Patrones distributivos de los resultados financieros y earnings management en empresas estatales de servicios públicos colombianas

Vollständiger Abstract

Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit?

This study analyzes the distribution of financial results among Colombian State-Owned Public Utility Companies (EESP) during the period 2007-2024, in the context of regulatory transformations derived from the convergence of government accounting toward international standards. The objective is to identify discontinuities around the zero threshold, a pattern that the literature has associated with potential earnings management practices. The study uses financial information reported by 580 EESP to the General Accounting Office of the Nation and applies a distributional approach based on the frequency analysis of small profits and losses. It also examines differences related to local political cycles, entity size, and regulatory changes associated with the implementation of Resolution 414 of 2014. The trends show a relatively greater concentration of small surpluses around zero, as well as more pronounced discontinuities in pre-election years and among smaller entities. Likewise, the observed discontinuities are relatively lower in the period following accounting convergence. In conclusion, the findings are consistent with the existence of distributional patterns compatible with incentives associated with earnings management in Colombian EESP, although they do not constitute conclusive evidence of deliberate manipulation of financial information.