Business group affiliation, earnings management and audit quality: evidence from Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 427-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Dessalegn Getie Mihret
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Investor Protection ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Controlling Shareholders ◽  
Business Group Affiliation

Purpose This study aims to investigate the moderating role of audit quality on the association between business group affiliation of firms and earnings management in the South Asian emerging economy of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A usable sample of 917 firm-year observations was drawn from companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2013. Data were collected from the annual reports of sample companies. Earnings management was measured using the absolute value of discretionary accruals, and two proxies were used to measure audit quality: auditor size and industry specialisation. Findings Results showed that the level of discretionary accruals is positively associated with business group affiliation status, and higher audit quality reduces this association. This suggests that in environments without strong investor protection, complex ownership structures create opportunities for controlling shareholders to expropriate minority shareholders. The controlling shareholders could then mask this practice through earnings management. The findings also show that in environments lacking strong investor protection, audit quality can help improve earnings quality for group-affiliated firms. Practical implications The results suggest that financial statement users need to consider audit quality for a reasonable evaluation of the earnings quality of business groups. The study also informs regulators by illuminating audit quality as a key area of focus in any effort directed at enhancing stock market efficiency through improved earnings quality in environments where business group affiliation is prevalent. Originality/value This study documents empirical evidence on the moderating effect of audit quality on the positive association between business group affiliation and earnings management.

Auditor tenure and audit quality: an investigation of moderating factors prior to the commencement of mandatory rotations in India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nemiraja Jadiyappa ◽  
L. Emily Hickman ◽  
Ram Kumar Kakani ◽  
Qambar Abidi
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Auditor Tenure ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
Business Group Affiliation ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The Indian Companies Act 2013 mandated auditor rotations in the financial year 2018–2019. Similar regulations are being considered in many countries, based on the assumption that longer tenure is detrimental to audit quality; yet, the evidence from investigations of this assumption is inconclusive. This paper aims to examine the effect of moderating factors on the relation between audit quality and audit tenure, given the regulatory trend and the lack of consensus in extant literature. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the relationship between audit quality and audit tenure among Indian firms from 2001 to 2015 and tests for moderating factors including auditor compensation, business group affiliation and chief executive officer (CEO) duality. Findings Contrary to the objective of mandatory rotations, this study finds that longer auditor tenure generally enhanced audit quality among Indian firms prior to mandatory rotations. However, for companies paying abnormally high compensation to auditors, this paper finds that longer tenure decreases audit quality, particularly if the firm is affiliated with a business group or firms where the CEO also serves as the board chair. Thus, the potential benefits of mandated shorter tenure appear to be confined to high-fee paying companies with a business group affiliation and/or a dual-role CEO. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine conditioning factors that affect the relationship between audit quality and auditor tenure. Results suggest that regulations limiting auditor tenure would be beneficial only to the shareholders of a narrow group of firms; while for the majority of firms, limiting auditor tenure may actually be counter-productive.

Corporate social responsibility, business group affiliation and shareholder wealth: evidence from an emerging market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eswaran Velayutham ◽  
Vijayakumaran Ratnam
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Group Affiliation ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and shareholder wealth arising from announcement returns of security issuance from a frontier market. It also explores the role of business group affiliation (BGA) on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The study uses short-term scenarios to examine the link between CSR and shareholder wealth using the event study methodology which helps us mitigate the reverse causality problems related to studies of the relationship between CSR and firm value. Abnormal returns surrounding the security issue announcements were generated using the market model. Findings This paper finds that security issuers with high CSR scores are associated with higher shareholder value. However, this paper finds that CSR activities of security issuers with BGA are value-destroying which is consistent with the agency perspective of CSR. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to only one nascent market, namely the Colombo Stock Exchange. Originality/value This study documents that CSR and BGA are important determinants, among others, of stock price reactions to security offerings in emerging markets.

Corporate social responsibility disclosures and earnings quality

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Mohammad I Azim
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opportunistic Behaviour ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Responsible Manner

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the relationship between CSR disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Findings – Results show that managers in an emerging economy manage earnings when they provide more CSR disclosures. Such earnings management is achieved through income increasing discretionary accruals. Furthermore, companies from export-oriented industries dominated by powerful stakeholders (international buyers) disclosing more CSR activities, provide transparent financial reports through constraining earnings management. Originality/value – The findings of this study are significant for both investors and policymakers. Investors should not take for granted that firms engage in CSR activities, behave ethically and provide transparent financial reports. As we document that firms might manipulate earnings through discretionary accruals and provide less transparent financial reports to shareholders, the credibility of firms’ CSR policies should be assessed with caution. Policies directing at promoting socially responsible practices instead of motivating the desired behaviour, may provide managers with additional incentives to utilise CSR for opportunistic behaviour. Thus, policymakers need to be cautious about this opportunistic behaviour and enhance monitoring to enforce social compliance. Possibly, some guidelines can be introduced to confirm that CSR disclosures are based on actual practice and not just a “green wash” statement to deceive stakeholders.

Firm-specific Parameters and Earnings Management: A Study in the Indian Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1240-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Chandra Das ◽  
Chandra Sekhar Mishra ◽  
Prabina Rajib
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Institutional Ownership ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Firm Age ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Financial Leverage ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Growth Opportunity ◽  
Business Group Affiliation

This article examines the factors that influence the accrual-based earnings management (AM) and real earnings management (RM) in the Indian context. Different firm-specific parameters as determinants of AM and RM are examined using panel data for 268 listed Indian manufacturing firms for the period 2009–2013. To estimate the AM and RM, Modified Jones Model (Dechow, Sloan, & Sweeney, 1995) and Roychowdhury Model (2006, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 42(3), 335–370) are used, respectively. Findings based on these models indicate that the Indian firms indulge in both AM and RM. Firm-specific parameters namely growth opportunity, financial leverage, firm’s performance and business group affiliation positively affect both AM and RM, whereas firm’s size, institutional ownership and firm age affect negatively. However, accounting flexibility measured by the ratio of net operating assets and sales is only positively related to accrual-based earnings management. Overall, the study finds that firm’s growth opportunity, financial leverage, firm’s performance, institutional ownership, business group affiliation and firm’s age influence both AM and RM.

Does the IFRS improve earnings quality? A comparison of Turkish GAAP and IFRS

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aydın Karapınar ◽  
Figen Zaif
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose The purpose of this study is to reveal the effect on earnings quality of switching to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from Turkish generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) by comparing two sets of financial statements based on Turkish GAAP and IFRS. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on mathematical modeling. The variables (total assets, net income, total accruals, cash receivables, return on assets and size) in the models are core to the quantitative research that examines the relationship between them. In this study, the total accruals are computed based on the indirect approach, and the prediction error of the model represents discretionary accruals that reflect earnings management. The data set includes financial data prepared under IFRS and Turkish GAAP. The univariate and multivariate analyses are conducted by SPSS. Findings The results of this study indicate that IFRS does not cause any significant differences in total assets, but the net income under IFRS is larger compared to that under the Turkish GAAP. It is also found that while there is no significant difference in total accruals, there is a difference in discretionary accruals. In other words, Turkish firms use income-reducing discretionary accruals when adopting IFRS. Originality/value This study provides more insights into the effect of IFRS on earnings quality. It also provides evidence of the effect of accounting culture on IFRS adoption. As a code-law country in Turkey, publicly traded firms have to prepare financial statements based on both Turkish GAAP, which is rule-based and restricts management decisions with strict rules, and the principle-based IFRS which leaves more room to manipulate. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that reveals the effect of accounting standards on earnings management by comparing two sets of financials of the same period prepared under different standards.

Corporate governance, firm performance, and business group affiliation: evidence from India

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeti Khetarpal Sanan ◽  
Dinesh Jaisinghani ◽  
Sangeeta Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Group Affiliation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether, in emerging economies, the relationship between a firm’s corporate governance (CG) and its performance is associated with firm’s affiliation to a business group. Design/methodology/approach A total of 209 publicly listed firms in India during a 10-year period from 2007 to 2016 were studied, and the random effects model was employed for analysis. Findings Empirical evidence showed that board size and institutional shareholding positively impacted firm performance, whereas the proportion of independent directors negatively impacted performance. In group-affiliated firms in emerging economies, chief executive officer duality negatively impacted, whereas institutional shareholding positively impacted performance. These results are consistent with the principal–principal agency theory. The study found no discernible impact of proportion of independent directors on firm performance in group-affiliated firms. Originality/value In analyzing the governance–performance relationship and its association with business groups, this study extends current understanding by connecting business group research in emerging economies with CG and firm performance research. In examining firms from several industries over a long period of time after controlling for firm size, capital structure and spends on research and development and marketing, the results of this study offer rich empirical evidence that contributes to the extant literature on the nature of the governance–performance relationship.

Group affiliation and corporate debt maturity: Co-insurance or expropriation

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagan Kumar Sur ◽  
Yogesh Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Business Group ◽  
Debt Maturity ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Corporate Debt ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Private Debt ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unrelated Diversification ◽  
Business Group Affiliation ◽  
The Impact

PurposeWe examine how business group affiliation affects corporate debt maturity.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs the financial data of all listed Indian companies obtained from the CMIE database for 2011–2018. The ordinary least square, firm-fixed effect and Fama–Macbeth regression methods are used for empirical analysis. We use propensity score matching and difference-in-difference method to address endogeneity issues. Further, two-stage least square (2SLS) regression is performed to mitigate the endogeneity that stems from simultaneity between debt maturity and leverage.FindingsUsing Indian firms, we report that group affiliation is positively associated with corporate debt maturity; group firms use more long-term debt compared to similar standalone firms. We also observe that the positive effect of group affiliation on debt maturity is more pronounced in business group firms associated with a group having more resources and having unrelated diversification. However, information asymmetry and moral hazard problems weaken the impact of group affiliation on debt maturity structure of a firm. Overall, our results are consistent with co-insurance benefits that are an argument for the presence of business groups in emerging markets.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by testing the role of group affiliation on corporate debt maturity decisions in the Indian market context where market imperfections persuade firms to borrow from banks. This is also the first study on determinants of corporate debt maturity that distinguishes between public and private debt.

Value Relevance of Earnings Quality: Importance of Corporate Governance, Ownership Structure and Group Affiliations in the Listed Firms of Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Value Relevance ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Business Group Affiliation ◽  
Reported Earnings

This study is an endeavor to answer the question that does corporate governance, ownership pattern and business group affiliation effect value relevance of reported earnings quality in a sample of 300 listed Pakistani firms for the period of 2006-2018. The study uses earnings response coefficient and earning predictability as proxy of reported earnings quality. The panel data analysis shows that CEOduality and director ownership have significant inverse effect on the quality of reported earnings i.e. the two do not contribute towards improvement of quality of reported earnings. Whereas board independence, independence of audit committee and external audit from big4, institutional ownerships have significant direct effect on the quality of reported earnings. Moreover, it is observed that these effects are relatively more prominent in the case of group firms. Furthermore, firm size, earning persistence, growth and leverage have positive association with the quality of reported earnings while beta has significant negative effect on the quality of earnings. Further, it is found that in times of financial crisis, firms improve its reporting quality to uphold confidence of the investors where group firms showed relatively more tending to pursue this practice. This study has several implications for shareholders, prospect investors, external auditors and regulators. This is the first study of its nature that has investigated the role of group affiliation with reported earning quality. Key words: Earnings quality, corporate governance, ownership structure, business group affiliation, ERC.

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