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How Do Financial Constraints Relate to Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence from Seasoned Equity Offerings

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  • Ahmet C. Kurt

Abstract

This paper examines how constraints on firms’ financing capacity relate to managers’ discretionary accounting choices. Three hypotheses of earnings management – the opportunism hypothesis, the rational expectations hypothesis, and the signaling hypothesis – predict that constrained firms engage in greater upward earnings management than unconstrained firms when selling equity. Using a sample of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) announced between 1983 and 2014, I find support for this prediction. The relation between financial constraints and earnings management is robust to including controls such as offer size, growth opportunities, analyst following, and chief executive officer equity holdings, as well as to using the instrumental variable approach. Investors’ reaction around and following the SEO announcement supports the rational expectations hypothesis. I find that aggressive earnings management by constrained issuers is associated with lower SEO announcement returns but is not followed by negative abnormal returns in the long run. The evidence suggests that constrained issuers’ aggressive use of income-increasing accruals is an outcome of managerial myopia caused by capital market pressure, not managerial opportunism intended to mislead investors.

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  • Ahmet C. Kurt, 2018. "How Do Financial Constraints Relate to Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence from Seasoned Equity Offerings," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 527-557, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:27:y:2018:i:3:p:527-557
    DOI: 10.1080/09638180.2017.1279556
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    Cited by:

    1. Malik, Muhammad Farhan & Nowland, John & Buckby, Sherrena, 2021. "Voluntary adoption of board risk committees and financial constraints risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Roland Königsgruber & Pietro Perotti & Oliver Schinnerl & Fanis Tsoligkas & David Windisch, 2021. "Product Market Competition and Firms’ Disclosure of Cross‐segment Differences in Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(4), pages 709-736, December.
    3. Min-Rui Choo & Chih-Wei Wang & Chi Yin & Jie-Lun Li, 2021. "Managerial Ability and External Financing," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 28(2), pages 207-241, June.
    4. Gao, Shenghao & Liu, Jinzhao & Zhang, Qi & Zhou, Jun, 2023. "Stock hyping before auction-style SEOs: Are primary market investors misled?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 123-140.
    5. Samuel Jebaraj Benjamin, 2019. "The Effect of Financial Constraints on Audit Fees," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 27(2), pages 59-87.
    6. Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Yixuan Qin & Chengsi Zhang, 2022. "Financial structure and earnings manipulation activities in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2593-2621, August.
    7. Abdulaziz Mohammed Alsahlawi & Kaouther Chebbi & Mohammed Abdullah Ammer, 2021. "The Impact of Environmental Sustainability Disclosure on Stock Return of Saudi Listed Firms: The Moderating Role of Financial Constraints," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Birca Aliona & Grigoroi Lilia & Mihai Olesia, 2024. "Accounting In The Context Of Corporate Governance: Empirical Study Based On Companies Listed On The Bucharest Stock Exchange," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 4, pages 86-100, August.
    9. Mabel D. Costa & Ahsan Habib & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, 2021. "Financial constraints and asymmetric cost behavior," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 33-83, March.
    10. Chen, Mengtao, 2024. "ESG performance and firm misconduct: Evidence from R&D manipulation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    11. Mertzanis, Charilaos & Marashdeh, Hazem & Houcine, Asma, 2024. "Do financing constraints affect the financial integrity of firms?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 220-240.
    12. Liu, Chengyun & Su, Kun & Zhang, Miaomiao, 2021. "Water disclosure and financial reporting quality for social changes: Empirical evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    13. Ammar Hussain & Minhas Akbar & Muhmmad Kaleem Khan & Marcela Sokolová & Ahsan Akbar, 2022. "The Interplay of Leverage, Financing Constraints and Real Earnings Management: A Panel Data Approach," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, May.
    14. Li, Xiafei & Luo, Di, 2019. "Financial constraints, stock liquidity, and stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

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