The impact of IFRS adoption on management of bad debt expense and real operational activities: evidence from South Korea*

Abstract

This study examines whether the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in Korea affects earnings management behavior by focusing on the allowance for doubtful accounts. Adopting IFRS implies a change in approach whereby firms are required to build up an allowance only for incurred losses. Using a sample of 3817 firm-year observations of Korean listed companies covering 2000-2014, I find evidence that the discretionary portion of the allowance is decreased and that the opportunistic management of bad debt expense to meet crucial earnings targets is mitigated after the adoption of IFRS. Further, I find partial evidence that a shift from accrual-based to real earnings management may occur when the management of a specific accrual account is constrained by the adoption of IFRS.