Earnings management and voluntary disclosure of management's responsibility for the financial reports
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between voluntary disclosure of a statement of management's responsibility for the financial reports (MRF) and earnings management, both accrual and real earnings management, in firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
Design/methodology/approach
The samples in this study are selected from listed companies on the SET in the year 2009. The multiple regression are used to test hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that the inclusion of a MRF has no association with both discretionary accrual and real earnings management activities (i.e. sales manipulation, a decrease in discretionary expenditures, and overproduction). The findings from the study reveal that firms with or without the MRF manipulate their earnings in a similar manner.
Research limitations/implications
The sample for the study includes Thai listed firms in the year 2009 only. The small sample size may limit the validity of generalizations from these conclusions.
Practical implications
Based on the results, the regulators will know that the voluntary disclosure of management responsibilities on the financial reports is an ineffective tool to control earnings management.
Social implications
Like Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, a disclosure of management responsibilities on the financial reports should be required by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.
Originality/value
Investors will know that firms with or without the MRF manipulate their earnings in a similar manner. The voluntary disclosure of an MRF in Thailand does not guarantee earnings quality.
Keywords
Citation
Kiattikulwattana, P. (2014), "Earnings management and voluntary disclosure of management's responsibility for the financial reports", Asian Review of Accounting, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 233-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-11-2013-0075
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited