Earnings management surrounding M&A: Role of economic development and investor protection

We examine accruals based earnings management by acquiring firms surrounding merger and acquisition events from thirty countries for the period 2004-2015. We find that the acquiring firms do manage earnings surrounding mergers when the method of payment is acquirer's stock, but there is no such evidence when the method of payment is cash. We also examine whether level of economic development and country-specific institutional characteristics play any role in acquiring firms' earnings manipulation. Using two groups of countries based on the level of economic development and nine different institutional variables we find evidence that acquirers' accrual manipulation differs based on such characteristics.