Earnings management has been defined as follows except for

Multiple Choice

The only difference separating bad earnings managementwhich is undertaken to hide true operating performance and mislead financial statement usersfrom good earnings managementwhich is undertaken to manage the business effectively and create value for shareholdersis the intent of management when making financial reporting decisions.

Earnings management occurs when management has the opportunity to make accounting decisions that change reported income and exploits those opportunities.

Earnings management occurs when management uses the accounting discretion given by the generally accepted accounting principles for illegal manipulation of financial disclosureswhen the manipulations are not illegal, they are not considered earnings management.

Earnings management is the use of accounting techniques to produce financial statements that present an overly positive view of a company's business activities and financial position.