CEO Narcissism and Accounting: A Picture of Profits

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between narcissistic personality characteristics in CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and financial performance measures of earnings-per-share (EPS) and stock valuation. Using panel data from 1992 through 2009, we show that firms with narcissistic CEOs have higher earnings-per-share and share price than those with non-narcissistic CEOs. We examine the mechanism driving the observed results and find that narcissistic CEOs are more likely to increase reported EPS through real and operational activities rather than accrual-based manipulations. The findings suggest that narcissistic personality characteristics of top executives affect financial performance measures through the executive's decisions and influence over the firm's operational activities rather than through accrual and accounting decisions. Data Availability: Data available upon request.