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Abnormal Accruals and Managerial Intent: Evidence from the Timing of Merger Announcements and Completions

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  • Henock Louis
  • Amy X. Sun

Abstract

We examine acquiring managers' opportunistic reporting behavior around stock†for†stock acquisitions. Using the timing of merger announcements and completions to infer managerial intent, we show that acquirers with the most inflated earnings tend to announce mergers on Fridays, and that they manage earnings several quarters before the merger announcement date. Friday announcers exhibit a stronger negative association between pre†merger announcement abnormal accruals and post†merger announcement market performance than non†Friday announcers. This effect is driven mainly by mergers that are completed relatively quickly after they are announced. Overall, the evidence supports the notion that some acquiring managers inflate earnings prior to announcing the mergers, and time the merger announcements to exploit investor inattention.

Suggested Citation

  • Henock Louis & Amy X. Sun, 2016. "Abnormal Accruals and Managerial Intent: Evidence from the Timing of Merger Announcements and Completions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(3), pages 1101-1135, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:33:y:2016:i:3:p:1101-1135
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3846.12171
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    Cited by:

    1. Jie (Jack) He & Tingting Liu & Jeffry Netter & Tao Shu, 2020. "Expectation Management in Mergers and Acquisitions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(3), pages 1205-1226, March.
    2. Huang, Wei & Goodell, John W. & Zhang, Hong, 2019. "Pre-merger management in developing markets: The role of earnings glamor," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Chang, Eric C. & Lin, Tse-Chun & Ma, Xiaorong, 2019. "Does short-selling threat discipline managers in mergers and acquisitions decisions?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).
    4. Ephraim Kwashie Thompson & Changki Kim, 2020. "Post-M&A Performance and Failure: Implications of Time until Deal Completion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-31, April.
    5. Perafán-Peña, Héctor Fabio & Gill-de-Albornoz, Belén & Giner, Begoña, 2022. "Earnings management of target firms and deal premiums: The role of industry relatedness," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    6. Luo, Kevin & Tian, Shuairu, 2020. "The “Black Thursday” effect in Chinese stock market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    7. Shrikant P. Jategaonkar & Linda M. Lovata & Xiaoxiao Song, 2023. "Growth opportunities and earnings management by cross-listed and U.S. firms," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 47(1), pages 157-183, March.
    8. 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.

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