Theory papers have examined the impact of multiple incentives on accounting choice (e.g., Demski, 1973; Evans and Sridhar, 1996; Liang, 2004; Chen et al., 2007) and analyzed the effect of variations in optimal contracts (Sridhar and Magee, 1996). These models, however, are generally concerned with the implications of multiple objectives on a single accounting choice; they do not address the issue of the firm making a portfolio of accounting choices that in the aggregate affect earnings. Christensen et al. (2005) specifically recognize the potential for an interaction between competing incentives and individual accounting choices: ‘‘Increasing the persistent components and reducing the reversible components are generally desirable for valuation, but not for contracting. Eliminating transitory components of earnings is generally desirable for valuation, but not necessarily for contracting.’’ (p. 265) Kirschenheiter and Melumad (2002) make a related point. Assuming an objective of equity value maximization, they show that the nature of the manager’s private information about cash flows (‘‘good’’ news or ‘‘bad’’ news) determines whether the outcome of her accounting choices will be smoother earnings or big baths. This result has implications for unconditionally interpreting smoothness as a proxy for earnings management.
Researchers also can think about ‘‘multiple’’ incentives as changes in incentives through time. Do managers trade off the immediate benefits of opportunistic accounting choices at the time of an event such as an IPO or SEO against the potential long-term reputation loss due to these one-off earnings management decisions?