... manipulations. The study suggests that investors could use the complexity of annual reports to detect earnings management. More specifically, it seems that firms engaging in discretionary accruals produce complex annual reports. Impression management Accruals Obfuscation Manipulation Real activities...

...Christopher Demaline Purpose The paper examines the difference in the disclosure readability of SEC investigated firms and the population of firms traded in the USA. This study aims to further refine the obfuscation hypothesis and broader impression management theory. Design/methodology...