Implementation Guidance for Standards and Revenue Trend in Aggressive Reporting

Abstract

This study examines the interactive effect of including the implementation guidance in accounting standards (with and without indicators) and different reported revenue trends (increasing, decreasing, and volatile) in aggressive reporting. For this purpose, we adopt a 2 × 3 between-subjects experiment. Aggressive reporting is measured by managers' perception of control and judgment regarding revenue recognition. The results of this experiment indicate that including the implementation guidance can constrain managers' revenue recognition judgments. The results show that for decreasing revenue trends, the inclusion of indicators for implementation does not influences managers' judgments regarding revenue recognition. For increasing revenue trends, the inclusion of guidance indicators matters in that the managers' judgments regarding revenue recognition are more aggressive in conditions without indicators than in conditions with indicators. The findings of this study extend the literature on implementation guidance in accounting standards and aggressive reporting.