Earnings management in Europe post IFRS : do cultural influences persist?

We investigate the extent to which the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has restricted the previously documented association between national culture and international differences in earnings management practices. We analyze the earnings management behavior of publicly listed firms in 14 member countries of the European Union during the period 2000–2010. Our findings show that the tendency to engage in earnings management continues post IFRS and that cultural factors remain influential in explaining differences in the magnitude of earnings management behavior across countries.