Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background information and motivation
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Research design
1.4 Main empirical results
1.5 Contributions
1.6 Study organisation
Chapter 2 Literature review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Private and public firms
2.2.1 What are“private firms and public firms?”
2.2.2 The differences between private and public firms
2.2.3 How are private firms’financial reporting regulated across countries?
2.3 Earnings management
2.3.1 Concept and definitions of earnings management
2.3.2 Theoretical frameworks of earnings management
2.3.3 Measures of earnings management
2.3.4 The motivation of earnings management
2.3.5 Prior empirical evidence on earnings management of private firms versus public firms
2.3.6 The review of earnings quality
2.4 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
2.4.1 Arguments for and against IFRS adoption on earnings management
2.4.2 Empirical evidence on IFRS adoption and earnings management
2.5 Factors affecting earnings management between private and public firms
2.5.1 Country-level factors
2.5.2 Firm-level factors
Chapter 3 Earnings management in European private versus public firms
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Relevant literature and development of hypotheses
3.2.1 Literature on earnings management
3.2.2 The effects of mandatory IFRS adoption on earnings management
3.2.3 Country-level factors and earnings management
3.3 Data and research methodology
3.3.1 Data collection and sample selection
3.3.2 Research methodology
3.4 Empirical results
3.4.1 Descriptive statistics
3.4.2 Univariate comparison between pre- and post-IFRS adoption
3.4.3 The influence of country-level factors
3.4.4 The effects of the financial crisis
3.5 Conclusions
Chapter 4 Accrual based earnings management in European private versus public firms
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Relevant literature and development of hypotheses
4.2.1 Comparing earnings management between private and public firms
4.2.2 The effects of mandatory IFRS adoption on earnings management
4.2.3 Factors affecting differential earnings management between private and public firms
4.3 Data and research methodology
4.3.1 Data collection and sample selection
4.3.2 Research methodology
4.4 Empirical results
4.4.1 Descriptive statistics
4.4.2 Regression analysis
4.4.3 Variables that could have influenced the differential earnings management between private and public firms
4.4.4 Additional tests
4.5 Conclusions
Chapter 5 Real earnings management in European private and public firms
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Relevant literature and development of hypotheses
5.2.1 Literature on real earnings management
5.2.2 Real earnings management in private and public firms
5.2.3 IFRS adoption and earnings management
5.2.4 Factors affecting differential real earnings management between private and public firms
5.3 Data and research methodology
5.3.1 Data collection and sample selection
5.3.2 Research methodology
5.4 Empirical results
5.4.1 Descriptive statistics
5.4.2 Regression analysis
5.4.3 Additional tests
5.4.4 Analyses of incentive-based real earnings management
5.5 Conclusions
Chapter 6 Summary and conclusion
6.1 Summary of the study
6.2 Research implications
6.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research
Reference
Appendix
