企业生命周期视角下盈余管理方式研究——基于债务契约理论

Study on Earning Management under the Corporate Life Cycle: Based on the Debt Covenants Theory

本文基于债务契约理论研究不同企业生命周期下企业盈余管理及方式问题,运用现金流量法把中国上市公司划分为成长期、成熟期和衰退期企业,并选取2001-2012年的数据为样本,研究企业生命周期、资本结构对盈余管理及方式的影响。研究发现:相比于成熟期,成长期和衰退期企业负债结构更高;负债水平显著正向影响企业盈余管理,随着生命周期的延伸,负债对盈余管理的影响程度增强;生命周期直接影响企业盈余管理,相对成熟期,成长期和衰退期都正向影响应计与真实盈余;生命周期对债务水平与盈余管理的关系产生调节作用,相对于成熟期,随着负债的增加成长期企业倾向减少应计盈余,但衰退期企业会增加更为隐蔽,成本更高的真实盈余管理方式。

Based on debt covenants theory, with the cash flow patterns as a proxy for firm life cycle, the Chinese listed companies in the 2002-2011 are divided into three kinds of life cycles： growth, maturity and decline, and according to this, in this paper the impact of life cycle and capital structure on earnings management and the way of it are researched. The study finds ： different industry cycle has a direct impact on its earnings management, the companies in the cycle of growth and decline have a higher capital structure, which leads to a higher earnings management ; the life cycle of growth has a direct positive impact on the accrual and real earning management, and decline cycle has a direct positive impact only on the accrual earning management;and considering the debt covenants condition, the en- terprises of growth cycle and decline cycle are inclined to reduce the accrual earning management, however, the enterprises of decline cycle will choose the real earning management, which is more invisible and more costly.