Earnings Management Thresholds: The Case in Tunisia

Anis Ben Amar () and Ezzeddine Abaoub
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Anis Ben Amar: Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor
Ezzeddine Abaoub: Faculty of Economics Sciences and Management of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar C.P. 2092 Tunis, El Manar – Tunisia

Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), 2010, vol. 6, issue 2, 35-56

Abstract: Degeorge, Patel and Zeckhauser (1999) show that companies willingly manage their earnings with the aim of meeting or exceeding three earnings targets: zero earnings, last period’s earnings, and analysts' earnings forecasts. In this paper, we focus on earnings management designed to achieve the above earnings thresholds within the framework of the Tunisian market. Applying Burgstahler and Dichev’s (1997) methodology type to the annual data corresponding to the period from 1997 to 2004, our results indicate that Tunisian companies managed earnings to avoid losses and earnings decreases rather than to avoid negative earnings surprises.

Keywords: Earnings management; earnings thresholds; earnings distributions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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