IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/acctfi/v50y2010i1p171-195.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innate and discretionary accruals quality and corporate governance

Author

Listed:
  • Pamela Kent
  • James Routledge
  • Jenny Stewart

Abstract

This paper extends previous research on the association between corporate governance mechanisms and accruals quality. We derive measures of the discretionary and innate components of accruals quality and regress them against corporate governance characteristics. For discretionary accruals, we find use of a Big 4 audit firm and a larger audit committee as the primary governance mechanisms associated with higher accruals quality. For innate accruals quality, we find that higher quality is associated with an independent board of directors, a larger, more independent and more active audit committee, and use of a Big 4 audit firm. Our findings suggest a stronger relation between sound governance mechanisms and innate accruals quality than discretionary accruals quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Kent & James Routledge & Jenny Stewart, 2010. "Innate and discretionary accruals quality and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(1), pages 171-195, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:50:y:2010:i:1:p:171-195
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2009.00321.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2009.00321.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2009.00321.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis, Jennifer & LaFond, Ryan & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2005. "The market pricing of accruals quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 295-327, June.
    2. Wendy Beekes & Philip Brown, 2006. "Do Better-Governed Australian Firms Make More Informative Disclosures?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3-4), pages 422-450.
    3. Shuping Chen & Terry Shevlin & Yen H. Tong, 2007. "Does the Pricing of Financial Reporting Quality Change Around Dividend Changes?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 1-40, March.
    4. Geoffrey C. Kiel & Gavin J. Nicholson, 2003. "Board Composition and Corporate Performance: how the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 189-205, July.
    5. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    6. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    7. McNichols, Maureen F., 2000. "Research design issues in earnings management studies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 313-345.
    8. Connie L. Becker & Mark L. Defond & James Jiambalvo & K.R. Subramanyam, 1998. "The Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    9. Gavin J. Nicholson & Geoffrey C. Kiel, 2007. "Can Directors Impact Performance? A case‐based test of three theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 585-608, July.
    10. Elizabeth A. Rainsbury & Michael E. Bradbury & Steven F. Cahan, 2008. "Firm characteristics and audit committees complying with ’best practice‘ membership guidelines," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 393-408, March.
    11. James Jiambalvo, 1996. "Discussion of “Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 37-47, March.
    12. Bartov, Eli & Gul, Ferdinand A. & Tsui, J.S.L.Judy S. L., 2000. "Discretionary-accruals models and audit qualifications," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 421-452, December.
    13. David Aboody & John Hughes & Jing Liu, 2005. "Earnings Quality, Insider Trading, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 651-673, December.
    14. Lex Donaldson & James H. Davis, 1994. "Boards and Company Performance ‐ Research Challenges the Conventional Wisdom," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(3), pages 151-160, July.
    15. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    16. Irene Karamanou & Nikos Vafeas, 2005. "The Association between Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, and Management Earnings Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 453-486, June.
    17. Ashbaugh-Skaife, Hollis & Collins, Daniel W. & LaFond, Ryan, 2006. "The effects of corporate governance on firms' credit ratings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 203-243, October.
    18. Gilles Hilary & Gary C. Biddle, 2006. "Accounting Quality and Firm-Level Capital Investment," Post-Print hal-00481720, HAL.
    19. Richardson, Scott A. & Sloan, Richard G. & Soliman, Mark T. & Tuna, Irem, 2005. "Accrual reliability, earnings persistence and stock prices," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 437-485, September.
    20. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor independence, `low balling', and disclosure regulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 113-127, August.
    21. Pamela Kent & Jenny Stewart, 2008. "Corporate governance and disclosures on the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 48(4), pages 649-671, December.
    22. Ping‐Sheng Koh & Stacie Kelley Laplante & Yen H. Tong, 2007. "Accountability and value enhancement roles of corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(2), pages 305-333, June.
    23. Jeong†Bon Kim & Richard Chung & Michael Firth, 2003. "Auditor Conservatism, Asymmetric Monitoring, and Earnings Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 323-359, June.
    24. Jeffrey Cohen & Ganesh Krishnamoorthy & Arnold M. Wright, 2002. "Corporate Governance and the Audit Process," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 573-594, December.
    25. Ryan Davidson & Jenny Goodwin‐Stewart & Pamela Kent, 2005. "Internal governance structures and earnings management," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 45(2), pages 241-267, July.
    26. Bin N. Srinidhi & Ferdinand A. Gul, 2007. "The Differential Effects of Auditors' Nonaudit and Audit Fees on Accrual Quality," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 595-629, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammad I Azim, 2012. "Corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on company performance: A structural equation model analysis," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 37(3), pages 481-505, December.
    2. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    3. Jacqueline Christensen & Pamela Kent & James Routledge & Jenny Stewart & Gary Monroe, 2015. "Do corporate governance recommendations improve the performance and accountability of small listed companies?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 55(1), pages 133-164, March.
    4. Alzoubi, Ebraheem Saleem Salem, 2018. "Audit quality, debt financing, and earnings management: Evidence from Jordan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 69-84.
    5. Ujkan Bajra & Simon Cadez, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Governance Quality on Earnings Management: Evidence from European Companies Cross†listed in the US," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(2), pages 152-166, June.
    6. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    7. Sandeep Goel & Nimisha Kapoor, 2022. "Is earnings management related to board independence and gender diversity? Sector-wise evidence from India," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 363-373, December.
    8. Nimisha Kapoor & Sandeep Goel, 2017. "Board Characteristics, Firm Profitability and Earnings Management: Evidence from India," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 27(2), pages 180-194, June.
    9. Chanchal Chatterjee, 2020. "Board Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from India," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(5), pages 1302-1324, October.
    10. James Routledge & David Morrison, 2012. "Insolvency administration as a strategic response to financial distress," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 37(3), pages 441-459, December.
    11. Jacqueline Christensen & Pamela Kent & Jenny Stewart, 2010. "Corporate Governance and Company Performance in Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 20(4), pages 372-386, December.
    12. Mohamed Khalil & Aydin Ozkan, 2016. "Board Independence, Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Egypt," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(1), pages 84-118, April.
    13. Benjamin T. Albersmann & Daniela Hohenfels, 2017. "Audit Committees and Earnings Management – Evidence from the German Two-Tier Board System," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 18(2), pages 147-178, May.
    14. Liyu He & Sue Wright & Elaine Evans & Susan Crowe, 2009. "What makes a board independent? Australian evidence," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(2), pages 144-166, September.
    15. Peter Baxter & Julie Cotter, 2009. "Audit committees and earnings quality," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(2), pages 267-290, June.
    16. Daniela Hohenfels & Reiner Quick, 2020. "Non-audit services and audit quality: evidence from Germany," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 959-1007, October.
    17. Jorge Farinha & Luis Filipe Viana, 2006. "Board structure and modified audit opinions: the case of the Portuguese Stock Exchange," CEF.UP Working Papers 0609, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    18. Ghafran, Chaudhry & O'Sullivan, Noel & Yasmin, Sofia, 2022. "When does audit committee busyness influence earnings management in the UK? Evidence on the role of the financial crisis and company size," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    19. Wael Almaqoushi & Ronan Powell, 2021. "Audit committee quality indices, reporting quality and firm value," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 185-229, January.
    20. Pavlopoulos, Athanasios & Magnis, Chris & Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2017. "Integrated reporting: Is it the last piece of the accounting disclosure puzzle?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-46.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:50:y:2010:i:1:p:171-195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaanzea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.