IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jintbs/v49y2018i5d10.1057_s41267-017-0143-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Foreign earnings management of US multinational companies: The role of decision rights

Author

Listed:
  • Jing Huang

    (Virginia Tech, Pamplin College of Business)

Abstract

US multinational corporations (MNCs) need to allocate decision rights between parent companies and subsidiaries to manage global operations. This article examines how the allocation of decision rights affects foreign earnings management of MNCs. I find that the extent of foreign earnings management increases when parents retain centralized decision rights. But internal cross-border frictions, between parents and their foreign subsidiaries, and the external local legal environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate can mitigate foreign earnings management despite parents having centralized decision rights. This study provides evidence on how the decision structures of MNCs affect where earnings are managed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Huang, 2018. "Foreign earnings management of US multinational companies: The role of decision rights," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(5), pages 552-574, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:49:y:2018:i:5:d:10.1057_s41267-017-0143-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41267-017-0143-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-017-0143-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41267-017-0143-3?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. Gallemore, John & Labro, Eva, 2015. "The importance of the internal information environment for tax avoidance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 149-167.
    2. Feng, Mei & Ge, Weili & Luo, Shuqing & Shevlin, Terry, 2011. "Why do CFOs become involved in material accounting manipulations?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 21-36.
    3. Ittner, Christopher D. & Larcker, David F., 2001. "Assessing empirical research in managerial accounting: a value-based management perspective," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 349-410, December.
    4. Sumantra Ghoshal & Nitin Nohria, 1989. "Internal differentiation within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 323-337, July.
    5. Mills, LF, 1998. "Book-tax differences and internal revenue service adjustments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 343-356.
    6. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    7. Mr. Peter B. Clark & Shang-Jin Wei & Ms. Natalia T. Tamirisa & Mr. Azim M Sadikov & Mr. Li Zeng, 2004. "A New Look at Exchange Rate Volatility and Trade Flows," IMF Occasional Papers 2004/009, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Ecker, Frank & Francis, Jennifer & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2013. "Estimation sample selection for discretionary accruals models," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 190-211.
    9. Yadong Luo & Oded Shenkar, 2006. "The multinational corporation as a multilingual community: Language and organization in a global context," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(3), pages 321-339, May.
    10. Friedman, Henry L., 2014. "Implications of power: When the CEO can pressure the CFO to bias reports," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 117-141.
    11. Lang, Mark & Smith Raedy, Jana & Wilson, Wendy, 2006. "Earnings management and cross listing: Are reconciled earnings comparable to US earnings?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 255-283, October.
    12. David Reeb & Mariko Sakakibara & Ishtiaq P Mahmood, 2012. "From the Editors: Endogeneity in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(3), pages 211-218, April.
    13. Steven Globerman & Daniel Shapiro, 2003. "Governance infrastructure and US foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(1), pages 19-39, January.
    14. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    15. John R. Graham & Michelle Hanlon & Terry Shevlin, 2011. "Real Effects of Accounting Rules: Evidence from Multinational Firms’ Investment Location and Profit Repatriation Decisions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 137-185, March.
    16. Scott D. Dyreng & Bradley P. Lindsey, 2009. "Using Financial Accounting Data to Examine the Effect of Foreign Operations Located in Tax Havens and Other Countries on U.S. Multinational Firms' Tax Rates," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 1283-1316, December.
    17. Gwen Yu & Aida Sijamic Wahid, 2014. "Accounting Standards and International Portfolio Holdings," Harvard Business School Working Papers 14-059, Harvard Business School.
    18. Patricia M. Dechow & Richard G. Sloan & Amy P. Sweeney, 1996. "Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 1-36, March.
    19. Mohsin Habib & Leon Zurawicki, 2002. "Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 291-307, June.
    20. Desai, Mihir A. & Foley, C. Fritz & Hines, James Jr., 2004. "The costs of shared ownership: Evidence from international joint ventures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 323-374, August.
    21. Harzing, Anne-Wil & Köster, Kathrin & Magner, Ulrike, 2011. "Babel in business: The language barrier and its solutions in the HQ-subsidiary relationship," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 279-287, July.
    22. Ole-Kristian Hope & Tony Kang & Wayne B Thomas & Florin Vasvari, 2009. "The effects of SFAS 131 geographic segment disclosures by US multinational companies on the valuation of foreign earnings," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(3), pages 421-443, April.
    23. Patricia M. Dechow & Amy P. Hutton & Jung Hoon Kim & Richard G. Sloan, 2012. "Detecting Earnings Management: A New Approach," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 275-334, May.
    24. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    25. Vivek Mande & Myungsoo Son, 2012. "CEO Centrality and Meeting or Beating Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1-2), pages 82-112, January.
    26. Collins, J & Kemsley, D & Lang, M, 1998. "Cross-jurisdictional income shifting and earnings valuation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 209-229.
    27. Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca & Welch, Denice & Welch, Lawrence, 1999. "In the shadow: the impact of language on structure, power and communication in the multinational," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 421-440, August.
    28. Daphne Yiu & Shige Makino, 2002. "The Choice Between Joint Venture and Wholly Owned Subsidiary: An Institutional Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(6), pages 667-683, December.
    29. Mark T. Bradshaw & Brian J. Bushee & Gregory S. Miller, 2004. "Accounting Choice, Home Bias, and U.S. Investment in Non‐U.S. Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 795-841, December.
    30. Paul Hribar & Daniel W. Collins, 2002. "Errors in Estimating Accruals: Implications for Empirical Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 105-134, March.
    31. Leslie A. Robinson & Phillip C. Stocken, 2013. "Location of Decision Rights Within Multinational Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 1261-1297, December.
    32. Kenneth J. Klassen & Stacie K. Laplante, 2012. "Are U.S. Multinational Corporations Becoming More Aggressive Income Shifters?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 1245-1285, December.
    33. Guidry, Flora & J. Leone, Andrew & Rock, Steve, 1999. "Earnings-based bonus plans and earnings management by business-unit managers1," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1-3), pages 113-142, January.
    34. Leone, Andrew J. & Rock, Steve, 2002. "Empirical tests of budget ratcheting and its effect on managers' discretionary accrual choices," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 43-67, February.
    35. Protiti Dastidar, 2009. "International corporate diversification and performance: Does firm self-selection matter?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(1), pages 71-85, January.
    36. Healy, Paul M., 1985. "The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 85-107, April.
    37. Henisz, Witold J, 2000. "The Institutional Environment for Multinational Investment," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 334-364, October.
    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. Tiemei Li & Michel Magnan & Yaqi Shi, 2022. "Governance tensions in MNCs’ accounting quality," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1641-1669, October.
    2. Stephanie Lu Wang & Dan Li, 2019. "Responding to public disclosure of corporate social irresponsibility in host countries: Information control and ownership control," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1283-1309, October.
    3. Robinson Reyes-Peña & Arun Upadhyay & Arun Kumaraswamy, 2023. "Foreign competitive pressure and inversions by U.S. multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(5), pages 829-851, July.
    4. Godsell, David & Huang, Kelly & Lao, Brent, 2023. "Managers’ rank & file employee coordination costs and real activities manipulation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Amin, Qazi Awais & Cumming, Douglas, 2021. "Blockholders and real earnings management-the emerging markets context," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Wenjing Li & Jeff Ng & Albert Tsang & Oktay Urcan, 2019. "Country-level institutions and management earnings forecasts," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 48-82, February.
    7. Awais Amin, Qazi & Cumming, Douglas, 2023. "Regulatory reforms, board independence and earnings quality," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(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. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    2. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Bouwens, Jan & Kroos, Peter, 2017. "Organization identity and earnings manipulation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-14.
    3. Badolato, Patrick G. & Donelson, Dain C. & Ege, Matthew, 2014. "Audit committee financial expertise and earnings management: The role of status," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 208-230.
    4. Theoharry Grammatikos & Nikolaos I. Papanikolaou, 2021. "Applying Benford’s Law to Detect Accounting Data Manipulation in the Banking Industry," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 59(1), pages 115-142, April.
    5. Mao, Yaping & Renneboog, Luc, 2015. "Do managers manipulate earnings prior to management buyouts?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 43-61.
    6. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Ma, Mark (Shuai) & Thomas, Wayne B., 2013. "Tax avoidance and geographic earnings disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 170-189.
    7. Bao, May Xiaoyan & Cheng, Xiaoyan & Smith, David & Tanyi, Paul, 2021. "CEO pay ratios and financial reporting quality," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    8. Lampenius, Niklas & Shevlin, Terry & Stenzel, Arthur, 2021. "Measuring corporate tax rate and tax base avoidance of U.S. Domestic and U.S. multinational firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    9. Tri Tri Nguyen & Chau Minh Duong & Sunitha Narendran, 2021. "CEO profile and earnings quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 987-1025, April.
    10. Dichev, Ilia D. & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2013. "Earnings quality: Evidence from the field," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 1-33.
    11. Bok Baik & Kwanghee Cho & Wooseok Choi & Jun-Koo Kang, 2015. "The Role of Institutional Environments in Cross-Border Mergers: A Perspective from Bidders’ Earnings Management Behavior," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(5), pages 615-646, October.
    12. Chen, Zhihong & Hope, Ole-Kristian & Li, Qingyuan & Li, Yongbo, 2024. "Offshore activities and corporate tax avoidance11We appreciate comments and suggestions from Morten Bennedsen (the editor), an anonymous reviewer, and the seminar participants at the Hong Kong Univers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    13. Jeff L. McMullin & Bryce Schonberger, 2020. "Entropy-balanced accruals," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 84-119, March.
    14. DeFond, Mark L., 2010. "Earnings quality research: Advances, challenges and future research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 402-409, December.
    15. Alina Beattrice Vladu & Oriol Amat & Dan Dacian Cuzdriorean, 2014. "Truthfulness in accounting: How to discriminate accounting manipulators from non-manipulators," Economics Working Papers 1434, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    16. Cannon, James N. & Lamboy-Ruiz, Melvin A. & Watanabe, Olena V., 2022. "Ownership type and earnings management in U.S. hospitals," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    17. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Marcus, Alan J. & Tehranian, Hassan, 2008. "Corporate governance and pay-for-performance: The impact of earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 357-373, February.
    18. Chad R. Larson & Richard Sloan & Jenny Zha Giedt, 2018. "Defining, measuring, and modeling accruals: a guide for researchers," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 827-871, September.
    19. Chen, Shenglan & Ma, Hui & Teng, Haimeng & Wu, Qiang, 2022. "Banking liberalization and corporate tax planning: Evidence from natural experiments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Jean-Louis Paré & Frédéric Demerens, 2011. "Détecter les manipulations financières en France : Le cas d'une PME cotée sur Alternext," Post-Print hal-00650559, HAL.

    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:pal:jintbs:v:49:y:2018:i:5:d:10.1057_s41267-017-0143-3. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    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.