LNEG is an indicator variable that equals one for observations for which annual net income scaled by total assets is less than —0.20, and zero other-wise, A positive coefficient on LNEG indicates that LAS firms recognize large losses more frequently than NIAS firms. As with equation (5), we use the coefficient on L.NEG from equation (7) rather than direcdy comparing IAS and NIAS firms’ frequencies of large losses to assess whether IAS firms are less likely to manage earnings.