An International Comparison of Student Perceptions of Earnings Management Evidence of Effects of National Origin between Mexico and the United States

Résumé 0

"Manipulating reported earnings is a temptation faced by accountants and fi nancialprofessionals around the world. Manipulating, or "managing," one´s accountingearnings takes a variety of forms and includes not only the avoidance of prescribedaccounting rules but also the practice of selectively choosing accounting estimates ortiming operating decisions to move reported earnings toward a desired goal. Priorresearch reveals wide disagreement regarding the perceived ethical acceptability ofthis practice. This study investigates whether national origin infl uences perceptionsof earnings management. Participants from the United States and Mexico evaluatedthirteen vignettes describing various earnings management practices (Merchant andRockness 1994). Analyses of the responses indicate considerable variation betweenstudents from these two countries, indicating culture does signifi cantly impact howindividuals perceive opportunities to manage reported fi nancial information."