Abstract: This paper empirically examines the relationship between conservatism and earnings management in chemical and allied products manufacturers via an analysis of the allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense. Results indicate that the allowance for doubtful accounts is overstated and has become more overstated since 2004. In addition, results show that firms utilized the excessive conservatism to manage earnings to achieve earnings goals throughout the study period. An important overall inference from these results is that the traditional view of the allowance for doubtful accounts as unconditional conservatism is, in fact, conditional conservatism. Dissertation Discovery Company and Jacksonville University are dedicated to making scholarly works more discoverable and accessible throughout the world. This dissertation, "Accounting Conservatism or Earnings Management" by Timothy Gordon Bryan, was obtained from Jacksonville University and is being sold with permission from the author. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation.