Cross-Listing and Earnings Management Surrounding SOX

This paper provides evidence on the relative efficacy of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) by comparing the financial reporting practices of cross-listed non-U.S. firms and matched U.S. firms. Using a pair sample research design, we observe a different level of managerial discretion in accounting choices between cross-listed non-U.S. firms and U.S. control firms. Cross-listed firms tend to have larger absolute discretionary accruals meaning greater flexibility in accounting choices. This result is attributed to an absence of enforcement from regulators for those firms compared to their U.S. counterparts. This tendency is more pronounced after SOX, the purpose of which is to improve quality of financial information. After SOX, opportunistic accounting discretion of cross-listed firms remains unchanged while U.S. firms become less extreme in their accounting choices.