It’s not always black and white—identifying characteristics of managers who perceive and use ambiguity in accounting to their advantage

Prior research shows that rules ambiguity often leads to self-serving decision making and ethical violations. We extend this research by identifying characteristics of managers that associate with increased perceptions of ambiguity in accounting standards. Specifically, we find higher levels of narcissism (entitled selfinterest), impulsivity (affective reactivity), and construal mindset (abstract thinking) are all significant contributors, individually and in combination. Our integrated, interactive model shows impulsivity interacts with both construal mindset and with narcissism in perceptions of rules ambiguity. Path analysis further documents that perceived ambiguity mediates trait characteristics and self-serving earnings management choices. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of underlying processes driving earnings management and may explain, in part, recent mixed evidence in psychology regarding the effects of higher level construal thinking and the cognitive processes driving the interaction of narcissism and impulsivity in business settings. We also address potential implications in an era of increased principles-based guidance.