Earnings management: the analysis of a sample of Italian companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange

Abstract

Earnings management is a common accounting practice carried out by managers that leads to the production of financial reports, with the attempt to show stakeholders a good image of the firm’s business activities as well as of its economic and financial position. The aim of this thesis is to understand how pervasive earnings management in the Italian scenario is, by analysing a sample of Italian companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, respectively in the FTSE Italia Mid Cap and FTSE Italia Small Cap indexes during the years 2017-2019. Companies included in the sample belong to different sectors and therefore are able to provide a broader picture. In order to conduct the analysis, some diagnostic analysis will be put in place, such as the Beneish model. Then, the obtained results will be compared and commented.