Comparison of cosmetic earnings management for the developed markets and emerging markets: Some empirical evidence from the United States and Taiwan

The empirical results show that, regardless of developed markets and emerging markets, the phenomenon of cosmetic earnings management exists. In contrast to developed markets, corporate managers of emerging markets have stronger incentives to manipulate earnings. More importantly, it was found that the degree of earnings management is significantly less after implementing corporate governance regulations both in developed and emerging markets. This result suggests that the implementation of corporate governance regulations plays an important role in reducing the earnings manipulative behavior. The findings of the study add more evidence to the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of corporate governance regulations in preventing earnings management.