Shen and Chih (2005) in an international comparison also reported presence of high level of
earnings management in Indian bank. The paper affirmed that banks in more than two-thirds
of the 48 countries sampled are found to have managed their earnings. The relationship
between return and risk is positive for high earnings banks, but is negative for low earnings
banks. The paper concluded that stronger protection of investors and greater transparency in
accounting disclosure can reduce banks’ incentives to manage earnings. It is seen that
stronger enforcement of laws can counter intuitively result in stronger earnings management.
However, this effect appears in low-income countries only, and not in high-income countries.