These techniques artificially inflate the revenue of both the buyer and the seller
(Kokoszka, 2003).
Qwest Communication International allegedly was one of the most aggressive users
of swap transactions – selling long-term capacity on its fiber network to another carrier,
buying the same amount of fiber on another carrier’s net work, and then booking the
contract as revenue. Qwest is also alleged to have boosted sales by selling equipment to
another companies and then leasing services back from those same concerns.
3.5 Timing of adoption of mandatory accounting standards
Since its formation in 1973 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has
issued 151 accounting standards – an average of five new standards per year.
Typically, the FASB standards are enacted with a two-to-three-year transition period
prior to mandatory adoption but with early adoption encouraged.
While not all firms are affected by each standard issued, the relative frequency of
new standards combined with long adoption windows provides an opportunity for
managers to select an adoption year most favorable to the firm’s financial picture
(Ayres, 1994).
Ayres (1986) provides the empirical evidence that the firms who adopted the
Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) #52 “Accounting for Foreign
Currency Translation” early had the opportunity to increase earnings with an average
of $0.38 per share. In comparison to firms that adopted the standard later, the
early-adopting firms were smaller, closer to debt and dividend constrains, and less
profitable than later-adopting firms.
Early adoption of accounting standard that increase income may convey an
impression that a company needs to find income from wherever possible. Early
adoption can lower investors’ perception of earning quality.
3.6 Voluntary accounting changes
Another method of managing earnings is to switch from one generally accepted
accounting method to another. While a firm cannot make the same type of accounting
changes too frequently, it is possible to make several different types of accounting
changes either together or individually over several periods.
3.7 Conservative accounting
Conservative accounting means choosing the accounting method that keeps the
carrying values of the assets relatively low. Therefore, LIFO accounting for inventories
is conservative relative to FIFO (if inventory prices are increasing); expensing research
and development expenditures rather than capitalizing and amortizing them is
conservative; and policies that consistently overestimate allowances for doubtful
accounts, sales returns or warranty liabilities are conservative.
Conservative accounting affects not only the quality of numbers reported on the
balance sheet, but also the quality of earnings reported on the income statement. When
the firm increase investment, conservative accounting leads to reported earnings that
are lower than would have been had management made more liberal accounting
choices. These lower earnings, however, create unrecorded reserves that provide
managers more flexibility to report more income in the future. Management can
increase these reserves, and so reduce earnings, by increasing investment.