Abstract:
This study aimed at investigating an application of M-score model to predict earning management with initial public offering (IPO) in the stock exchange of Thailand. The samples used for this study comprised 2 groups: 89 IPO companies representing the companies able to manage earnings and the other 89 similar paired group companies (Matched firms) representing those do not manage earnings during 2558-2560 B.E. totaling 178 companies. The obtained data were then tested into 2 steps. For the first step, descriptive statistics were applied for analyzing initial data so that the analysis would be conducted for total asset size and relationship among 8 indexes of financial ratio which were: days sale in receivables index (DSRI), gross margin index (GMI), asset quality index (AQI), sales growth index (SGI), depreciation index (DEPI), selling and administrative expense index (SGAI), ratio of accrued expenses to total assets (TATA), leverage index (LVGI), and chances to manage earnings of both types of the companies mentioned above. For the second step, inferential statistics were applied for analyes to test M-score in order to re-chlassify the company group types. Regarding this, the companies with M-score higher than -2.22 would represent those able to manage earnings using 1 as their dummy variable, whereas those representing the ones having no chance to manage earnings got M-score lower than -2.22 using 0 as their dummy variable. From the calculatins, 73 companies were those able to manage earnings, while 173 companies having no chance to manage earnings. After that, Logistic Regressiion with a set of statisticall significance at 0.05 were employed to predict the correctness for the chance to manage earnings, as well as to analyze the relationship between financial ratio and chances for earning management. The findings revealed that the companies with initial public offering in the Stock Exchange of Thailand able to manage earnings with statistical significance. The result of the total correctness prediction were 98.32% of the company group types as classified according to the M-score value as follows: 103 companies or equaled to 98.10% were those having no chance to manage earnings, whereas 72 companies or equaled to 98.63%, and another one company may not be able to manage earnings. Among 73 companies, there 62 IPO companies and 11 similar paired group companies or equaled to 83.56 and 13.70, respectively. From the findings, it showed that the use of M-score was able to reliable classify the companies, and the financial ratio having relationship with a chance to manage earnings comprised: day sales period index (DSRI), gross margin index (GMI), selling and administrative expenses index (SGAI), and ratio of accrued expenses to total assets (TATA)