A Study on Earnings Management in Companies Achieving Sustainability: Accruals-based and Real Earnings Management

Purpose - We attempted to verify the level of ethics of firms achieving sustainable management from the aspect of reliability of accounting information. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of sustainable management on accruals-based earning management (AEM) and real earning management (REM). Research design, data, and methodology - We employed the issuance of sustainability reports in addition to the indices of social responsibility and environmental-management evaluation of the Korea Corporate Governance Service in order to measure sustainability management. AEM was measured using discretionary accruals and calculated using the operant Jones model. Specifically, REM was measured using the methodology suggested by prior studies. The sample of our study consisted of 1,418 years of public listed firms in the Korea Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2017. Results - First, the level of AEM in firms achieving sustainable management was lower than the other. Second, the level of REM in these firms was lower than the other. Nonetheless, another analysis showed that the level of governance control affects the level of earning management and that the levels of AEM and REM were generally lower in firms achieving sustainable management than the others. Conclusions - We expected that firms achieving external ethics tend to have a higher level of internal ethics than others.