Earnings Management From The Perspective Of Performance Attribution

Corporate performance is presented in financial reports in the form of financial information and non-financial information,among which financial information refers to accounting data based on profits and is the basis for "management discussion and analysis",and the management's interpretation of financial information is called performance attribution.Investors understand relevant information through the financial reports issued by listed companies and make specific investment decisions based on the performance information in the financial statements.Therefore,high quality performance information is the objective requirement of the normal operation of the capital market.However,due to the operability of accrued profits and the imperfection of relevant laws,earnings management behaviors in the process of enterprise operation are frequent,and some enterprises also use performance attribution to cover up earnings management behaviors.Performance attribution is self-interested.Managers are good at attributing good performance to enterprise behavior and bad performance to external environment,thus achieving the purpose of beautifying the company's performance,but reducing the quality of performance information disclosure.Therefore,it is very important to study the behavior and consequences of "compound earnings management",such as earnings management and self-interested performance attribution.This paper reviews the literature on earnings management and performance attribution at home and abroad,and explains the mechanism of action between earnings management,performance attribution and earnings quality based on agency theory,impression management and attribution theory.On this basis,taking Antai Group as an example,this paper analyzes the earnings management and performance attribution of the case company from 2012 to2015,and draws conclusions and proposes relevant governance countermeasures.In terms of the structure arrangement of the paper,the motivation and means of earnings management of Antai Group are firstly analyzed and verified by using the modified Jones model and Roy Chowdhury model.Then,this paper summarizes the internal and external attributions of Antai Group in each reporting period from 2012 to 2015,and determines whether antai Group has self-interested attributions by comparing the quantitative relationship between the two kinds of attributions,and then conducts an objective analysis of the attribution information of Antai Group.Finally,earnings management and performance attribution are evaluated.Through research,this paper draws the following conclusions: earnings management and performance attribution have a mutually reinforcing and interdependent relationship,and the superposition of the two will greatly reduce the quality of performance information disclosure,affect investors to make correct investment decisions,but also bring adverse effects on the long-term operation of enterprises.To this end,this paper puts forward some Suggestions from the perspectives of the management of listed companies,regulatory authorities and users of financial reports.It is hoped that this study can enrich the theoretical research on earnings management and performance attribution,and help investors to identify the "compound earnings management" behavior and possible problems caused by earnings management and performance attribution,improve their judgment ability,and protect their own rights and interests.