Long run integration of earning management in capital structure and Fama French model: evidence from South Asian Countries

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the role of earning measuring management and quality measures in explaining the earning informativeness that affects market value of the firm through involving volatility factors in coefficient of earnings. Moreover, this study assimilates the effect of earning management on capital structure performance and discourses the behavior of capital structure and performance relationship in the presence of earning management. Furthermore, this study also extends the three factor model, with the purpose of capturing irrational behavior of stock returns by incorporating earning management effect (information risk factor) and gearing effect (growth or liquidity factor). For analysis, the data of five countries are employed in the sample that are Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The data of cumulative 802 companies are taken in sample for estimating market valuation through accruals and quality measures and for studying the impact of earning management on capital structure. However, for capturing irrational behavior massive sample of monthly data of cumulatively 1428 companies are employed. The sample period is from 2001 to 2013. Based on Panel data models, the results reveal that opportunistic earning management is prevalent in all countries except Bangladesh. The opportunistic earning management has inverse effect on earning informativeness. Whereas, efficient earning management has positive effect on earning informativeness. China also depicts opportunistic behavior, which is motivated by the ROE sustainability rules of Chinese securities Regulatory Committee (CSRC). Moreover, in case of China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, high leverage brings earning management in order to reduce debt covenant violation whereas vice versa is true for India, the opportunistic earning management conveys the adverse effect on capital structure performance of the firm, as it subsidized the impact of capital structure on firm performance and also increases the earning risk. Indian firms are more exposed to earning management that adversely affect the capital structure performance and leverage decisions. The size is negatively associated with performance, which is due to the fact that firms forcefully increase size either for strategic reason, institutional reason or principle agent conflict that induces size increase and also brings asset inefficiency due to underutilization of assets. The study showed that growth or liquidity factor and information risk factor are the priced risk factors and capture the variation in stock returns. It is also identified that Chinese firms are illiquid that leads to negative WML factor, which conveys that loser stocks have higher returns. This study has implication towards accounting standards, debt covenants, managers and investors, which can restrict the adverse earning management practices. Furthermore, investors can capture the information risk and can engage in more informed trading in the stock markets.