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 125-142.
    23. Laura Nyantung Beny, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Matter? Some Preliminary Comparative Evidence," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 7(1), pages 144-183.
    24. Braam, Geert & Nandy, Monomita & Weitzel, Utz & Lodh, Suman, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management and political connections," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 111-141.
    25. Bushman, Robert M. & Piotroski, Joseph D., 2006. "Financial reporting incentives for conservative accounting: The influence of legal and political institutions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 107-148, October.
    26. Fangzhao Zhou & Lei Wang & Zenan Zhang & Yunbi An, 2018. "The impacts of accrual-based and real earnings management on executive compensation: evidence from Chinese public firms in the private sector," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1-2), pages 128-144, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sakariyahu, Rilwan & Johan, Sofia & Lawal, Rodiat & Paterson, Audrey & Chatzivgeri, Eleni, 2023. "Dynamic connectedness between investors’ sentiment and asset prices: A comparison between major markets in Europe and USA," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2015. "Insider trading restrictions and corporate risk-taking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 125-142.
    2. Ahsan Habib & Dinithi Ranasinghe & Julia Yonghua Wu & Pallab Kumar Biswas & Fawad Ahmad, 2022. "Real earnings management: A review of the international literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4279-4344, December.
    3. Jiang, Haiyan & Habib, Ahsan & Wang, Snow, 2018. "Real Earnings Management, Institutional Environment, and Future Operating Performance: An International Study," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 33-53.
    4. Mohamed Khalil & Sandy Harianto & Yilmaz Guney, 2022. "Do political connections reduce earnings management?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 273-310, July.
    5. Masahiro Enomoto, 2018. "Cross-Country Research on Earnings Quality: A Literature Review and Future Opportunities," Discussion Paper Series DP2018-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Oct 2020.
    6. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    7. Oz, Ibrahim Onur & Yelkenci, Tezer, 2018. "Examination of real and accrual earnings management: A cross-country analysis of legal origin under IFRS," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 24-37.
    8. Fauver, Larry & Loureiro, Gilberto & Taboada, Alvaro G., 2017. "The impact of regulation on information quality and performance around seasoned equity offerings: International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 73-98.
    9. Yang, Jingwen & Hemmings, Danial & Jaafar, Aziz & Jackson, Richard H.G., 2022. "The real earnings management gap between private and public firms: Evidence from Europe," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    10. Li, Ting & Zaiats, Nataliya, 2017. "Information environment and earnings management of dual class firms around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-23.
    11. Enomoto, Masahiro & Kimura, Fumihiko & Yamaguchi, Tomoyasu, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management: An international comparison for investor protection," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 183-198.
    12. Viana, Jr., Dante Baiardo C. & Lourenço, Isabel & Black, Ervin L. & Martins, Orleans Silva, 2023. "Macroeconomic instability, institutions, and earnings management: An analysis in developed and emerging market countries," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    13. Karan Gandhi, 2024. "Real earnings management’s effects on performance in firms reaching the loss avoidance threshold: indian evidence after controlling for variations in firm’s competitive strategy," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 51(3), pages 369-395, September.
    14. Daniel Cohen & Shailendra Pandit & Charles E. Wasley & Tzachi Zach, 2020. "Measuring Real Activity Management†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(2), pages 1172-1198, June.
    15. Karampinis, Nikolaos & Vlismas, Orestes & Ballas, Apostolos, 2024. "Business strategy, earnings properties, and earnings quality," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    16. Chen, Zhihong & Huang, Yuan & Kusnadi, Yuanto & John Wei, K.C., 2017. "The real effect of the initial enforcement of insider trading laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 687-709.
    17. Kałdoński, Michał & Jewartowski, Tomasz & Mizerka, Jacek, 2020. "Capital market pressure, real earnings management, and institutional ownership stability - Evidence from Poland," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Davis, Frederick & Khadivar, Hamed, 2024. "Accrual and real earnings management by rumored takeover targets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    19. Igor Goncharov & Allan Hodgson & Suntharee Lhaopadchan & Sonia Sanabria, 2013. "Asymmetric trading by insiders – comparing abnormal returns and earnings prediction in Spain and Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(1), pages 163-184, March.
    20. Karan Gandhi, 2020. "Real earnings management practices for meeting earnings benchmarks: Indian evidence," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 47(3), pages 265-291, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insider trading laws; Real earnings management; Substitution effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:80:y:2022:i:c:s1042443122001135. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/intfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.