Preliminary Evidence Of SFAS No. 130's Effect On Gains Trading In The Insurance Industry

Abstract

Gains trading represents a form of earnings management whereby appreciated marketable securities are sold at a gain while those with a loss are retained. By not requiring unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities to flow through income, SFAS No. 115 failed to close the door on this type of earnings management. With SFAS No. 130, however, these unrealized gains and losses must now be reported prominently in a financial statement as a component of comprehensive income. By examining the level of gains trading for a sample of companies in the insurance industry both before and after the implementation of SFAS No. 130, the current study provides evidence suggesting that this form of earnings management subsided subsequent to the adoption of SFAS No. 130.