Ce travail de recherche apporte une contribution à l’étude de la gestion des données comptables et à sa mise en évidence lors de l’utilisation du référentiel IFRS. L’objet de recherche se découpe en deux questions, le changement de référentiel comptable est-il source de plus de manipulation comptable et quels sont les moyens de mettre en évidence la manipulation comptable des comptes établis en normes IFRS ? Notre chapitre liminaire expose le contexte de la création et de l’implémentation des normes IFRS. Le chapitre 1 témoigne de leur impact sur les indicateurs de gestion des comptes consolidés des sociétés françaises cotées. Le chapitre 2 étudie le comportement des accruals à l’approche des seuils comptables, et la possible manipulation comptable des résultats. Le chapitre 3 est une étude approfondie des accruals discrétionnaires comme moyen de manipuler les données comptables. / This research aims to contribute to the study of the management of the accounting data and to its derivative using the IFRS standards. Two research questions are emerging: is the change of accounting standards a source of more accounting manipulation and what are the ways to highlight the accounting manipulation of accounts established in IFRS standards? Our introductory chapter sets out the context of the creation and the implementation of IFRS. Chapter 1 highlights their impact on the consolidated accounts of listed French companies’ management indicators. Chapter 2 studies the behavior of the accruals closed the accounting thresholds, and the possible accounting manipulation of results. Chapter 3 is a comprehensive study of the accruals discretionary to manipulate accounting data.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-12-20T16:38:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Kélim Bernardes Sprenger_.pdf: 631926 bytes, checksum: 252828806d3d6757ac0475db132cf8b0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-20T16:38:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kélim Bernardes Sprenger_.pdf: 631926 bytes, checksum: 252828806d3d6757ac0475db132cf8b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-18 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Tendo em vista que o resultado de uma entidade impacta na decisão dos investidores, no mercado e na administração da empresa, determinados gestores podem se utilizar da discricionariedade no processo de mensuração e evidenciação contábil para gerenciar os resultados. Visando compreender as circunstâncias que estão atreladas à essa prática no Brasil, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar a relação entre as características do Chief Executive Officer (CEO) e o gerenciamento de resultados em empresas listadas na BM&FBovespa. Para a consecução deste estudo, foram coletadas as informações do CEO de cada empresa, como idade, gênero, experiência anterior, nível de escolaridade e área de formação, bem como sua forma de eleição e os cargos por ele ocupados, no período de 2010 a 2015, por meio do Formulário de Referência. Para detectar o gerenciamento de resultados, foram utilizados os modelos de Jones (1991) e de Jones Modificado (1995), cujos resíduos representam os accruals discricionários, vistos pela literatura como proxy do gerenciamento de resultados. Dessa forma, para cada empresa e em cada ano, foram estimados os accruals discricionários e estes foram considerados como a variável dependente de uma regressão múltipla elaborada para estabelecer uma relação entre as características do CEO e o gerenciamento de resultados. Os dados foram organizados e estimados em poll de cross section. Os principais resultados indicam que quanto maior a medida de remuneração por desempenho (MRD) do CEO, menor será o uso de accruals discricionários na empresa e, consequentemente, haverá menor nível de gerenciamento de resultados. Também se verificou que há relação entre a idade e o gênero do CEO com o gerenciamento de resultados, indicando que quanto maior a idade do CEO, menor é o gerenciamento de resultados e que os homens fazem mais uso dos accruals discricionários. Identificou-se ainda que as empresas cujo controle acionário é estrangeiro estão menos relacionadas com o gerenciamento de resultados. / Considering that the outcome of a company affects the investors’ decision in the market and in the company’s management, some managers may use the discretion in the measurement and accounting disclosure process to manage the results. To further understand the circumstances linked to this practice in Brazil, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between the characteristics of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and earnings management in companies listed on the BM&FBovespa. To achieve this study, each company CEO’s information was collected, such as age, gender, previous experience, level of education and area, as well as their form of election and positions held by them in the period 2010-2015, through the Formulário de Referência (reference form). In order to detect earnings management, Jones model (1991) and Jones Modified model (1995) were used, which residues represent discretionary accruals, considered in the literature as earnings management’ proxy. Thus, for each company and each year, discretionary accruals were estimated and considered as a dependent variable in a multiple regression designed to establish a relationship between the CEO characteristics and earnings management. Data were organized and estimated at pool of cross-section. The main results indicate that the higher the payment for performance measurement (MRD) of the CEO, the lower the use of discretionary accruals. Consequently, there will be a lower level of earnings management. It was also found that there is a relationship between the age and gender of the CEO with the management results, indicating that the higher the age of the CEO, the lower the earnings management, and that men make more use of discretionary accruals. It also identified that companies with foreign stock control are less related to earnings management.

本研究的主要目的在探討是否我國新上市公司盈餘管理的現象與証券交易法上所規定的上市申請的門檻有關。我國新上市公司在上市後多有業績衰退及上市前盈餘管理之現象（曾國楊，民國84年）。這種人為的業績擴充或增加盈餘，往往是為了符合法規中上市申請的規定，特別是上市門檻的規定。倘若公司上市可以為原始股東帶來大量的邊際利益，列在可接受的範圍內，申請上市公司自有動機從事上市前業績人為擴充及盈餘管理的現象。本研究就在探討這項研究問題。 本研究以民國74年至83年間斬上市的公司為樣本，測試獲利能力較差或存續期間較短之新上市公司，是否較有動機在上市前從事盈餘管理。實証結果顯示： 就獲利能力來說，獲利能力較差之第一類上市公司在上市前會以應計項目及與營業有關之應計項目來操縱盈餘；但就第二類上市公司而言，實証結果反而與假說所預測的相反，即獲利能力較優的新上市公司反而會在上市前操縱盈餘。 就存續期間來說，第一類上市公司之實証結果大致與假說所預測的一致，但未達顯著水準，即存續期間較短之新上市公司，並不會在上市前以應計項目式與營業有關之應計項目來進行盈餘管理。就第二類上市公司來說，實証結果則與假說相反，但也未達顯著水準。 / This study aims to investigate whether the earnings management prior to IPO (Initial Public Offerings) relates to the qualifications of an IPO. In general, a firm will manage its earnings prior to IPO and have sales recess subsequent to IPO. Due to mandated IPO qualifications, perhaps, the motivation of earnings management or artificial sales expansion comes from the mandated IPO qualifications. The empirical sample period covers from 1985 to 1994 on which the empirical findings can be summarized as follows. 1. Low profitability first class firms will manage their earnings prior to IPO by the use of net accruals and net accruals from operations. In contrast, high profitability second class firms will manage their earnings prior to IPO. 2. This study cannot conclude that a younger IPO firm has a stronger incentive in managing its earnings than an older firm does.

I examine the association between earnings quality and audit firm type using a three-tiered audit firm classification scheme which allows for an explicit examination of the quality of Second-Tier audited earnings. My tests are motivated by the lack of competition in the market for audit services, theoretical arguments which suggest a positive association between audit firm size and audit quality, evidence pointing to the rapid post-Andersen growth in Second-Tier audit practices, and the lack of empirical research that fully differentiates audit firm type. My results indicate that the post-Andersen growth of Second-Tier audit firms coincides with improved Second-Tier audit quality, relative to the other audit firm types (Big N and other non-Big N). Specifically, the results indicate that Second-Tier client earnings quality was not distinct from that of other non-Big N clients in the pre-Andersen period. However, in the post-Andersen period, the results indicate that Second-Tier client earnings quality was higher than that of other non-Big N clients. Moreover, the post-Andersen results provide partial evidence suggesting that there is no difference in Second-Tier and Big N client earnings quality and, thus, lend some credence to the notion of a new era for the Big 8. These results convey important information to market participants (e.g., investors, underwriters, analysts, etc.) who wish to assess the extent to which financial statements are likely to be free from opportunistic managerial manipulation, to clients that are contemplating switching to a Second-Tier audit firm, to government agencies who have expressed concern over the state of competition in the market for audit services, and to those who have promoted the use of Second-Tier audit firms in the wake of SOX-related resource constraints.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2017-01-18T13:47:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fátima Penha Leone.pdf: 1274991 bytes, checksum: 0608f2984cd5de26527877fe43d76fba (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-18T13:47:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fátima Penha Leone.pdf: 1274991 bytes, checksum: 0608f2984cd5de26527877fe43d76fba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study aimed to verify the existence of relationship between the indebtedness of companies and the earnings management, trying to analyze if the debt influences somehow this kind of practice used by companies in order to change the perception of users of accounting statements. The objective includes: (i) to verify if companies with higher debt levels incurred with greater intensity in the earnings management practice; ii) to identify whether the companies practiced earnings management in the period prior to fundraising through debentures or financial debt; (iii) check for differences in earnings management practices in companies that own debentures and those that do not have debentures; and (iv) to investigate whether there is difference in the practice of earnings management regarding short-term or long-term debts. The sample was collected in the Economatica database, considering the period from 2008 to 2015. After using Model KS (1995) and Model Dechow et al (2012) it was possible to verify the relationship between earnings management practices and indebtedness of companies. A positive relationship between the short-term financial debts and the earnings management practices was found, suggesting that companies with higher debt levels close to maturity, would have a greater concern with funding costs. As for the long-term debt, no relationship was found between the variables, denying the expectation that companies that need third-party capital to maintain their operations manage results to meet requirements linked to contracts loans. Regarding total indebtedness, relationship between debt and management results was found, indicating that companies incur in earnings management practice to change the perception of risk and raise funds with lower rates. / O presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar a existência de relação entre o endividamento de empresas e o gerenciamento de resultados, buscando analisar se a dívida influencia de algum modo esse tipo de prática utilizada por empresas com o intuito de alterar a percepção de usuários das demonstrações contábeis. Quanto aos objetivos propostos para a pesquisa têm-se: (i)verificar se empresas com maiores níveis de endividamento incorrem com maior intensidade na prática de gerenciamento de resultados; (ii) identificar se as empresas praticaram gerenciamento de resultados no período de captação dos recursos por meio de debêntures e ou dívidas financeiras; (iii) verificar se há diferenças quanto ao gerenciamento de resultados em empresas que possuem debêntures e aquelas que não possuem debêntures; e, (iv) investigar se existe diferença quanto à pratica de gerenciamento de resultados e dívidas de curto prazo e ou dívidas de longo prazo. A amostra foi coletada no banco de dados da Economática, considerando o período de 2008 a 2015 e, após a utilização do Modelo KS (1995) e do Modelo Dechow et al (2012), foi possível verificar a relação entre o gerenciamento de resultados e endividamento de empresas. Foi encontrada relação positiva entre as dívidas financeiras de curto prazo e o gerenciamento de resultados, sugerindo que empresas que possuem maiores níveis de endividamento próximos ao vencimento, teriam maior preocupação com os custos de captação. Quanto ao endividamento de longo prazo não foi verificada relação entre as variáveis, não confirmando a expectativa de que empresas que necessitam de capital de terceiros para a manutenção de suas operações possuam motivação para gerenciar os resultados visando atender as exigências de cláusulas restritivas atreladas aos contratos de empréstimos. Em relação ao endividamento total, verificou-se a relação entre o endividamento e gerenciamento de resultados, indicando que empresas incorrem no gerenciamento de resultados para alterarem a percepção de risco e captarem recursos com menores juros.

Sob a teoria de agência e o contexto de gerenciamento de resultados, o objetivo do trabalho foi estudar a relação entre o gerenciamento de resultados (GR) e o custo da dívida (Ki) das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, no período de 1996 a 2007. Para isso, foram levantadas duas hipóteses de pesquisa quanto à possível relação entre GR e Ki: H1- as variáveis são inter-relacionadas; e H2- a relação é unidirecional, em que o Ki é influenciado positivamente pelo GR. Os pressupostos levantados, por meio da literatura existente, para a formulação da primeira hipótese são de que, almejando melhores condições contratuais, como o custo da dívida, o custo atual ou passado motiva a empresa a gerenciar o resultado corrente para obter melhores condições de custo futuro ou corrente. Dessa forma, as empresas, intencionalmente, procurariam gerenciar seus resultados, motivadas pelo custo da dívida. Todavia, há suporte teórico para que a relação entre essas variáveis seja unidirecional, com o gerenciamento de resultados influenciando o custo da dívida, sustentando a segunda hipótese. Um por exemplo disso é o gerenciamento de resultados, que é percebido como fator de assimetria de informação pelos credores, os quais, ao identificarem o gerenciamento, exigirão um prêmio maior pelo risco da falta de informação, elevando o custo da dívida das empresas. Assim, para testar as hipóteses do trabalho, a proxy de GR foi definida com o uso do modelo para cálculo dos accruals discricionários proposto por Kang e Sivaramakrishnan (1995) e a variável representativa do custo da dívida foi a relação entre a despesa financeira e o passivo oneroso total. A análise inicial foi feita utilizando-se o índice de correlação de Spearman e análise de média, por meio do teste não-paramétrico U de Mann-Whitney. Em seguida, utilizou-se o teste de especificação de Hausman para análise de simultaneidade, seguido da análise de regressão com dados dispostos em painel com correção de Newey-West, correção por cluster - ambas nas situações em que havia heterocedasticidade e correlação serial-, e estimador MQ2E. Os testes de correlação e de média apontaram para uma relação positiva entre GR e Ki, mas o teste de simultaneidade não indicou haver inter-relação entre as variáveis. Os resultados das regressões em painel indicaram que o Ki, atual ou passado, não influencia o GR, mas apontam para uma relação positiva, em que quanto maior o gerenciamento de resultados, maior o custo da dívida, ou seja, este é influenciado por aquele. Desse modo, os resultados permitem rejeitar a hipótese 1, mas confirmam a segunda hipótese. A princípio, tais resultados indicam que não há uma inter-relação entre GR e Ki e que as empresas não gerenciam com a intenção de impactar no custo da dívida, mas que o gerenciamento de resultados pode ter outras motivações para as empresas brasileiras. Todavia pode ser percebido pelos credores como maneira de reduzir a transparência das demonstrações contábeis, levando-os a cobrar maiores taxas de empresas com gerenciamento de resultados, gerando maior custo da dívida para as companhias. / Under the theory of agency and the context of earnings management, the objective of this research was to study the relationship between the earnings management (EM) and the cost of debt (Ki) of Brazilian open-capital companies, from 1996 to 2007. For this, two hypotheses of research have been raised as to the possible relationship between GR and Ki: H1: the variables are interrelated and H2: the relation is unidirectional where Ki is influenced positively by the GR. The hypothesis raised, by means of existing literature, to elaborate the first hypothesis are that, longing for better contractual conditions, such as the cost of the debt, the current or past costs motivate the company to manage the current result to get better conditions for future or current costs. Therefore, the companies, intentionally, would manage their results, motivated by the cost of debt. However, there is theoretical support that relations between these variables are unidirectional, with the earnings management influencing the cost of debt, supporting the second hypothesis. For example, the earnings management is perceived as a factor of asymmetric information by the creditors, who will demand a bigger prize for the risk regarding the lack of information, which raises the cost of debt of the companies. Thus, to test the hypotheses of this research, the proxy of GR was defined with the use of the model for calculation of discretionary accruals considered by Kang and Sivaramakrishnan (1995) and the representative variable of the cost of debt was the relationship between the financial expense and the total financial liability. The initial analysis was made using the index of correlation of Spearman and analysis of average, by means of non-parametric test U of Mann-Whitney. After that the test of specification of Hausman was used, for analysis of simultaneity, followed by the analysis of regression with data disposed on panel corrected by Newey-West, correction by cluster - both under the condition where there were heteroskedasticity and serial correlation, and estimator MQ2E. The average and correlation tests pointed out a positive relation between GR and Ki, but the concurrence test did not indicate to have interrelation between the variables. The results of the regressions in the panel indicated that the Ki, current or past, does not influence the GR, but point a positive relationship, where the bigger the earnings management, greater is the cost of debt, that is, this is influenced by management. Then, the results allow rejecting the first hypothesis, confirming the second hypothesis. Such results indicate that there is not an interrelation between GR and Ki and that the companies do not manage with the intention of impacting the cost of the debt, but that the earnings management can have other motivations for the Brazilian companies, however it can be perceived, by the creditors, as a way to reduce the transparency of the accounting demonstrations, leading to charge greater fees from companies with earnings management, generating bigger cost of debt for the companies.

Os investidores institucionais, tais como os fundos de pensão, são entidades que administram recursos de numerosos grupos de pessoas, e que, por isso, tendem a gerir grandes carteiras de investimento e a ter incentivos para se tornar bem informados. Por isso, espera-se que eles sejam bons representantes da classe de investidores sofisticados, ou bem informados, e que o aumento de sua presença no mercado de capitais melhore a velocidade do ajuste do preço, contribuindo para evitar ineficiências do mercado, como, por exemplo, a anomalia dos accruals (Sloan, 1996), que é um atraso na revisão dos preços diante da informação sobre a magnitude dos accruals do lucro. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo é analisar, em diversos países, o impacto da participação de investidores institucionais sobre a anomalia dos accruals. São formuladas quatro hipóteses: (i) a proporção de informações sobre o desempenho futuro da empresa refletida no preço de sua ação é positivamente relacionada com o percentual de participação societária dos investidores institucionais; (ii) quanto maior for o percentual da participação societária de investidores institucionais, maior será a qualidade do lucro; (iii) quanto maior for a value relevance do lucro, maior será a anomalia dos accruals; e (iv) quanto maior for a participação societária dos investidores institucionais, menor será a anomalia dos accruals. Para se atingir os objetivos, a bibliografia sobre investidores institucionais, investidores sofisticados e anomalia dos accruals é analisada e cotejada com a literatura sobre value relevance e qualidade do lucro, em especial com o de Dechow e Dichev (2002). A pesquisa empírica utiliza dados de empresas não financeiras listadas nas bolsas de valores da Alemanha, do Brasil, da Espanha, dos Estados Unidos, da França, da Holanda, da Itália, do Reino Unido e da Suíça, e cobre o período de 2004 a 2013. A amostra contempla entre 2.314 e 4.076 empresas, totalizando entre 15.902 e 20.174 observações, a depender do modelo estimado. São realizadas regressões com dados em painel, uma abordagem de equações aparentemente não relacionadas (Seemingly Unrelated Regression - SUR) e a aplicação do teste de Mishkin (1983). Constata-se que nos Estados Unidos e na Itália os investidores institucionais são mais bem informados que os demais, e que na Alemanha, nos Estados Unidos, na França e no Reino Unido eles exercem um papel de monitoramento, pressionando por lucros de qualidade superior. Não se constata, porém, relação positiva entre value relevance do lucro e anomalia dos accruals, nem entre participação de investidores institucionais e esta anomalia. O estudo enriquece a discussão sobre o mercado ser eficiente a longo prazo, mas apresentar anomalias no curto prazo; enfatiza a importância de o investidor ser capaz de converter informações em previsão e avaliação; discute o vínculo entre o papel de monitoramento dos investidores institucionais e a qualidade do lucro; e avalia a relação entre a atuação destes investidores e o prices lead earnings. / In view of the massive resources they manage, institutional investors (such as pension funds and insurers) tend to have large investment portfolios and equally large incentives to be well informed. It is therefore reasonable to see institutional investors as representatives of the class of sophisticated investors. The presence of institutional investors on the capital market is positively associated with the speed with which prices adjust to information, helping avoid market inefficiencies, such as accrual anomaly (a delay in price adjustment in relation to the available information on accruals). The objective of this article was to evaluate the impact of institutional investitor participation on accrual anomaly in different countries. To do so, we formulated four hypotheses: (i) the proportion of information on the future performance of a company reflected in its stock price is positively associated with the percentage of equity held by institutional investors; (ii) the greater the percentage of equity held by institutional investors, the greater the earnings quality; (iii) the higher the value relevance, the greater the accrual anomaly; and (iv) the greater the percentage of equity held by institutional investors, the smaller the accrual anomaly. We reviewed the literature on institutional investors, sophisticated investors and accrual anomaly and compared our findings with the literature on value relevance and earnings quality, especially Dechow and Dichev (2002). Our empirical research was based on data on nonfinancial firms listed on the stock exchanges of Brazil, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, the U.K., the U.S. and Switzerland, covering the period 2004-2013. The final sample consisted of 2,314 to 4,076 firms, with a total of 15,902 to 20,174 observations, depending on the model estimated. Panel regressions were performed using the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) approach and the Mishkin test. In the U.S. and Italy, institutional investors were found to be better informed than other investors. In France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., institutional investors played a strong monitoring role, pressuring firms to report earnings with higher quality. However, no positive association was found between the value relevance of earnings and accrual anomaly, nor between institutional investitor participation and accrual anomaly. The study sheds light on the question of long-term market efficiency and short-term anomalies, emphasizes the importance of investors being able to convert information into predictions and estimates, discusses the connection between institutional investor monitoring and earnings quality, and evaluates the relation between the presence of institutional investors and price lead earnings.

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has been a significant event in the accounting profession, as it provides a common language for financial reporting across the globe. The impact of IFRS adoption on earnings management practices in South Korean and Swedish manufacturing companies is studied in this research. The study aims to explore the influence of accounting regulation on companies' behavior towards earnings management practices. Applying insights from the Positive accounting theory (PAT) and Enforcement theory, the research provides a nuanced understanding of the role of regulations and enforcement in shaping corporate earnings management behaviors following the adoption of FRS. The study uses a comparative approach to examine the differences in IFRS adoption and earnings management practices in South Korea and Sweden. Data are collected from 21 manufacturing companies in each country, using secondary sources such as annual reports, financial statements, and other public records. South Korea shows the high frequency of manipulating income reports, while Sweden is among the countries with the lowest earning management level. Despite the difference in earnings management behavior, this study results indicate that after adoption of IFRS has reduced earnings management in both South Korean and Swedish manufacturing companies. The study concludes that the regulatory environment in each country had a bigger impact on Korean manufacturing companies on earnings management practices, compared to Sweden.

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays on fundamental uncertainty, stock return volatility and earnings management. The first study investigates the role of information about firms?? fundamentals contained in analysts?? forecasts (which I label ??non-accounting information??) in understanding stock return volatility. When combined with Ohlson??s (1995) linear information dynamics, the accounting version of the Campbell-Shiller model (Campbell and Shiller 1988a, 1988b; Vuolteenaho 2002) implies that if current non-accounting information is more uncertain, then future stock returns are expected to be more volatile. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical predictions, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. Additional analysis yields some evidence that both favourable and unfavourable news from non-accounting information increases future stock return volatility. Overall, the results highlight the value relevance of information in analysts?? forecasts beyond what is contained in the current financial statements. The second essay extends the theoretical framework of Callen and Segal (2004) and Vuolteenaho (2002) to investigate the association between the uncertainty of accrual information and stock return volatility. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical prediction that the extent of uncertainty in accounting accruals is increasing with the volatility of future stock returns, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. However, when accrual variability is decomposed into fundamental and unexpected portions, I find that the positive relationship between accrual variability and future stock return volatility is dominated by the fundamental component of accrual variability. The findings therefore suggest that the market places little weight on information conveyed by that component of accounting accruals that is most likely to reflect accounting choices, implementation decisions and managerial opportunism. The final essay argues that the presumed articulation among accruals, cash flows and revenues does not capture decisions on expected accruals when large external financing activities are present. The analysis provides evidence that managers?? ??normal?? operating decisions associated with net external financing activities are likely to lead to measurement errors in unexpected accruals that are part of expected accruals, and erroneous conclusions that significant earnings management exists when in fact there is none. This is especially pertinent in cases where the partitioning variable used to identify instances of earnings management is supposed to be uncorrelated with external financing, when in fact it is correlated. The results underscore the importance of additional specification tests being conducted to control for estimation biases in unexpected accruals associated with external financing. I suggest the use of matched-firm approach using industry and external financing matches in order that reliable and warranted inferences are made.

This study provides evidence between auditors' fees and earnings management in New Zealand. The fee measures used in this study are audit fees, non-audit fees and total fees paid by a client to the audit firm. For each of the three fee measures, I derive client importance fee measures that reflect a client’s economic importance to the auditor relative to other clients of the auditor at the city office and national levels. This study employs both performance adjusted discretionary accruals and current accruals as proxies for earnings management. Using a sample of 224 firm-years comprising firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, the results of multivariate tests indicate an adverse association between non-audit fees and earnings management. In other words, non-audit fees paid by a client relative to fees paid by other clients, at the office and national levels, appear to impair the auditor’s independence because clients generating relatively more non-audit fees report greater discretionary and current accruals. Such evidence is more pronounced for income increasing accrual proxies for earnings management. The results also show that audit fee is not related to earnings management. As the results in this study are consistent across both discretionary and current accruals, the validity of the results is strengthened. This study contributes to the literature by providing insight into how auditors’ fee metrics indicating client importance affect earnings management in a legal and institutional environment of a small economy, and where the audit market is largely saturated with little room for growth. This study raises implications for relevant regulatory bodies in New Zealand pertaining to future developments of auditor independence and financial reporting regulations.