Forecasts in IPO Prospectuses: The Effect of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management

Abstract

Prior research suggests that managers may use earnings management to meet voluntary earnings forecasts. We document the extent of earnings management undertaken within Canadian Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and study the extent to which companies with better corporate governance systems are less likely to use earnings management to achieve their earnings forecasts. In addition, we test other factors that differentiate forecasting from non-forecasting firms, and assess the impact of forecasting and corporate governance on future cash flow prediction. We find that firms with better corporate governance are more likely to include a voluntary earnings forecast in their IPO prospectus. In addition, we find that corporate governance factors have an impact on the use of accruals management to meet forecasts, and on the predictive value of discretionary accruals.