Performance-vested stock options and earnings management

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of performance-vested stock options (PVSOs) on the propensity of managers to engage in earnings management. Using observations from the 240 largest non-financial firms in the UK, I show that managers are more likely to engage in earnings management when they hold a larger proportion of their compensation in PVSOs. When categorizing PVSOs on the basis of their distance from the end of performance periods, the results show that managerial incentives to manage earnings mainly stem from PVSOs that are granted in prior years but within a performance evaluation period (i.e., PVSOs before vesting). Moreover, vesting targets influence the relationship between earn..