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Related party transactions as a source of earnings management

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  • Jean Jinghan Chen
  • Peng Cheng
  • Xinrong Xiao

Abstract

In this article, we contribute to the earnings management literature by addressing the issue of Related Party Transactions (RPTs) during a firm's Initial Public Offering (IPO) process. We regard RPT-based earnings management as a kind of agency problem in the context of Chinese IPOs, and argue that the conflicts of interests between the controlling shareholders and the minority shareholders are the root of RPT-based earnings management in Chinese IPOs. We provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that RPT-based earnings management in a portfolio of earnings management tools including accruals management, and how it affects the firm's post-IPO long-term performance in China. Using 257 Chinese A and B shares IPOs during 1999 and 2000, our empirical findings suggest that controlling shareholders structure operating RPTs in pre-IPO period and these RPTs are positively associated with firm's operating performance. The decline in operating RPTs after IPO contributes to firm's post-IPO long-term underperformance and negatively affects firms' stock return.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean Jinghan Chen & Peng Cheng & Xinrong Xiao, 2011. "Related party transactions as a source of earnings management," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 165-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apfiec:v:21:y:2011:i:3:p:165-181
    DOI: 10.1080/09603107.2010.528361
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    1. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political Connections and Related Party Transactions: Evidence from Indonesia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-63.
    2. Roy Kouwenberg & Pipat Thontirawong, 2016. "Group affiliation and earnings management of Asian IPO issuers," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 897-917, November.
    3. Mohd Mohid Rahmat & Kamran Ahmed & Gerald J. Lobo, 2020. "Related Party Transactions, Value Relevance and Informativeness of Earnings: Evidence from Four Economies in East Asia," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(01), pages 1-42, March.
    4. Chen, Ching-Lung & Chen, Chung-Yu & Weng, Pei-Yu, 2020. "Do related party transactions always deteriorate earnings informativeness?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Pier Luigi Marchini & Tatiana Mazza & Alice Medioli, 2018. "The impact of related party transactions on earnings management: some insights from the Italian context," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(4), pages 981-1014, December.
    6. Pietro Fera & Rosa Vinciguerra, 2022. "Minorities? Representativeness on the Board and their Effect on the Level of Compliance with the Italian RPTs Regulation," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(2), pages 57-88.
    7. Haiyan Jiang & Gary Tian & Donghua Zhou, 2021. "The influence of the deregulation of short‐selling on related‐party transactions: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5-6), pages 1022-1056, May.
    8. Ole-Kristian Hope & Haihao Lu & Sasan Saiy, 2019. "Director compensation and related party transactions," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1392-1426, December.
    9. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2022. "Related Party Transactions and Earnings Management: The Moderating Effect of ESG Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    10. Guang-Zheng Chen, 2020. "Related Party Transactions and Opinion Shopping," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9.
    11. El-Helaly, Moataz & Georgiou, Ifigenia & Lowe, Alan D., 2018. "The interplay between related party transactions and earnings management: The role of audit quality," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 47-60.
    12. Alhadab, Mohammad & El Diri, Malek, 2024. "Related party transactions and earnings management under the UK different regulatory environments of the main and alternative investment markets," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    13. Zhe Shen & Jerry Coakley & Norvald Instefjord, 2014. "Earnings management and IPO anomalies in China," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 69-93, January.
    14. Redhwan Ahmed Al-Dhamari & Bakr Al-Gamrh & Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail & Samihah Saad Haji Ismail, 2018. "Related party transactions and audit fees: the role of the internal audit function," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(1), pages 187-212, March.
    15. Hong Nguyen Thi Phuong & Van Loi Tran, 2020. "The impact of related parties’ trading on the listed company’s earnings management - evidence in Vietnam," Management, Sciendo, vol. 24(2), pages 181-208, December.
    16. Khushboo Gulati & Seema Gupta & C. P. Gupta, 2020. "The Transformation of Governance System: A Decade Long Experience of Corporate Governance Using Meta-analysis," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 21(3), pages 233-262, September.
    17. Chen, Guang-Zheng, 2023. "Social ties and related party transactions," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political connections, related party transactions, and auditor choice: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19.
    19. Challoner A. Matero & Hsien-Li Lee, 2024. "Impact of Outside Blockholders on Related Party Transactions and Book-tax Conformity Link," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 11(7), pages 1053-1064, July.
    20. Abdul Rasheed P C & T. Mallikarjunappa & K.T. Thomachan, 2019. "Promoter Ownership, Related Party Transactions and Firm Performance: A Study Among Selected Companies in India," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 8(3), pages 205-217, September.
    21. Zhang, Han & Li, Minghui & Yang, Yujie, 2024. "Does common institutional ownership constrain related party transactions? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 1015-1042.
    22. Abdullah Almutairi & Baban Eulaiwi & Robert Evans & Grantley Taylor, 2023. "Tax Haven Use and Related‐Party Transactions: Evidence from Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(4), pages 352-374, December.
    23. Andrikopoulos, Andreas & Merika, Anna & Merikas, Andreas & Sigalas, Christos, 2021. "Related party transactions and principal-principal conflicts in public companies: Evidence from the maritime shipping industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    24. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2020. "Related Party Transactions, State Ownership, the Cost of Corporate Debt, and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints y5qj3, Center for Open Science.

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