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The purpose of this study is to review the prior empirical studies that investigate the corporate governance (CG) determinants and provide a synopsis, and explore the main factors that drive the level of CG disclosure in the Greek context.

The authors perform an extensive review of the relevant literature and identify 24 papers that use various potential factors. Afterwards, the authors construct two different GC indices to investigate these potentials, and the authors conduct multiple regression analysis to identify and explain these determinants.

The empirical analysis shows that large Greek listed firms are more likely to disclose more CG information in the CG statement. In addition, the analysis shows statistically significant association with performance-related variables (such as Tobin’s Q and liquidity) and CG-related variables (such as independent members, board meetings and women on board).

The results of the study support theoretical arguments that Greek listed firms disclose CG information not only to fulfill task-related requirements but also to be perceived as social and legitimate.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides a synopsis of the prior literature in CG determinants, while it goes one step further by using the majority of the potential factors that have been used so far. Moreover, this study uses a multi-theoretical framework to address theoretical development, an approach that generates an outline of fruitful directions for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to look inside the “black box” in corporate governance (CG) measurement, and shed some light on how to construct a transparent, reliable and valid index, considering equally both the academics and practitioners’ perspectives.

A synthesized literature review is presented and a CG index is developed combining the strengths of three different methodologies: the Delphi method, the classical test theory (CTT) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). This approach helps authors to break the process into separate steps and to select the appropriate techniques to support their decision regarding the norms, the criteria, the variables and the weights that someone should use to construct a CG index.

The authors’ analysis indicates that a well-designed CG index requires a combination of research methods to identify the best options to solve several methodological issues in index construction. For the application of this multi-methodology in Greece, the authors used two equal and independent samples to explore the different perspectives regarding the importance of the index criteria and sub-criteria. This process provides evidence that the opinion of academics and practitioners in Greece tend to converge. Moreover, it is found that this multi-methodology produces the highest variation in CG scores and ranking orders, as opposed to a traditional approach, in measuring CG disclosure, an important issue with econometric implications.

The limitations of this study are associated with the methods used.

This paper provides practical implications for investors and commercial vendors. For the former, it highlights the need to be more cautious and/or suspicious when they use CG ratings, meaning that they should comprehend the base of the ratings models, and for the latter, it demonstrates the importance of enhancing the transparency in CG indices construction.

The value of the paper lies in improved understanding of the methodological issues in constructing CG indices. This is quite interesting because this approach could serve as a roadmap for other researchers.

The purpose of this study is twofold: First, to assess the economic impact of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) on European acquiring firms from the beginning of the sixth merger wave onward. And second, to investigate the effect of CG mechanisms such as board size, voting rights and anti-takeover provisions (ATPs) on acquirers’ gains, along with a set of control variables.

For the purpose of the study, the authors use a sample of 349 completed M&As across all business sectors between European firms from 01/01/2003 to 31/12/2017. Abnormal returns are estimated by applying an event study methodology, and the effects of CG mechanisms are assessed with univariate and multivariate cross-sectional regressions.

The authors present evidence that acquirers realize significant positive excess returns upon the announcement of M&As. The authors find past profitability to be a strong indicator of value creation, while most of the traditional firm-specific and deal variables fail to interpret the results. The authors’ analysis indicates that the examined CG measures have a significant effect on acquirer’s gains. More specifically, the authors find that boards in excess of eight directors are negatively related to announcement-period abnormal returns. In contrast, the wealth effects for acquiring firms are positively related to shareholders’ voting rights and/or to the number of ATPs. The estimated coefficients of all three CG mechanisms are statistically significant across alternative model specifications.

A clear implication is that the existence of certain CG mechanisms leads to value-enhancing strategic decisions for European acquirers. In terms of policy direction, the authors’ findings assist practitioners and/or national and transnational institutions in perceiving the efficacy of certain CG practices.

This study indicates that Corporate Governance Statements (CGSs) fail to provide adequate information to investors to understand in-depth the CG mechanisms that companies apply. Thus, the authors recommend that CGSs should provide not only narrative information but also information that may generate value for shareholders and other stakeholders as well. Such information should be qualitative and/or quantitative in nature and be made available to market participants to support their decision-making.

To the authors knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the effect of CG on the economic impact of M&As for European acquirers, using three widely examined CG mechanisms, namely, the board size, the voting rights and the ATPs. The authors’ empirical findings form the basis for further examination of the linkage between M&As and CG, with the intention of establishing the appropriate CG framework that will ensure shareholder wealth creation. This line of research could produce new insights in the field, allowing investors and policymakers to appreciate the benefits of effective CG.

This study aims to investigate the factors associated with the implementation of risk-based internal audit (RBIA).

As a first step, a literature review of the relevant literature is performed and five potential factors related to the implementation of RBIA are identified. Based on that, this paper constructs a questionnaire survey sent out to 185 internal auditors, executives and accountants in Greece to receive 90 responses during the period of November 2019–January 2020. Multiple regression analysis is conducted to identify the factors related to the implementation of RBIA.

This paper shows that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the implementation of RBIA and: the provision of risk management training, an active audit committee role and the establishment of a formalized risk management system.

The results have important implications for internal auditors, chief executive officers and accountants who wish to enhance internal audit effectiveness and the accuracy and quality of financial information.

Empirical studies on the factors related to the implementation of RBIA are rare. This is the first study to create empirical variables based on a thorough review of the relevant literature to empirically investigate the factors that are related to the implementation of RBIA in an emerging economy. By focusing on the Greek context, this study also sheds light to other countries with similar corporate governance systems, thus providing insights to settings where the Type II agency problem exists (La Porta et al., 1999).

This study aims to investigate the association between firm valuation and earnings quality in several European countries. Also, it examines if country-level governance and market development are important determinants of firm valuation.

Using a sample of 5,002 non-financial firms in 37 European countries over the years 2004 to 2019, the authors evaluate the research question using regression models.

The authors find a significant positive relationship between firm valuation and a multi-factor earnings quality measure based on four components (accruals, cash flows, operating efficiency and exclusions). The authors further show that stock market development is also a driver of firm value, while country-level governance is significant only in the case of a firm fixed effect model with time effects. The results are robust to alternative model specifications that control for endogeneity, sample heterogeneity and alternative proxies for firm valuation.

Policy makers and market participants could benefit from the findings, by exploiting the advantages of earnings quality in terms of high-ranking stocks whose earnings are backed by cash flows and other sustainable sources.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to empirically test the relationship between earnings quality and firm value in the European setting during a period that incorporates the adoption of IFRS. This is quite interesting as it permits cross-border comparability in terms of financial reporting and provides deeper and more representative evidence.

This study reviews post-2009 literature on public sector internal auditing (IA) and addresses three interrelated research questions (RQ): How is research on the public sector IA being developed? What are the focus and criticisms of the literature on public sector IA? What is the future of public sector IA research?

We adopt a systematic literature review approach and analyze 78 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2010 and 2019. We evaluate five criteria to identify the development of public sector IA research (RQ1), namely level of government, academic discipline, number of countries, geographic areas and MSCI country classification. Similarly, we use four criteria to present the focus and criticisms of the literature (RQ2), namely, type of organizational respondent, research instrument, theories and research theme examined. Finally, we use two criteria to propose new directions for future research (RQ3), namely, the directions resulted from RQ1 and RQ2 and the directions highlighted by the 10 most cited studies in the IA literature (i.e. out of the 78 papers identified).

We find an increase of publications up to 2017, most of which are single country–focused, particularly on emerging markets. Moreover, we note that IA has been studied at all government levels, most often at the local government level. Although we identify multiple research themes examined in the literature, most studies emphasize “governance” and “operational effectiveness” using quantitative analysis, without reference to any theory. By analyzing these key features, we critically interpret the challenges as well as the skepticism that may surface by researchers. Finally, considering implications from this stream of research and analyzing the most influential studies, we recommend new avenues for investigation such as comparative studies among countries and different markets that provide further evidence on the international and regional levels and studies on the effect of cultural, institutional and demographical characteristics in IA.

Our results will help researchers, practitioners and consultants to identify the key issues related with IA.

This study is the first to provide a systematic literature review on public sector IA. Furthermore, it develops insights, critical reflections and avenues for future research in this field.

Sustainable development (SD) is becoming an important area of research in accounting education. This paper examines if postgraduate accounting students in the Greek context present different awareness of SD issues and if this is related to their Master’s orientation. Moreover, it compares the results with other similar studies.

An online questionnaire was designed based on Ebaid (2022) and Aleixo et al. (2021), and distributed to two different Master’s orientation programs. Then, descriptive statistics and contingency table analysis were performed to illustrate the main differences regarding the students’ responses.

The results indicate that the examined postgraduate students recognize the importance of SD for their future careers and require more knowledge about this issue. Moreover, it is presented that most of the postgraduate students adhere to the core sustainability principles (i.e. recycle, reuse and reduce), while only the students of environmental, social and governance (ESG) Master are significantly and actively engaged in social and environmental activities. Collectively, the results show that postgraduate students in Greece are more familiar with the term SD compared to participants in other similar studies in different contexts.

Planners and decision-makers in higher education institutions could benefit from the findings to reconsider accounting education by introducing new courses and/or Master’s programs to promote knowledge and action for SD.

This is the first study, as far as we know, that examines the issue of sustainability and accounting education on postgraduate students.

The purpose of this study is to identify, recap and evaluate the state-of-the-art linkage between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and earnings management (EM).

A bibliometric analysis of 249 publications from the Web of Science (WoS) database was carried out, employing both the techniques of performance analysis and science mapping and the Bibliometrix R and VOSviewer tools.

The results of the performance analysis suggest that the publication and citation trends of the interplay of the IFRS and EM fields show an upward trend over time that most of the influential institutions emanate from the US and a significant percentage of articles published in this field emanate from high-quality journals. Science mapping via co-authorship analysis elucidates that more collaborative efforts among authors are needed in the future in this field. Bibliographic coupling analysis bifurcates the studies into six clusters and reveals the major themes and their evolution. Co-word analysis unfolds emerging trends that could be further explored, thus becoming possible future research avenues.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no other study has attempted a bibliometric analysis of research on the relationship between IFRS and EM. This article fills this research gap and makes its contribution to the scientific community by presenting recent developments in this body of knowledge and suggesting future research avenues.