Abstract

This British Accounting & Finance Association (BAFA) distinguished academic 2020 plenary address marries the researcher's two main research areas – financial reporting and corporate governance. Like Vivien Beattie (BAFA 2011 distinguished academic), the researcher commenced in the positivist tradition but was increasingly drawn to more qualitative, interdisciplinary perspectives, influencing the paper's positioning.“Accounting choice”, “income smoothing”, “earnings management”, and “earnings manipulation” are terms frequently used in the academic literature. This paper reviews these terms, highlighting the resonances and dissonances between them, and attempts to reconcile varied perspectives in the prior literature. The paper critiques taken-for-granted assumptions underlying this stream of research. The paper then examines prior earnings management research using alternative methodologies to deepen understanding of the four terms in praxis (best practice in practice). The paper reviews prior research on boards of directors using alternative methodologies to those adopted in mainstream corporate governance research, to provide a menu of opportunities to research earnings management inside the “black box” of the boardroom, including proposed research questions for future research. The paper concludes by considering the implications for policymakers and standard setters.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.