abstract
We show that SEO firms engage in real activities manipulation, and the decline in postSEO
performance due to the real activities management is more severe than that due to
accrual management. Our evidence is important, because it shows that post-SEO
operating underperformance is driven not just by accrual reversals, but also reflects the
real consequences of operational decisions made to manage earnings. We also show
how firms’ choices of real versus accrual-based earnings management activities around
SEOs vary predictably as a function of the firm’s ability to use accrual management and
the costs of doing so