Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION -- Chapter 2. AFTER THE CRISIS: NEW APPROACHES IN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS APPLIED BY BANKS AND THE NEW FRAMEWORK FOR BANKING SUPERVISION -- Chapter 3. FINANCIAL SUPERVISION AND BANK ACCOUNTING NUMBERS: STATE OF THE ART -- Chapter 4. SUPERVISORY CHARACTERISTICS AND INCOME SMOOTHING: THE CASE OF EUROPEAN BANKS -- Chapter 5. EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS MODELS -- Chapter 6. CONCLUSIONS.

This book deals with the debated relationship between the characteristics of national supervision and manipulative practices in banks' annual reports, with a specific focus on income smoothing. The issue is quite challenging as, since the 2008 financial crisis, governmental bodies and regulators have stressed the crucial role of supervision for bank transparency purposes, but the effect of supervision on accounting manipulation is still discussed. Focusing on European banks, the book investigates whether the characteristics of national supervision affect bank propensity to smooth income, also considering the potential role of bank business models. By exploring a broad range of national supervision's characteristics, the book presents a comprehensive view on the influence of country-level institutional settings on a form of earnings management widely used across the banking industry.