La manipolazione dei valori di bilancio: pressione del management e tratti personali nell’attività del controller

Titolo Rivista MANAGEMENT CONTROL
Autori/Curatori Lorenzo Lucianetti, Valentina Battista
Anno di pubblicazione 2015 Fascicolo 2015/1
Lingua Italiano Numero pagine 32 P. 101-132 Dimensione file 178 KB
DOI 10.3280/MACO2015-001005
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

Using a survey from 154 Italian accounting controllers, the paper examines the role of Top management pressure, moral disengagement and professional commitment on the decision to accept earnings manipulation. Based upon previous literature, two different kinds of earnings manipulations are considered, namely, accounting manipulations and operating manipulations. Empirical results suggest a strong relationship between earnings manipulation acceptance and earning manipulation pressure. Also, earnings management acceptance is predicted by two controller personal traits, namely, moral disengagement and professional commitment. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are finally discussed.;

Keywords:Controller, earnings management pressure, earnings management acceptance, moral disengagement, professional commitment.

Jel codes:M10, M40, M41, M42

  1. Henning D.A., Moseley R.L. (1970), Authority Role of a Functional Manager: The Controller, Administrative Science Quarterly, 15, 4, pp. 482-489.
  2. Dye R.A. (1988), Earning Management in an Overlapping Generations Model, Journal of Accounting Research, 26, 2, pp. 195-235. DOI: 10.2307/2491102
  3. Elias R. (2002), Determinants of earnings management ethics among accountants, Journal of Business Ethics, 40, 1, pp. 33-45. DOI: 10.1023/A:1019956821253
  4. Elias R. (2004), The impact of corporate ethical values on perceptions of earnings management, Managerial Accounting Journal, 19, 1, pp. 84-98. DOI: 10.1108/02686900410509839
  5. Fiori G. (2003), Corporate Governance e qualità dell’informazione esterna d’impresa, Milano, Giuffrè Editore, Roma, Luiss University Press.
  6. Fischer M., Rosenzweig K. (1995), Attitudes of students and accounting practitioners concerning the ethical acceptability of earnings management, Journal of Business Ethics, 14, 6, pp. 433-444. DOI: 10.1007/BF00872085
  7. Graham J.R., Harvey C.R., Rajgopal S. (2005), The economic implications of corporate financial reporting, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 40, pp. 3-73. DOI: 10.3386/w10550
  8. Granlund M., Lukka K. (1998), Towards increasing business orientation: Finnish management accountants in a changing cultural context, Management Accounting Research, 9, pp. 185-211. DOI: 10.1006/mare.1998.0076
  9. Grant C., Depree T., Chauncey M., Grant G.H. (2000), Earnings Management and the Abuse of Materiality, Journal of Accountancy, 190, pp. 41-44.
  10. Greenfield A., Norman C., Wier B. (2008), The effect of ethical orientation and professional commitment on earnings management behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 3, pp. 419-434. DOI: 10.1007/s10551-007-9629-4
  11. Gunny K. (2010), The relation between earnings management using real activities manipulation and future performance: Evidence from meeting earnings benchmarks, Contemporary Accounting Research, 27, 3, pp. 855-888. DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.2010.01029.x
  12. Hartmann F.G.H., Maas V.S. (2010), Why Business Unit Controllers Create Budget Slack: Involvement in Management, Social Pressure, and Machiavellianism, Behavioral Research In Accounting, 22, 2, pp. 27-49. DOI: 10.2308/bria.2010.22.2.27
  13. Hartmann F.G.H., Maas V.S. (2011), The effects of uncertainty on the roles of controllers and budgets: an exploratory study, Accounting and Business Research, 41, 5, pp. 439-458. DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2011.597656
  14. Harvard Business Review (1989), Ethics test for everyday managers, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 220-221.
  15. Healy P. (1985), The Effect of Bonus Schemes on Accounting Decisions, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 7, pp. 85-107. DOI: 10.1016/0165-4101(85)90029-1.
  16. Healy P., Wahlen J.M. (1999), A Review of the Earnings Management Literature and Its Implications for Standard Setting, Accounting Horizons, 13, 4, pp. 365-383. DOI: 10.2308/acch.1999.13.4.365
  17. Duncan J.R. (2001), Twenty Pressures to Manage Earnings, The CPA Journal, 71, 7, pp. 33-37.
  18. Douglas P., Wier B. (2000), Integrating ethical dimensions into a model of budgetary slack creation, Journal of Business Ethics, 28, 3, pp. 267-277. DOI: 10.1023/A:1006241902011
  19. Degeorge F., Patel J., Zeckhauser R. (1999), Earnings management to exceed thresholds, Journal of Business, 72, 1, pp. 1-33. DOI: 10.1086/209601
  20. DeFond M., Park C. (1997), Smoothing Income in Anticipation of Future Earnings, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 23, 2, pp. 115-139. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-4101(97)00004-9
  21. De Fond D., Jiambalvo J. (1994), Debt Covenant Violations and Manipulation of Accruals, Journal of Accounting and Economics,17, pp. 145-176. DOI: 10.1016/0165-4101(94)90008-6
  22. Dechow P.M., Sloan R.G., Sweeney A.P. (1996), Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC, Contemporary Accounting Research, 13, 1, pp. 1-36. DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.1996.tb00489.x.
  23. Clikeman P., Greiger M., O’Connell B. (2001), Student perceptions of earnings management: the effects of national origin and gender, Teaching Business Ethics, 5, 4, pp. 389-410. DOI: 10.1023/A:1012252922571
  24. Burgstahler D., Eames M. (2006), Management of earnings and analysts’ forecasts to achieve zero and small positive earnings surprises, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 33, pp. 633-652. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.2006.00630.x
  25. Brusa L. (2000), Sistemi manageriali di programmazione e controllo, Milano, Giuffrè Editore.
  26. Bruns W., Merchant K. (1990), The dangerous morality of managing earnings, Management Accounting, 72, 2, pp. 22-25.
  27. Bruni G. (1990), Contabilità per l’Alta direzione, Milano, Etaslibri.
  28. Brown P.R. (1999), Earning Management: A Subtle (and Troublesome) Twist to Earnings Quality, Journal of Financial Statement Analysis, 4, pp. 61-63.
  29. Bradshaw M.T., Richardson S.A., Sloan R.G. (2001), Do Analysts and Auditors Use Information in Accruals?, Journal of Accounting Research, 39, 1, pp.45-74. DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.00003
  30. Bernhardt D., Campello M. (2007), The dynamics of earnings forecast management, Review of Finance, 11, 2, pp. 287-324. DOI: 10.1093/rof/rfm015
  31. Beretta S., Bozzolan S. (2013), Il governo della performance dei processi di business: dai Key Performance Indicator ai Key Risk Indicator, Management Control, 2, pp. 9-37. DOI: 10.3280/MACO2013-002002
  32. Bastia P., Farina E. (1995), Il connubio qualità-efficienza nel controllo di gestione, Torino, Giappichelli Editore.
  33. Bandura A. (1990), Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement, in Reich W. editor, Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, States of Mind, New York, Cambridge University Press.
  34. Bamber E., Iyer V. (2002), Big 5 Auditors Professional and Organizational Identification: Consistency or Conflict?, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 21, 2, pp. 21-38. DOI: 10.2308/aud.2002.21.2.21
  35. Ball R., Shivakumar L. (2005), Earnings Quality in UK Private Firms: Comparative Loss Recognition Timeliness, Journal of Accounting & Economics, 39, 1, pp. 83-128. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2004.04.001
  36. Bagraim J.J. (2003), The Dimensionality of Professional Commitment, Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29, 2, pp. 6-9. DOI: 10.4102/sajip.v29i2.104
  37. Anderson D.R. (1947), Practical controllership, Chicago, Richard D. Irwin.
  38. Anderson D.R. (1944), The function of industrial controllership, The Accounting Review, 19, pp. 55-67.
  39. Amaduzzi A. (1939), Sulla variabilità del processo produttivo nell’amministrazione dell’azienda industriale, Milano, Giuffrè.
  40. Altamuro J., Beatty A., Weber J. (2005), The Effects of Accelerated Revenue Recognition on Earnings Management and Earnings Informativeness: Evidence from SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, The Accounting Review, 80, 2, pp. 373-401. DOI: 10.2308/accr.2005.80.2.373
  41. Hopper T.M. (1980), Role conflicts of management accountants and their position within organization structures, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 5, pp. 401-411. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(80)90039-2
  42. Moore C. (2007), Moral Disengagement in Process of Organizational Corruption, Journal of Business Ethics, 80, pp. 129-139. DOI: 10.1007/s10551-007-9447-8
  43. Moore C., Detert J.R., Treviño L.K., Baker V.L., Mayer D.M. (2012), Why employees do bad things: moral disengagement and unethical organizational behavior, Personnel Psychology, 65, 1, pp.1-48. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x
  44. Mouritsen J. (1996), Five aspects of accounting departments’ work, Management accounting research, 7, 3, pp. 283-303. DOI: 10.1006/mare.1996.0017
  45. Onida P. (1974), Natura e limiti della politica di bilancio, Rivista Dottori Commercialisti, 6, pp. 895-937.
  46. Parfet W. (2000), Accounting subjectivity and earnings management: A preparer perspective, Accounting Horizons, 14, 4, pp. 481-488. DOI: 10.2308/acch.2000.14.4.481
  47. Porter L., Steers R., Mowday R, Boulian P. (1974), Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians, Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, pp. 603-609. DOI: 10.1037/h0037335
  48. Penman S.H., Zhang X.J. (2002), Accounting Conservatism, the Quality of Earnings, and Stock Returns, The Accounting Review, 77, 2, pp. 237-264. DOI: 10.2308/accr.2002.77.2.237
  49. Rosenzweig K., Fischer M. (1994), Is managing earnings ethically acceptable?, Management Accounting, 75, 9, pp. 31-34.
  50. Roychowdhury S. (2006), Earnings management through real activities manipulation, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 42, 3, pp. 335-370. DOI: 10.2308/accr-10095
  51. San Miguel J.G., Govindarajan V. (1984), The contingent relationship between the controller and internal audit functions in large organizations, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 9, 2, pp. 179-188. DOI: 10.1016/0361-3682(84)90006-0
  52. Sathe V. (1982), Controller Involvement in Management, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall.
  53. Schipper K. (1989), Commentary on Earnings Management, Accounting Horizons, 3, 4, pp.
  54. 91-102. Scott W. (2003), Financial accounting theory, 3rd ed., Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.
  55. Shaub M., Finn D., Munter P. (1993), The Effects of Auditors Ethical Orientation on Commitment and Ethical Sensitivity, Behavioral Research in Accounting, 5, pp. 145-169.
  56. Siegel G., Sorensen J.E. (1999), Counting More, Counting Less: Transformation in the Management Accounting Profession: The 1999 Practice Analysis of Management Accounting, Montvale, Institute of Management Accountants.
  57. Silvi R., Bartolini M., Raffoni A., Visani F. (2011), Business Performance Analytics: il valore emergente nei sistemi di management accounting, Management Control, 3, pp. 17-37. DOI: 10.3280/MACO2011-003002
  58. Simon H.A., Guetzkow H., Kozmetsky G., Tyndall G. (1954), Centralization versus decentralization in organizing the controller’s department, New York, The Controllership Foundation. Simon R. (2005), La gestione delle performance aziendali, Milano, Egea.
  59. Skinner D.J., Sloan R.G. (2002), Earnings surprises, growth expectations, and stock returns or don’t let an earnings torpedo sink your portfolio, Review of Accounting Studies, 7, pp. 289-312. DOI: 10.1023/A:1020294523516
  60. Spreitzer G.M. (1995), An empirical test of a comprehensive model of intrapersonal empowerment in the workplace, American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, pp. 601-629. DOI: 10.1007/BF02506984
  61. Terzani S. (1999), Lineamenti di pianificazione e controllo, Padova, Cedam.
  62. Thomas W., Herrmann D., Inoue T. (2004), Earnings Management Through Affiliated Transactions, Journal of International Accounting Research, 3, 2, pp. 1-25. DOI: 10.2308/jiar.2004.3.2.1
  63. Tullio A. (2006), Analisi dei costi e contabilità industriale, Assago, Ipsoa Editore.
  64. Turner T. (2005), My beef with big media: How government protects big media-and shuts out upstarts like me, Federal Communications Law Journal, 57, pp. 223-234.
  65. Vandenberg R.J., Scalpello V. (1994), A Longitudinal assessment of the determinant relationship between employee commitment to the occupation and the organization, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, pp. 535-547. DOI: 10.1002/job.4030150605
  66. Zablow R. (2006), Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Workplace, Risk Management, 53, 9, pp. 26-30.
  67. Indjejikian R.J., Matějka M. (2006), Organizational slack in Decentralized Firms: The Role of Business Unit Controllers, The Accounting Review, 81, 4, pp. 849-872. DOI: 10.2308/accr.2006.81.4.849
  68. Jablonsky S.F., Keating P.J., Heian J.B. (1993), Business advocate or corporate policeman? Assessing your role as a financial executive, Morristown, The Financial Executives Research Foundation.
  69. Jablonsky S.F., Keating P.J. (1998), Changing Roles of Financial Management: Integrating Strategy, Control, and Accountability, Morristown, The Financial Executives Research Foundation.
  70. Jeffery C., Weatherholt N. (1996), Ethical Development, Professional Commitment, and Rule Observance Attitudes: A Study of CPAs and Corporate Accountants, Behavioral Research in Accounting, 8, pp. 8-31.
  71. Johnson E.N., Fleischman G.M., Valentine S., Walker K.B. (2012), Managers’ Ethical Evaluations of Earnings Management and Its Consequences, Contemporary Accounting Research, 29, pp. 910-927. DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.2011.01135.x
  72. Jones T. (1991), Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue contingent model, Academy of Management Review, 16, 2, pp. 366-395. DOI: 10.5465/AMR.1991.4278958
  73. Kaplan S.E. (2001), Further Evidence on the Ethics of Managing Earnings: An Examination of the Ethically Related Judgments of Shareholders and Non-shareholders, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 20, pp. 27-44. DOI: 10.1016/S0278-4254(01)00017-5
  74. Kaplan S., McElroy J., Ravenscroft S., Shrader C. (2007), Moral judgment and causal attributions: Consequences of engaging in earnings management, Journal of Business Ethics, 74, 2, pp. 149-164. DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9226-y
  75. King T. (2004), Making financial goals and reporting policies serve corporate strategy: The case of progressive insurance, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 16, 4, pp. 17-27. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6622.2004.00004.x
  76. King E.B., Hebl M.R., Morgan W.B., Ahmad A.S. (2013), Field Experiments on Sensitive Organizational Topics, Organizational Research Methods, 16, 4, pp. 501-521. DOI: 10.1177/1094428112462608
  77. Leong L., Juang S., Hsu J. (2003), An Empirical Study on Professional Commitment, Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement in Canadian Accounting Firms, Journal of American Academy of Business, 2, 2, pp. 360-370.
  78. Lev B. (2003), Corporate earnings: Facts and fiction, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17, 2, pp. 27-50. DOI: 10.1257/089533003765888412
  79. Levitt A. (1998), The Numbers Game, The CPA Journal, 68, pp. 14-19.
  80. Loomis C.J. (1999), Lies, Damned Lies, and Managed Earnings, Fortune, 140, pp. 74-92.
  81. Lucianetti L., (2011), L’adozione della Balanced Scorecard: i risultati di una ricerca empirica, Management Control, 3, pp. 39-66. DOI: 10.3280/MACO2011-003003
  82. Lucianetti L., Cocco A. (2011), Risorse immateriali e value relevance dell’informativa contabile, Milano, FrancoAngeli Lui S., Ngo J., Tsang A. (2001), Inter-Role Conflict as a Predictor of Job Satisfaction and Propensity to Leave: A Study of Professional Accountants, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 5/6, pp. 469-484. DOI: 10.1108/EUM0000000005775
  83. Maas V.S., Matějka M. (2009), Balancing the Dual Responsibilities of Business Unit Controllers: Field and Survey Evidence, The Accounting Review, 84, 4, pp. 1233-1253. DOI: 10.2308/accr.2009.84.4.1233
  84. Marchi L. (2011), L’evoluzione del controllo di gestione nella prospettiva informativa e gestionale esterna, Management Control, 3, pp. 5-16. DOI: 10.3280/MACO2011-003001
  85. Marchi L. (2003), I sistemi informativi aziendali, Milano, Giuffré Editore.
  86. Mattei M.M. (2006), Dalle politiche di bilancio all’earnings management, Bologna, D.U. Press.
  87. McKinsey & Company (2006), Weighing the pros and cons of earnings guidance: A McKinsey survey, www.mckinseyquarterly.com/links/21063, March.
  88. Merchant K., Rockness J. (1994), The ethics of managing earnings: An empirical investigation, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 13, 1, pp. 79-94. DOI: 10.1016/0278-4254(94)90013-2
  89. Meyer J.P., Allen N.J. (1991), A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment, Human Resource Management Review, 1, pp. 61-89. DOI: 10.1016/1053-4822(91)90011-Z
  90. Meyer J.P., Allen N.J., Smith C.A. (1993), Commitment to organizations and occupations: extension and a test of a three-component conceptualization, Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, pp. 538-551. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.538

  • Expected credit losses and managerial discretion. Current practices and future challenges Riccardo Macchioni, Alessandra Allini, Martina Prisco, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 3/2021 pp.111
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2021-003006
  • Esiste una strategia di Internal Auditing che crea valore? Un'analisi empirica del contesto italiano Giuseppe D'Onza, Alessandra Rigolini, Francesco Brotini, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 1/2016 pp.125
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2016-001008
  • The performativity of Accounting Information System in interfirm relationships Carmela Rizza, Daniela Ruggeri, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 1/2016 pp.71
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2016-001005
  • La valutazione del CdA in contesti ad elevata concentrazione proprietaria: mero conformismo o reale strumento di valutazione? Romilda Mazzotta, Giovanni Bronzetti, Graziella Sicoli, Paolo Tenuta, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 2/2018 pp.107
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2018-002006
  • Regulatory compliance of financial control systems and its implications for accountants. Some evidence from Italian experience katia Corsi, Daniela Mancini, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 3/2015 pp.65
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2015-003005
  • Crisi delle PMI e strumenti di warning. Un test di verifica nel settore manifatturiero Mauro Paoloni, Massimiliano Celli, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 2/2018 pp.85
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2018-002005
  • Big Data e revisione contabile: uno studio esplorativo nel contesto italiano Federica De Santis, in MANAGEMENT CONTROL 2/2018 pp.129
    DOI: 10.3280/MACO2018-002007

Lorenzo Lucianetti, Valentina Battista, La manipolazione dei valori di bilancio: pressione del management e tratti personali nell’attività del controller in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 1/2015, pp 101-132, DOI: 10.3280/MACO2015-001005