Earnings and Balance-Sheet Properties and the Interplay of Tax Incentives and Tax Enforcement

Abstract

This paper analyzes the joint association of tax incentives and tax law enforcement strictness on earnings and balance sheet properties of private firms. It answers a call for additional research on why "there is (...) substantial within-country variation in managers' incentives to [manage] earnings" (LaFond et al. (2007), p. 14). There is some evidence that something as homogeneous as tax law seems to be enacted differently within a country's legal framework. The key results are that stricter enforcement seemingly impairs managers' ability or willingness to engage in income-decreasing accrual earnings management. On the downside, managers instead seem to resort to real earnings management choices which are associated with potentially negative long-term real business impact.