CEOs’ accounting-based attributes and earnings management strategies under mandatory IFRS adoption
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the moderating effect of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) experience/education and earnings management in European companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a sample of 302 European firms listed on Stoxx Europe 600 index and 596 CEOs from 2000 to 2014 are used to test the moderation model using moderation regression analysis.
Findings
Evidence reveals that CEO’s accounting-based attributes are negatively associated with accruals-based earnings management and positively associated with real earnings management (REM). Further, mandatory IFRS adoption significantly moderates the impact of CEO’s accounting-based traits on earnings-management activities.
Research limitations/implications
A small number of European firms were studied and, given the long study period, many firms with missing data were eliminated. To avoid a small sample size, countries with few observations were included, which leads to an uneven distribution between observations per country.
Practical implications
Findings from this paper can help: European firms to consider demographic traits when recruiting or promoting executives; the IASB to improve enforcement mechanisms and make IFRS implementation mandatory; and audit committees to effectively monitor REM.
Originality/value
This study is unique in providing European evidence for the moderating effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on the relationship between CEOs’ accounting experience/education and earnings management activities. This paper is also relevant as it addresses the effectiveness and efficiency of accounting literates.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Editor and the two anonymous referees of the “Journal of Applied Accounting Research” for their insightful comments that have greatly benefitted the paper. The authors also gratefully acknowledge comments from Professor Yves Mard and participants at the 38th Conference of the Francophone Association of Accounting (AFC): “Accountability, responsibilities and accounting” – Poitiers, France (May 2017). The authors also thank English experts for their careful proofreading and editing.
Citation
Kouaib, A., Jarboui, A. and Mouakhar, K. (2018), "CEOs’ accounting-based attributes and earnings management strategies under mandatory IFRS adoption", Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 608-625. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-04-2017-0051
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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