TITLE:
Earnings Management in Baltic Listed Companies: A Study of the Consumer Good Industry
AUTHORS:
Diana Bachtijeva, Vilte Cibutavičiūtė, Rasa Subačienė
KEYWORDS:
Accrual-Based Earnings Management, Real Earnings Management, Baltic States, Stock Exchange
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.14 No.5,
October
28,
2024
ABSTRACT: Earnings management is often used as a corporate strategy to influence stakeholder decisions. In listed companies, earnings management can be used to map a stable income stream, reducing earnings volatility. Such actions can help to manage investors’ perceived level of risk, increase confidence and raise capital. This study examines the practice of listed companies applying earnings management in the consumer goods industry in the Baltic region. The study examines the accounting practices of three Baltic countries—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, for the 2020-2022 period to assess the extent and specificities of earnings management’s application. It should be noted that studies of accounting practices in the Baltic countries are very rare in the academic literature, mainly due to the limited availability of data and information in this region. The study reveals that the application of earnings management in listed companies operating in the consumer goods industry varies among the Baltic countries. Although Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania share a common regional focus, statistically significant differences are found in their application of earnings management. Interestingly, no cases of earnings management are found in Estonia, while Lithuanian companies have the highest level of manipulating accounting data.