Big bath accounting describes a companys actions when it:

Manages its earnings in a downward direction in the year of a major acquisition or restructuring

Optimizes the amount of Goodwill recognized upon paying a premium to acquire another company

Manages its earnings by maintaining such a large number of discretionary items that it could fill a bathtub, so to speak

Cleans its books, so to speak, of improperly recorded items in anticipation of a rigorous audit examination