The Impact of Religion on Financial Reporting Irregularities

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 645-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean T. McGuire ◽  
Thomas C. Omer ◽  
Nathan Y. Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Agency Conflicts ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of religion on financial reporting. We predict that firms in religious areas are less likely to engage in financial reporting irregularities because prior research links religiosity to reduced acceptance of unethical business practices. Our results suggest that firms headquartered in areas with strong religious social norms generally experience lower incidences of financial reporting irregularities. We also examine whether religiosity influences managers' methods of managing earnings. Although we find a negative association between religiosity and abnormal accruals, we find a positive association between religiosity and two measures of real earnings management, suggesting that managers in religious areas prefer real earnings management over accruals manipulation. We provide evidence that our results are not driven by firms headquartered in rural areas and conclude that religious social norms represent a mechanism for reducing costly agency conflicts, particularly when other external monitoring is low. Data Availability: Contact the authors.

International Financial Reporting Standards and Real Earnings Management

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 281-292
Author(s):  
Ooi Chee Keong ◽  
Shafi Mohamad ◽  
Syed Ehsanullah
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
International Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Reporting Standards ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
The Impact

We have attempted to investigate the impact of adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on real earnings management (REM) in this study, along with a thorough examination to determine the relationship between IFRS and REM. The study is primarily based on 178 listed firms from different industrial sectors in Malaysia, wherein IFRS had finally been implemented in 2008. For more adequate estimations and requisite results, we have included data of eight years i.e., 4 years before the implementation of IFRS and 4 years after its implementation, in our sample. Our results showed positive association between IFRS and REM, accordingly, precisely suggesting that after the implementation of IFRS, these firms were found to be engaged more in less detectable REM, and also exhibiting quite a poor financial reporting quality apparently below international standards.

scholarly journals CEO Characteristics and Real Earnings Management in Jordan

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Mohammad Abedalrahman Alhmood ◽  
Hasnah Shaari ◽  
Redhwan Al-dhamari
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Political Connection ◽  
Ceo Characteristics

The Chief Executive Officer (CEOs) tends to be the most influential member of a corporation as they exert control over corporate decisions such as financial disclosure, board structure, and company performance in ensuring enhanced corporate performance and earnings. The issue of earnings management (EM) that has captured the attention of researchers may be among the most critical factors that are linked to financial statement manipulation. Therefore, the current study explored the effects of the personal characteristics of CEOs on real earnings management (REM) practices in Jordan. Data of 58 companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange for six years from 2013 to 2018 were utilised to achieve this study’s objectives. The results of this study revealed that CEOs’ experience had a significantly positive association with REM. Meanwhile, CEOs’ tenure had no impact on REM among Jordanian firms. Also, the results exposed the presence of a significantly negative association between CEO duality and REM. Finally, CEOs’ political connection was found to have a significantly positive association with REM. This study offers empirical evidence on the effect of CEO characteristics on REM and how such characteristics can lead to exploitation, which brings an impact on the financial reporting quality.

scholarly journals The Impact of Financial Statement Comparability on Earnings Management: Evidence from Frontier Markets

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Wil Martens ◽  
Prem W. S. Yapa ◽  
Maryam Safari
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Developed Markets ◽  
Accounting Comparability ◽  
The Impact

This paper examined whether financial statement comparability constrains opportunistic earnings management in frontier market countries. Using a large sample of 19 frontier market countries, and an accounting comparability method that maps comparability across several accounting standards, the results show that enhanced financial comparability constrains accruals earnings management (AEM). Contrary to developed markets and novel to this study, a significant relationship between financial comparability and real earnings management (REM) was not found. For greater robustness, AEM and REM were also tested on both International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adopting and non-adopting countries. The results suggest IFRS adoption constrains AEM, yet exhibited no impact on constraining REM. Additionally, the use of BigN auditors failed to conclusively show an ability to moderate EM. When combined, the results suggest that frontier markets engage in less REM than expected. It is also noted that the legal roots (civil vs. common law) play a significant role in constraining earnings management. Common law countries exhibited lower AEM when comparability increased; this significance was not found in countries that were rooted in civil law. Contributions from this study show that findings from developed markets cannot be generalised to frontier markets.

scholarly journals Examining the Effect of Joint and Dual Audits on Earnings Management Practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed M. Mandour ◽  
Ali M. Elharidy ◽  
Ekramy S. Mokhtar
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
External Audit ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
Audit Approach ◽  
Voluntary Adoption ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of the paper is to determine the impact of the voluntary adoption of the joint external audit approach in reducing earnings management practices through accruals and real operations compared with the adoption of the dual external audit approach. The research follows a quantitative approach to collect and analyze data from companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange during the period 2010-2014. 104 firm-year observations are tested in the sample. The findings of the empirical study shows evidence that there are consistent earnings management practices in the studied sample regardless of the type of audit (joint or dual). There is a negative association between joint audit and discretionary accruals compared to dual audit. This means that firms with joint audit are less engaged in accrual earnings management practices. In addition, large firms that adopt joint audit are less engaged in accrual earnings management. However, there is no effect of joint audit on real earnings management practices compared to dual audit. Our results are consistent for firm size, profitability and leverage. Both firm profitability and leverage show positive association with earnings management practices while size did not have a significant effect on either type of practice. Finally, we find that firms with high (low) profitability that adopt joint audits are less (more) likely to engage in real earnings management practices. Our results are of use to regulators, external auditors and investors.

The Impact on Auditor Judgments of CEO Influence on Audit Committee Independence

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 129-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Cohen ◽  
Lisa Milici Gaynor ◽  
Ganesh Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Arnold M. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Management Incentives ◽  
Auditor Judgments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

SUMMARY Despite the importance of audit committee independence in ensuring the integrity of the financial reporting process, recent research suggests that even when audit committees meet regulatory independence requirements, certain factors, such as undue influence by the CEO over the selection of the audit committee, may diminish the ability of its members to be substantively independent. This study investigates whether auditors consider CEO influence over audit committee independence when making audit judgments where management's incentives to manage earnings differ. In an experiment, we find that audit partners and managers waive a larger amount of a proposed audit adjustment when management's incentives for earnings management are low than when incentives are high. However, when management incentives are high, auditors are less likely to waive as much of an adjustment when the CEO has less influence over the audit committee's independence than when the CEO's influence is greater. In all, the results support our expectations that auditors consider CEO influence on audit committee independence in the resolution of contentious accounting issues. Data Availability: Contact the authors.

scholarly journals The Role Of Board Characteristics In Mitigating Management Opportunism: The Case Of Real Earnings Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorra Talbi ◽  
Mohamed Ali Omri ◽  
Khaled Guesmi ◽  
Zied Ftiti
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

<p>This study seeks to provide empirical evidence of the efficacy of board characteristics in constraining management opportunism, measured by real earnings management. The paper uses regression analysis to document empirical evidence regarding the impact of the independence of boards of directors and the independence of committees on real earnings management in 7,481 US firms over the period 2000 to 2009. This study contributes to empirical studies on the role of corporate governance in financial reporting quality by demonstrating the role of the independence of boards of directors and the independence of committees in constraining real earnings management. These results should contribute to providing an orientation for future regulators regarding possible amendments, especially in the wake of the current financial crisis.</p>

The Impact of Top Management Team Characteristics on the Choice of Earnings Management Strategies: Evidence from China

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baolei Qi ◽  
Jerry W. Lin ◽  
Gaoliang Tian ◽  
Hua Christine Xin Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Top Management Team ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Upper Echelons Theory ◽  
The Impact

SYNOPSIS Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2000 to 2015, we investigate the association between a firm's use of earnings management strategies and the characteristics of its top management team. Our findings suggest that several demographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, educational level, and financial work experience) of the entire team, as well as of the CEO/CFO and other team members separately, are significantly associated with both accrual-based and real-activities-based earnings management; these, in turn, may affect the quality of the firm's financial reporting. Our results are consistent with the predictions of the upper echelons theory and have implications for various stakeholders in corporate financial reporting, as well as providing insights to those responsible for selecting and developing upper-level executives. JEL Classifications: M40; M41. Data Availability: The data used in this paper are derived from public sources.

scholarly journals Real earnings manipulation surrounding mergers and acquisitions: the targets’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Zaglol Elrazaz ◽  
Moataz Elmassri ◽  
Yousry Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Firm Heterogeneity ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Fixed Effect Model ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Agency Conflicts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thomson Reuters

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether UK public targets manage their earnings using real activities manipulation in the period prior to the announcement of a mergers and acquisition (M&A). It also examines whether the payment method in M&As affects the degree to which takeover targets manipulate earnings. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 131 UK listed targets acquired over the period 1995–2013, this paper examines real earnings management (REM) by employing OLS regression models. The data related to deals have been mainly collected from Thomson One Banker and Thomson Reuters Eikon databases. REM is examined by investigating abnormal cash flow from operations, abnormal discretionary expenses and abnormal production costs. This analysis was supplemented by conducting additional robustness checks. Findings The results show that UK takeover targets manage earnings upwards through cutting discretionary expenses in the year prior to the acquisition, while they do not do so by manipulating sales or production costs. Moreover, targets of cash-only or mixed-payment deals do not have the same strong motivation to manage their earnings as stock-financed deal target counterparts do. Our results continue to hold after using alternative accrual earnings management (EM) measures, controlling for unobservable firm heterogeneity using the fixed-effect model and controlling for endogeneity using the two-stage Heckman (1979) model. Practical implications The main findings of this study could be beneficial for various parties involved M&As, such as standard setters and regulators. A need arises to improve disclosure rules and enhance overall financial reporting quality in the capital markets with the aim of reducing information asymmetry and agency conflicts. Originality/value As far as the literature on EM around M&As is concerned, only EM by acquirers has been examined, and not much attention has been paid to targets’ EM.

Real earnings management or “just business”

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-283
Author(s):  
Angel Arturo Pacheco Paredes ◽  
Clark Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sales Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Performance ◽  
Future Return ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to refine what is characterized as real earnings management. Research on real earnings management (REM) has expressed concerns that firms deviating from normal business practices may endure a negative impact on future performance. Not all studies have, however, found a negative impact of REM on future performance. As a consequence, a new stream of research is emerging that examines whether actions that would mechanically be identified as REM are truly earnings management or are simply efficient business activities. The authors further this stream of inquiry by identifying factors, i.e. restructurings and expectations of future sales growth, that can be useful in making a distinction between earnings management and “just business”. Design/methodology/approach To measure REM, the authors rely on two of the proxies of Roychowdhury (2006), abnormal discretionary expenses and abnormal production costs, and regress interactions of these with measures of restructurings and expectations of future sales growth, on future performance. Findings The authors find that when they control for restructurings, reductions in discretionary expenses that would ordinarily be indicative of REM are instead associated with improved future return-on-assets and security returns. They further find that when they control for future sales growth, overproduction is also associated with improved return on sales as it is with future increases in cost of goods sold. Originality/value Together, the results may explain the contradictory results presented in prior research with respect to the impact of REM on future performance – that is, some of what has been identified as REM in prior studies may, in fact, be “just business”.

The impact of principles-based vs rules-based accounting standards on reporting quality and earnings management

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Sundvik
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Absolute Magnitude ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether principles-based vs rules-based accounting standards have an effect on measures of financial reporting quality and earnings management strategies. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a firm-year-specific variable that captures the extent to which firms’ accounting and operating behavior is affected by the characteristics of a specific standard in the USA. Measures of absolute accruals, financial misconducts, signed abnormal accruals and abnormal cash flows are used to assess the effects. Findings The results show that absolute magnitude of accruals and probability of financial misconduct is lower, and accrual earnings management is higher when firms’ standards are more based on principles. The study also suggests that potentially costlier real earnings management is a consequence of rules-based standards. Research limitations/implications This study relies heavily on measures from the prior accounting literature, hence, care has been exercised in generalizing the findings. Practical implications This study has direct implications for a number of stakeholders, including standard setters, policymakers, securities regulators, researchers, investors, financial statement preparers and auditors. For example, the future development of accounting standards can be supported by the empirical conclusions in this study together with previous standard-setting ambitions, commentaries, experiments and analytical work. Originality/value This study extends prior single-country studies on reporting quality and cross-country studies on transition effects of firms switching from local to International Accounting Standards by observing the impact of accounting standard characteristics on additional measures of reporting quality and accrual as well as real earnings management when holding institutional factors constant. The study also offers archival evidence complementing prior commentaries, experiments and analytical work.

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