Croatian companies use tricks to avoid showing losses or drops in earnings. They often report small positive earnings and slight increases in earnings, while losses and decreases are less common. This is likely because they manipulate certain accounting entries. When these manipulations are removed, we see fewer small positive earnings and more small negative earnings. The changes in earnings also vary after removing these manipulations. This study provides evidence that companies in Croatia manage their earnings to meet certain benchmarks, even if it means bending the rules.