Do corporate governance practices restrain earnings management in banking industry? Lessons from India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa Mangala ◽  
Neha Singla ◽  
Neha Singla

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of corporate governance practices in restraining earnings management in Indian commercial banks. Design/methodology/approach Estimation of earnings management is based on discretionary loan loss provision and discretionary realised security gains and losses using Beatty et al. (2002) model. The effect of corporate governance on earnings management is examined by performing two-way least square dummy variable regression. Data for a period of five years (2016–2020) is collected from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy ProwessIQ database, Reserve Bank of India website, annual report of banks, National Stock Exchange and bank’s website. Findings Regression results exhibit that number of board committees, size and independence of audit committee and joint audit are significantly effective in curbing earnings management. Other board-related variables (size, independence, meetings and diligence) and audit committee variables (meetings and diligence) are not effective in restraining earnings management in Indian banks. Practical implications The findings may prove to be helpful to regulators, board of directors and investors. It shows the weak area of corporate governance in India that is lack of autonomy to independent directors, which needs regulators attention and it also suggests that the number of independent auditors should be adequate for audit purposes. The board of directors must ensure the formulation of an adequate number of committees, which perform their own super specialised functions. This study brings an alarm to investors not to rely on reported earnings alone as they may be manipulated. Originality/value This paper substantiates the scant literature on the role of corporate governance practices in restraining earnings management in banks of emerging markets and to the best of the authors’ knowledge impact of joint audits on earnings management is previously unexplored in Indian banks, which are examined in this study.

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taha Almarayeh ◽  
Modar Abdullatif ◽  
Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between audit committees (ACs) and earnings management (EM) in the developing country context of Jordan. In particular, it investigates whether audit committee attributes, including their size, independence, expertise and meetings, are able to restrict discretionary accruals as a proxy for EM.Design/methodology/approachThe generalized least square (GLS) regression was used to study the association between audit committee attributes and discretionary accruals, as a proxy of EM, for a sample of industrial firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) during the period 2012–2020. Data were obtained from the firms' annual reports.FindingsThe regression results indicate that audit committee independence is the only audit committee attribute that seems to improve the effectiveness of ACs, in that it is significantly associated with less EM, while other audit committee attributes that were tested do not show statistically significant associations.Research limitations/implicationsIn emerging markets, like Jordan, ACs may not be an efficient monitoring mechanism; therefore, it can be argued that the prediction made by the agency theory about the role of ACs in mitigating opportunistic EM activities does not necessarily apply to all contexts.Practical implicationsA better understanding of audit committee effectiveness in developing countries could help regulators in these countries assess the impact of planned corporate governance (CG) reforms and to better monitor and enhance the performance of ACs.Social implicationsIn a setting characterized by closely held companies, high power distance and low demand for high-quality CG mechanisms, this study contributes to understanding how this business system operates, and how improving CG mechanisms could be successful in such cultures.Originality/valueThis study investigates the under-researched relationship between audit committee characteristics and EM in developing countries. In so doing, it aims to provide new insights into this relationship within the developing context case of Jordan, including if and how the institutional setting influences this relationship.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hounaida Mersni ◽  
Hakim Ben Othman

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate governance mechanisms affect the reporting of loan loss provisions by managers in Islamic banks in the Middle East region. Design/methodology/approach This empirical study uses balanced panel data from 20 Islamic banks, from seven Middle East countries for the period 2007 to 2011. The regression model is estimated using random effects specifications. Findings The empirical results show that discretionary loan loss provisions (DLLP) are negatively related to board size and the existence of an audit committee. Results also report a positive relationship between sharia board size and DLLP. This indicates that small sharia supervisory boards are more effective than larger ones, which could be due to the higher costs and negative effects of large groups on decision-making. Results also highlight that the existence of scholars with accounting knowledge sitting on the sharia board reduces discretionary behavior. Additional results provide evidence that an external sharia audit committee is also found to reduce discretion in Islamic banks. The conclusions are found to be robust to endogeneity issues and potentially omitted variables. Practical implications The findings are potentially useful for regulators and shareholders. Regulators could use the findings to focus on corporate governance mechanisms that restrain earnings management practices in Islamic banks and implement regulations to strengthen them. Additionally, this study gives shareholders further insight which enables them to better monitor the actions of managers and thus increase their control over their investments. Originality/value This study provides two contributions to the literature on Islamic banking. First, to the authors’ knowledge, this study is only the second piece of research focused on the impact of corporate governance on earnings management in Islamic banks. Second, the authors have examined the effect of some new corporate governance mechanisms that have not been studied previously in the research literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virasty Fitri ◽  
Dodik Siswantoro

Purpose This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the role of corporate governance mechanisms in reducing earnings-management practices in Islamic banks in Asia. Design/methodology/approach This study used 28 Islamic banks in Asia, which were listed on the stock exchange from 2013–2017. The research method used quantitative regression with data on the characteristics of Islamic banks taken from the websites of each bank. This study used discretionary loan loss provision as a proxy for measuring earnings management. Findings The results show that only the audit committee size has a significantly negative effect on earnings management. An independent audit committee has a negative, but not significant, effect. The difference expectation signs cannot be interpreted further. Research limitations/implications Only a few components of corporate governance were tested in this study. Therefore, it is expected that future studies will include more components. Practical implications In general, the components of corporate governance that include the characteristics of the board of directors and the audit committee have a varied effect on reducing the earnings-management practices in Islamic banks, except audit committee size. In practice, audit committee size should have an important role in earning management reduces. Originality/value This may be the first paper that studies the effect of corporate governance on earnings management in Islamic banks in Asia.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel Almasarwah ◽  
Wasfi Alrawabdeh ◽  
Walid Masadeh ◽  
Munther Al-Nimer

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between earnings quality, Audit Committees and the Board of companies located in Jordan through the lens of enhancing corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach The real earnings management (REM) and accruals earnings management models were notably used within the panel data robust regression analysis approach; these were used against certain Audit Committee characteristics (i.e. meeting frequency, amount of Board and Committee participants [both internal and external], size) and Board of Directors. Findings The former characteristics were found to have a positive relationship with REM, while the latter yielded mixed results: while there was no significant identifiable relationship between Board outsiders and REM, there was a positive relationship identified between Board meetings, Board insiders and Board size and REM. In regard to this study’s limitations, the qualitative data gathered for the Board of Directors through the lens of corporate governance enhancement should have been documented with more detail; furthermore, the study was limited to the study of just one nation. Research limitations/implications The data is limited to only a single country. More explanation for Board of Directors need qualitative understandings into corporate governance improvement. The control variables are essentially partial in a developing market context. Practical implications The different corporate governance code and guidelines improvements have varied influence on earnings quality. As predictable, boards of directors most effect on earnings quality. Improvements have included most modification to audit committees but through them slight measured effect on earnings quality. Social implications Jordan’s corporate governance improvements expected organised corporate governance practices generally in place amongst its boards, and though invoking considerable modification to audit committees, eventually included slight modification to earnings quality. However, both improved earnings quality. Originality/value This particular research appears to be the first to consider both Audit Committee and Board of Directors characteristics in one model; indeed, in this vein, this research is also the first to explore the corporate governance enhancements that initially stemmed from there being zero code or guideline regarding its use, despite it becoming required recently. Hence, the authors can say this study has high originality.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marziana Madah Marzuki ◽  
Effiezal Aswadi Abdul Wahab ◽  
Hasnah Haron

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether the revised Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance in 2007 enhances earnings conservatism. In addition, the authors examine the relationship between board of directors’ expertise and conservatism. The third objective is to investigate the relationship between audit committee characteristics and earnings conservatism. Design/methodology/approach The sample of this study is based on 3,183 firm-year observations for a period of 2004-2009. The authors hand collected the corporate governance variables, whereas the remaining data were extracted from Compustat Global. The authors used two measures of conservatism. The first is the market-based model by Basu’s (1997), and the second measure is the accrual-based measure by Ball and Shivakumar (2005). Findings The authors find that the revision of Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance 2007 results in improving earnings conservatism. The authors find two audit committee characteristics, namely, audit committee financial expertise and independence increase earnings conservatism, after 2007. However, the authors could not find support whether board financial expertise mix affect conservatism. Research limitations/implications This study did not consider other possible corporate governance variables that could influence earnings conservatism, as it would be a difficult task to gather them. Originality/value The authors provide evidence on the role of corporate governance and earnings conservatism in Malaysia.


2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Benkel ◽  
Paul R. Mather ◽  
Alan Ramsay

The agency perspective of corporate governance emphasizes the monitoring role of the board of directors. This study is concerned with analyzing whether independent directors on the board and audit committee (recommendations of the ASX Corporate Governance Council, 2003) are associated with reduced levels of earnings management. The results support the hypotheses that a higher proportion of independent directors on the board and on the audit committee are associated with reduced levels of earnings management. The results are robust to alternative specifications of the model. This study adds to the very limited research into the relationship between corporate governance and earnings management in Australia. It also provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of some of the regulators’ recommendations, which may be of value to regulators in preparing and amending corporate governance codes


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amel Kouaib ◽  
Asma Bouzouitina ◽  
Anis Jarboui

PurposeThis paper explores how the tension between a firm's CEO overconfidence feature and externally observable hubris attribute may determine the level of corporate sustainability performance. This work also contemplates the impact of the moderator “corporate governance practices.”Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of 658 firm-year-observations using a sample of European real estate firms indexed on Stoxx Europe 600 Index from 2006 to 2019. To test the developed hypotheses, feasible generalized least square (FGLS) regression is applied.FindingsFindings suggest that a good corporate governance score strengthens the positive effect of the psychological bias (CEO overconfidence) on corporate sustainability performance while it fails to attenuate the negative effect of the cognitive bias (CEO hubris).Research limitations/implicationsThe research provides an overview of the impact of CEO personality traits on the corporate sustainability performance level in the European real estate sup-sector. As corporate governance can have a major impact to control these traits, the authors recommend European real estate companies to improve their corporate governance practices.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existent literature this gap with two empirical novelties: (1) providing a novel insight into sustainability involvement using a sample of European real estate sup-sector and (2) investigating the moderating effect on the link between CEO psychological and cognitive biases and sustainability performance. This study provides empirical evidence that entrenchment problems arising from CEO hubris would not be mitigated by a good corporate governance practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sonu Goyal ◽  
Sanjay Dhamija

Subject area The case “Corporate Governance Failure at Ricoh India: Rebuilding Lost Trust” discusses the series of events post disclosure of falsification of the accounts and violation of accounting principles, leading to a loss of INR 11.23bn for the company, eroding over 75 per cent of its market cap (Financial Express, 2016). The case provides an opportunity for students to understand the key components of corporate governance structure and consequences of poor corporate governance. The case highlights the responsibility of the board of directors, audit committee and external auditors and discusses the changes required in the corporate governance structure necessary to ensure that such incidents do not take place. The case also delves into the classic dilemma of degree of control that needs to be exercised by the parent over its subsidiaries and freedom of independence given to the subsidiary board, which is a constant challenge all multinationals face. Such a dilemma often leads to the challenge of creating appropriate corporate governance structures for numerous subsidiaries. Study level/applicability The case is intended for MBA courses on corporate governance, business ethics and also for the strategic management courses in the context of multinational corporations. The case can be used to develop an understanding of the essential of corporate governance with special focus on the role of the board of directors, audit committee and external auditors. The case highlights the consequences and cost of poor corporate governance. The case can also be used for highlighting governance challenges in the parent subsidiary relationship for multinational corporations. The case can be used for executive training purposes on corporate governance and leadership with special focus on business ethics. Case overview This case presents the challenges faced by the newly appointed Chairman Noboru Akahane of Ricoh India. In July 2016, Ricoh India, the Indian arm of Japanese firm Ricoh, admitted that the company’s accounts had been falsified and accounting principles violated, leading to a loss of INR 11.23 bn for the financial year 2016. The minority shareholders were agitating against the board of directors of Ricoh India and were also holding the parent company responsible for not safeguarding their interest. Over a period of 18 months, Ricoh India had been in the eye of a storm that involved delayed reporting of financials, auditor red flags regarding accounting irregularities, a forensic audit, suspension of top officials and a police complaint lodged by Ricoh India against its own officials. Akahane needed to ensure continuity of Ricoh India’s business and also act quickly and decisively to manage the crisis and ensure that these incidents did not recur in the future. Expected learning outcomes The case provides an opportunity for students to understand the key components of corporate governance structure and consequences of poor corporate governance. More specifically, the case addresses the following objectives: provide an overview of corporate governance structure; highlight the role of board of directors, audit committee and external auditors; appreciate the rationale behind mandatory auditor rotation; appreciate the consequences of poor corporate structure; explore the interrelationship between sustainability reporting and transparency in financial disclosures of a corporation; understand management and governance of subsidiaries by multinational companies; and understand the response to a crisis situation. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zubaedy Sy ◽  
Nuryati Nuryati ◽  
Surifah Surifah

 The main objective of this research is to create good corporate governance that is able to restrictopportunistic REM. The specific objectives of this study are 1) to provide evidence of difference inthe practices of CG and REM in Indonesian and Malaysian Islamic banks,and 2) to provide empirical evidence of the influence of CG on the REM of Indonesian and Malaysian Islamic banks.           The study was conducted on Indonesian and Malaysian Islamic banks from 2011 to 2016by using purposive samplingmethod. The research data is secondary data in the form of annual reports and financial reports originating from the Indonesian Banking Directory, the Indonesia Stock Exchange and the Malaysia Stock Exchange. The analysis method used to test the differences between CG and real earnings management is the Man Whitney test whilethe method used to test the effect of CG on the REM of Islamic Banks in Indonesia and Malaysia is the multiple regression analysiswithordinary least square.            The results show that the practices of corporate governance in Indonesia and Malaysia have their own strengths and weaknesses. CG mechanism of Indonesia and Malaysia shows lower level in some parts and higher level in other parts. Malaysia’s REM islower than Indonesia’sREM through operating cash flow, investment profit sharing, and discretionary costs. The experimental results show that CG generally does not affect real earnings management and only the independent audit committee who is able to restrictreal earnings management through operating cash flows.            Riset ini  menguji  hubungan antara corporate governance (CG) dan manajemen laba berdasar aktivitas riil  atau disebut real earnings management (REM) bank-bank Islam  di Indonesia dan Malaysia. Tujuan jangka panjang riset ini adalah terciptanya good corporate governace yang mampu membatasi REM oportunistik. Target khusus penelitian ini adalah 1) memberi bukti empiris perbedaan praktik CG dan REM bank Islam  Indonesia dan Malaysia. 2) memberi bukti empiris pengaruh CG terhadap REM bank Islam  Indonesia dan Malaysia.             Metode penelitian menggunakan metode ilmiah - kuantitatif, dengan membangun satu atau lebih hipotesis berdasarkan pada suatu struktur  atau kerangka teori dan kemudian menguji hipotesis-hipotesis tersebut secara empiris. Penelitian dilakukan pada bank Islam  Indonesia dan Malaysia periode waktu 2011 sampai 2016. Metode pengambilan sampel secara purposive sampling. Data penelitian merupakan data sekunder berupa  annual report dan laporan keuangan yang berasal dari Directory Perbankan Indonesia, Bursa Efek Indonesia  dan Bursa Efek Malaysia.  Teknik analisis untuk menguji perbedaan CG dan manajemen laba riil adalah uji beda Man Whitney, sedangkan untuk menguji pengaruh CG terhadap REM Bank Islam  Indonesia dan Malaysia menggunakan analisis regresi berganda ordinary least square.            Hasil menunjukkan bahwa praktik corporate governance Negara Indonesia dan Malaysia, masing masing memiliki kelebihan dan kelemahan. Mekanisme CG ada yang lebih rendah, maupun lebih tinggi antara Negara Indonesia dengan Malaysia. REM Malaysia lebih rendah signifikan dari pada Indonesia, baik melalui arus kas operasi, bagi hasil investasi, maupun biaya diskresioner. Hasil uji menunjukkan bahwa pada umumnya mekanisme CG tidak berpengaruh terhadap manajemen laba riil. Hanya Independensi komite audit yang mampu menekan manajemen laba riil melalui arus kas operasi.Keywords:Corporate governance, real earnings management, Islamic banking.


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