Final answer:
The competing perspectives of earnings management are Opportunistic behavior and Signaling, which involve management manipulating earnings for personal gain or to communicate positive future prospects to investors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The two competing perspectives of earnings management are Opportunistic behavior and signaling. Opportunistic behavior is when managers manipulate earnings to meet certain targets or to portray the company in a more favorable light, possibly to benefit themselves in terms of compensation or job security.
On the other hand, signaling involves the strategic use of earnings reports to send a positive message to the market about the company's future prospects, capitalizing on information asymmetry between those running the company and outside investors.