IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bas/econst/y2022i6p185-200.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Audit Partner Characteristics and Real Earnings Management Practices in Jordan

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Abedalrahman Alhmood
  • Hasnah Shaari
  • Redhwan Al-dhamari

Abstract

The financial scandals that occurred of late have raised concerns on the effectiveness of external audit in restricting earnings management. Also, audit failure in the capital market has led to augmented concerns towards audit quality. In addition, an external audit considers an external monitoring mechanism in which “independent” auditors carry out audits on a firm’s internal controls and financial reports and provide their opinions to the company’s owners. Besides that, the external audit is expected to deter the management from managing earnings. Thus, this study explores the effect of the individual attributes of the audit partner on real earnings management practices in Jordan. To do so, data from 58 ASE-listed companies were analysed for six years, i.e., from 2013 to 2018. The results indicated that audit partner tenure and REM are positively and significantly related. Furthermore, audit partner affiliation was found to be negatively and significantly associated with REM. Meanwhile, audit partner age and educational background were shown to have no effect on REM. The findings of the current study have implications on investors, regulators, and market participants by affording a considerable indication that the attributes of audit partners are very crucial in explaining the REM activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Abedalrahman Alhmood & Hasnah Shaari & Redhwan Al-dhamari, 2022. "Audit Partner Characteristics and Real Earnings Management Practices in Jordan," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 185-200.
  • Handle: RePEc:bas:econst:y:2022:i:6:p:185-200
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.iki.bas.bg/Journals/EconomicStudies/2022/2022-6/11_Mohammad-Alhmood.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ahmed A. Al-khabash, 2009. "Earnings management practices from the perspective of external and internal auditors," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(1), pages 58-80, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Singh, Abhijeet & Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar & Evans, John, 2019. "Independent and joint effects of audit partner tenure and non-audit fees on audit quality," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 186-205.
    4. John Goodwin & Donghui Wu, 2016. "What is the Relationship Between Audit Partner Busyness and Audit Quality?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 341-377, March.
    5. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    6. Charles Piot & Rémi Janin, 2007. "External Auditors, Audit Committees and Earnings Management in France," Post-Print halshs-00176969, HAL.
    7. Limei Che & Ole-Kristian Hope & John Christian Langli, 2020. "How Big-4 Firms Improve Audit Quality," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4552-4572, October.
    8. Josep Garcia-Blandon & Josep Maria Argiles-Bosch, 2017. "The interaction effects of firm and partner tenure on audit quality," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 810-830, November.
    9. Talal Al-Hayale & George Lan, 2005. "The ethicalness of earnings management in the Middle East: a survey of managers and auditors in Jordanian companies," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 399-413.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    11. Tom Van Caneghem, 2004. "The impact of audit quality on earnings rounding-up behaviour: some UK evidence," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 771-786.
    12. Jere R. Francis & Dechun Wang, 2008. "The Joint Effect of Investor Protection and Big 4 Audits on Earnings Quality around the World," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 157-191, March.
    13. Murya Habbash, 2013. "Earnings management, audit committee effectiveness and the role of blockholders ownership: evidence from UK large firms," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(2), pages 155-180.
    14. Stefan Sundgren & Tobias Svanström, 2014. "Auditor†in†Charge Characteristics and Going†concern Reporting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(2), pages 531-550, June.
    15. Hsien-Li Lee & Hua Lee, 2013. "Do Big 4 audit firms improve the value relevance of earnings and equity?," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(7), pages 628-646, July.
    16. Francis, Jere R., 2004. "What do we know about audit quality?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 345-368.
    17. E. Johnson & Inder K. Khurana & J. Kenneth Reynolds, 2002. "Audit†Firm Tenure and the Quality of Financial Reports," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 637-660, December.
    18. W. Robert Knechel & Ann Vanstraelen & Mikko Zerni, 2015. "Does the Identity of Engagement Partners Matter? An Analysis of Audit Partner Reporting Decisions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(4), pages 1443-1478, December.
    19. Charles Piot & Remi Janin, 2007. "External Auditors, Audit Committees and Earnings Management in France," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 429-454.
    20. Murat Ocak, 2018. "The impact of auditor education level on the relationship between auditor busyness and audit quality in Turkey," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1517588-151, January.
    21. Murya Habbash & Salim Alghamdi, 2017. "Audit quality and earnings management in less developed economies: the case of Saudi Arabia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 351-373, June.
    22. Katherine A. Gunny, 2010. "The Relation Between Earnings Management Using Real Activities Manipulation and Future Performance: Evidence from Meeting Earnings Benchmarks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 855-888, September.
    23. Catherine Heyjung Sonu & Ahrum Choi & Joonil Lee & Wonsuk Ha, 2019. "Audit partner’s length of audit experience and audit quality: evidence from Korea," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 261-280, May.
    24. Rusmin Rusmin, 2010. "Auditor quality and earnings management: Singaporean evidence," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(7), pages 618-638, July.
    25. Steven Balsam & Eli Bartov & Carol Marquardt, 2002. "Accruals Management, Investor Sophistication, and Equity Valuation: Evidence from 10–Q Filings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 987-1012, September.
    26. Stergios Leventis & Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, 2012. "The role of corporate governance in earnings management: experience from US banks," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(2), pages 161-177, September.
    27. Dye, Ronald A, 1993. "Auditing Standards, Legal Liability, and Auditor Wealth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(5), pages 887-914, October.
    28. 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.
    29. Vander Bauwhede, Heidi & Willekens, Marleen & Gaeremynck, Ann, 2003. "Audit firm size, public ownership, and firms' discretionary accruals management," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-22.
    30. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    31. Armaya'u Alhaji Sani & Rohaida Abdul Latif & Redhwan Ahmed Al-Dhamari, 2020. "CEO discretion, political connection and real earnings management in Nigeria," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(8), pages 909-929, January.
    32. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    33. Cohen, Daniel A. & Zarowin, Paul, 2010. "Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, May.
    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. Chi Duong Thi, 2023. "Audit Quality, Institutional Environments, and Earnings Management: An Empirical Analysis of New Listings," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    2. Sayaf Algrady & Xie Xiaojun, 2022. "Influential Factors Affecting Earnings Management in Public Listed Companies: A Conceptual Model," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 12(2), pages 1-10, March.
    3. Nitai Chandra Debnath & Suman Paul Chowdhury & Safaeduzzaman Khan, 2022. "The impact of audit quality on real earnings management: evidence from Bangladesh," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 218-231, June.
    4. Wil Martens & Prem W. S. Yapa & Maryam Safari, 2020. "The Impact of Financial Statement Comparability on Earnings Management: Evidence from Frontier Markets," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-25, November.
    5. 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.
    6. Isaac Selasi Awuye, 2022. "The impact of audit quality on earnings management: Evidence from France," Post-Print hal-03824396, HAL.
    7. Dang, Man & Puwanenthiren, Premkanth & Truong, Cameron & Henry, Darren & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2022. "Audit quality and seasoned equity offerings methods," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Florio, Cristina, 2024. "A structured literature review of empirical research on mandatory auditor rotation," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    9. Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar & Islam, Ariful & Singh, Abhijeet, 2022. "Busy auditors, financial reporting timeliness and quality," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(3).
    10. Sarhan, Ahmed A. & Ntim, Collins G. & Al-Najjar, Basil, 2019. "Antecedents of audit quality in MENA countries: The effect of firm- and country-level governance quality," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 85-107.
    11. Mehdi Nekhili & Fahim Javed & Haithem Nagati, 2022. "Audit Partner Gender, Leadership and Ethics: The Case of Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 233-260, May.
    12. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:450-461 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Zhang, Yuyang & Uchida, Konari & Dong, Liping, 2020. "External financing and earnings management: Evidence from international data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    14. Bley, Jorg & Saad, Mohsen & Samet, Anis, 2019. "Auditor choice and bank risk taking," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 37-52.
    15. Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Yixuan Qin & Chengsi Zhang, 2022. "Financial structure and earnings manipulation activities in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2593-2621, August.
    16. Giuseppe Iuliano & Gaetano Matonti, 2015. "Do big 4 audit companies detect earnings management and report it in the audit opinion? Empirical evidence from italian non-listed firms," ESPERIENZE D'IMPRESA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 5-43.
    17. Sattar Khan & Yasir Kamal & Azhar Khan & Arif Hussain & Muhammad Rafiq & Maryam Bibi & Syed Fahad Ali Shah & Zahir Shah & Muhammad Khan, 2020. "The Impact of Ownership Types on the Value of Discretionary Accruals: What is the Role of Audit Committee? Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(4), pages 141-150.
    18. Guangming Gong & Liang Xiao & Si Xu & Xun Gong, 2019. "Do Bond Investors Care About Engagement Auditors’ Negative Experiences? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 779-806, September.
    19. Maarten Corten & Tensie Steijvers & Nadine Lybaert & Céline Coeckelbergs, 2021. "The Influence of the CEO on Auditor Choice in Private Firms: An Interplay of Willingness and Ability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    20. Souha Bouaziz Siala & Anis Jarboui, 2019. "The moderating effect of audit quality on the relation between shareholder activism and earnings management: Evidence from France," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 13(1), March.
    21. 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.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing

    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:bas:econst:y:2022:i:6:p:185-200. 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: Diana Dimitrova (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ikbasbg.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.