A research on the relationship between accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management in the retail industry

Purpose - In this paper, we examine the effect of accrual earnings management and real earnings management on the corporate value of retail corporations. Research design, data, and Methodology - The sample cover firms whose settlement is December among retail companies listed on the Korea Stock Exchange's securities market and KOSDAQ market from 2001 to 2016. Of these, the targets were companies with operating profit and equity capital of zero or higher and with sales data. The secondary data was collected through KIS-VALUE data base. The Jones model and the modified Jones model were used for the calculating the accrual-based earnings management and the real earnings management. Result - According to the empirical results, the relationship between accrual earnings management, real earnings management and firm value is positively significant in the retail industry as in manufacturing industry. These results are also significant when controlling the size, profitability, investment, debt ratio, dividend, and growth potential of a company. Conclusions - The characteristics of the distribution business can be identified and the influence of the various kinds of earnings management, which is being researched around the manufacturing industry, can be studied in the distribution industry to give practical implications to investors.