Earnings Management and Long-run Post-issue Performance of IPOs in India

Abstract

The controversies surrounding accounting figures bring forth the downgraded quality of financial statements in India. Opportunistic management of earnings at the cost of stakeholders’ interest requires prompt regulatory measure as they may become grave in high profile corporate events like mergers and public issues. Focusing on one of the most important mega events of initial public offerings (IPOs) the present study evaluates the accounting figure of IPOs that came out during April 2010 to March 2013. The study measures pre and post issue earnings management for a time span of 11 years from April 2008 to March 2019 and post issue long run earnings and stock performance using Modified Jones Model (1995) for a time span of seven years including issue year and six post issue years. The study provides evidence of earnings management by Indian IPO firms and post issue earnings and stock underperformance due to reversal of discretionary current accruals of issue year. The study emphasizes on better monitoring and regulatory environment and precise definition of accounting choices to control managed accounts to avoid frequent fraud incidents.