Earnings management by classification shifting and corporate governance in Brazil

Abstract

Classification shifting is a new approach of earnings management, which verifies when there is a deliberate change in the classification of items in the income statement for the year, withdrawing items from core earnings and assigning for special items. As corporate governance reduces opportunistic behavior of the manager, this paper aims to verify the influence of corporate governance in earnings management by classification shifting. For this purpose, 236 publicly-traded companies listed in Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (B3) between 2005 and 2016 were analyzed. As a metric for earnings management, the classification shifting proposed by McVay (2006) was used, and as metrics of corporate governance, the differentiated levels of corporate governance provided by B3 were used. findings show that earnings management by classification shifting happens in Brazil, and corporate governance, measured by the differentiated levels of corporate governance of B3, is a factor that reduces the classification shifting, thus, governance is able to change the behavior of the manager. Therefore, corporate governance is a relevant attribute for companies vis-à-vis investors, because it ensures the trust and transparency of the disclosed information.