Evolution of earnings management practice: A new threat to the quality of financial reports

Abstract

Profit management mechanisms can be realized by applying accounting techniques or by undertaking real transactions. In the first case, opportunistic behavior is directed towards the calculation components of accounting results, while manipulations of real transactions have repercussions on cash flows. Based on a qualitative analysis of relevant international and domestic literature related to the problem of profit management, the paper presents the consequences, limitations and risks associated with different profit management techniques. In many researches conducted in developed economies, the evolution of profit management practices from accounting manipulations to manipulations through real transactions has been confirmed. As methodological instruments for assessing real manipulations are still scarce, the aim of the paper is to draw the public's attention to the practice of profit management through real transactions because it is a more perfidious form that significantly reduces the risk of detection. In addition, the paper contributes to the definition of a new area of research towards which the academic accounting community should direct its efforts in the future.