Chaebol Firms＇ Real and Accrual-Based Earnings Management in the Pre-and Post-Asian Financial Crisis Periods

This paper examines chaebol （Korean business group） firms＇ earnings management methods in pre-and post-financial crisis periods in Korea. The financial crisis resulted in chaebol firms increasing their reliance on the external capital markets as chaebol firms achieved internal financing through arbitrary transactions among their affiliated and contracted firms. This produced a higher demand for financial reporting transparency in chaebol firms and strengthened monitoring from investors. These changes in the business environment in Korea following the financial crisis are likely to have led chaebol firms to reduce earnings management by using managers＇ discretion in accounting accruals and to seek alternative means to manage earnings through abnormal operating decisions which are referred to as real activities manipulation. The authors find that chaebol firms have significantly decreased accrual-based earnings management after the financial crisis of Asian compared to non-chaebol firms. The authors also find that chaebol firms have become more inclined to engage in real earnings management after the financial crisis. The results suggest that chaebol firms have shifted their earnings management methods from accruals manipulation to real activities manipulation which is harder to be detected by external auditors and regulators. This study provides insight into the changes in chaebol firms＇ earnings management methods triggered by economic shock. The findings suggest that the shift in chaebol firms＇ financing sources from internal to external capital markets and the increased demand for transparent financial information in the post-financial crisis period are likely to have influenced chaebol firms to substitute real earnings management for accrual-based earnings management after the financial crisis.