• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.113-130
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• 2015

This study considers the relation between firms' earnings management and credit rating. Unlike preceding papers only focusing earnings management by accrual(thereafter, AM), this paper examines the effect of accrual earnings management(AMs) and real earning management(thereafter, RM) on credit rating. RMs have more negative effects on firms' forward cash flow generation abilities and long term operating performances than AMs. So, RMs are more negative signals for credit analysts than AMs. But credit analysts have much difficulty in seeing through RM, because if credit analysts want to find out RMs, they have to understand firms' internal operating activities, cost structures, receivables collection practices, and review whether profit distortions are due to abnormal change of them. Sample of this study consists of 2,150firm-year data listed companies from 2002 to 2010. Empirical evidence shows that AMs and RMs are negatively related to credit rating. This result implies that credit analysts see through AMs and RMs in interpreting financial informations, that is to say, they discount credit rating in considering level of earnings management that consist of real activity and accrual earning management. This paper also finds that RMs are more negatively related to credit ratings than AMs. This result suggests that credit analysts don't take RMs into account in credit rating process as much as AMs.