The beginning of the new millennium was characterized by company scandals in accounting around
the world. A transparent and fair presentation of financial statements is beneficial for
capital market participants. Especially around initial public offerings different incentives of
these players exist to influence financial statements in diverse aspects. Therefore studies of
earnings management try to identify abnormal behavior. Peter Ising covers additional aspects to
shed light on substantial drivers of discretionary reporting behavior around going public.
Factors like influence on real activities industry affiliation and specific years in the IPO
process add further insight to this theoretical and practical topic. The dependence on these
factors is high and confirms that company specifics are important for interpretation of
financial results.
