衡量盈余质量外文翻译.doc

外文翻译 原文 Measuring the quality of earnings Material Source: Author: Khaled ElMoatasem Abdelghany Abstract Purpose – Although the academic research on the quality of earnings has been improved by presenting different approaches of measurement, there is no agreed-upon generally accepted approach to measure the earning quality. Aims to present results of an empirical study measuring the quality of earnings on companies listed in NYSE. Design/methodology/approach – Uses a sample of 90 companies listed in the NYSE. The analysis is directed to reach a general assessment of the quality of earnings if there is a complete consistency among the three approaches, and if not, the quality of earnings is questionable and needs further analysis and investigations. Findings – The results show that different approaches of measuring the quality of earning lead to different assessment, and one industry or one company can not be labeled as having low or high quality of earning based on the result of one approach only. The results also suggest that the stakeholders before making any financing, investing decision or taking any corrective action, have to use more than one approach to assess the quality of earnings. Originality/value – Indicates that financial analysts and governmental agencies dealing with companies should apply more than one measure for the quality of earning in order to have strong evidence about the level of quality before taking any corrective action or making any decision related to those companies. 1. Introduction Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) offer some flexibility in preparing the financial statements and give the financial managers some freedom to select among accounting policies and alternatives. Earning management uses the flexibility in financial reporting to alter the financial results of the firm (Ortega and Grant, 2003). In other words, earnings management is manipulating the earning to achieve a predetermined target set by the management.