IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jiaata/v44y2021ics1061951821000276.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What are the effects of culture and institutions on classification shifting in India?

Author

Listed:
  • Boahen, Eric O.
  • Mamatzakis, Emmanuel C.

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of culture, religion, and legal environment on classification shifting behavior in India. Using a sample of 30,361 firm-year observations from 2000 and 2015, we employ a panel regression analysis that accounts for heterogeneity across industries and time. We find that misclassification of expenses is present in India, and that religion helps moderate classification shifting. However, certain dimensions of culture such as individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity increase classification shifting, whereas long-term orientation mitigates it. We also examine various indirect channels involving interactions between the legal environment, religion, and various dimensions of culture and find variable results that suggest underlying complexities. In the weak Indian legal environment, religion does not appear sufficient to combat classification shifting practices. The findings have policy implications: we argue that strengthening the legal environment would complement religion in constraining managerial motivation to misclassify core expenses into special items to boost reported core earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Boahen, Eric O. & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel C., 2021. "What are the effects of culture and institutions on classification shifting in India?," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jiaata:v:44:y:2021:i:c:s1061951821000276
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2021.100402
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1061951821000276
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2021.100402?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Srilata Zaheer & Margaret Spring Schomaker & Lilach Nachum, 2012. "Distance without direction: Restoring credibility to a much-loved construct," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(1), pages 18-27, January.
    2. Ntim, Collins G. & Lindop, Sarah & Thomas, Dennis A., 2013. "Corporate governance and risk reporting in South Africa: A study of corporate risk disclosures in the pre- and post-2007/2008 global financial crisis periods," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 363-383.
    3. Linghui Tang & Peter E Koveos, 2008. "A framework to update Hofstede's cultural value indices: economic dynamics and institutional stability," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(6), pages 1045-1063, September.
    4. Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman & Mark H. Lang, 2008. "International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 467-498, June.
    5. Kurt A. Desender & Christian E. Castro & Sergio A. Escamilla De León, 2011. "Earnings Management and Cultural Values," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 639-670, July.
    6. Elnahas, Ahmed M. & Kabir Hassan, M. & Ismail, Ghada M., 2017. "Religion and mergers and acquisitions contracting: The case of earnout agreements," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 221-246.
    7. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    8. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    9. Vasiliki Athanasakou & Norman Strong & Martin Walker, 2009. "Earnings management or forecast guidance to meet analyst expectations?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 3-35.
    10. García-Herrero, Alicia & Gavilá, Sergio & Santabárbara, Daniel, 2009. "What explains the low profitability of Chinese banks?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2080-2092, November.
    11. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    12. K. Parboteeah & Martin Hoegl & John Cullen, 2008. "Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test of a Multidimensional Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(2), pages 387-398, June.
    13. Estrin, Saul & Prevezer, Martha, 2011. "The role of informal institutions in corporate governance: Brazil, Russia, India, and China compared," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33552, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Nagar, Neerav & Sen, Kaustav, 2016. "Earnings management in India: Managers’ fixation on operating profits," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 1-12.
    15. 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.
    16. Hilary, Gilles & Hui, Kai Wai, 2009. "Does religion matter in corporate decision making in America?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 455-473, September.
    17. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    18. Scott Vitell, 2009. "The Role of Religiosity in Business and Consumer Ethics: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 155-167, November.
    19. Sam Han & Tony Kang & Stephen Salter & Yong Keun Yoo, 2010. "A cross-country study on the effects of national culture on earnings management," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(1), pages 123-141, January.
    20. Ali, Ashiq & Zhang, Weining, 2015. "CEO tenure and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 60-79.
    21. Mark T. Bradshaw & Richard G. Sloan, 2002. "GAAP versus The Street: An Empirical Assessment of Two Alternative Definitions of Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 41-66, March.
    22. In†Mu Haw & Simon S.M. Ho & Annie Yuansha Li, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Earnings Management by Classification Shifting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 517-553, June.
    23. Herrmann-Pillath, Carsten & Libman, Alexander & Yu, Xiaofan, 2014. "Economic integration in China: Politics and culture," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 470-492.
    24. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    25. Ahern, Kenneth R. & Daminelli, Daniele & Fracassi, Cesare, 2015. "Lost in translation? The effect of cultural values on mergers around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 165-189.
    26. Dietrich, Andreas & Wanzenried, Gabrielle, 2014. "The determinants of commercial banking profitability in low-, middle-, and high-income countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 337-354.
    27. Stergios Leventis & Emmanouil Dedoulis & Omneya Abdelsalam, 2018. "The Impact of Religiosity on Audit Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 53-78, March.
    28. Timothy S. Doupnik, 2008. "Influence of Culture on Earnings Management: A Note," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 44(3), pages 317-340, September.
    29. Tao Shu & Johan Sulaeman & P. Eric Yeung, 2012. "Local Religious Beliefs and Mutual Fund Risk-Taking Behaviors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(10), pages 1779-1796, October.
    30. Richardson, Grant, 2008. "The relationship between culture and tax evasion across countries: Additional evidence and extensions," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 67-78.
    31. Klasing, Mariko J., 2013. "Cultural dimensions, collective values and their importance for institutions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 447-467.
    32. Art Durnev & E. Han Kim, 2005. "To Steal or Not to Steal: Firm Attributes, Legal Environment, and Valuation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1461-1493, June.
    33. Scott D. Dyreng & William J. Mayew & Christopher D. Williams, 2012. "Religious Social Norms and Corporate Financial Reporting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7-8), pages 845-875, September.
    34. Zalata, Alaa Mansour & Roberts, Clare, 2017. "Managing earnings using classification shifting: UK evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 52-65.
    35. Sushma Vishnani & Sonu Agarwal & Ritika Agarwalla & Saumya Gupta, 2019. "Earnings Management, Capital Management and Signalling Behaviour of Indian Banks," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 26(3), pages 285-295, September.
    36. Terry A. Baker & Denton L. Collins & Austin L. Reitenga, 2009. "Incentives and Opportunities to Manage Earnings around Option Grants," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 649-672, September.
    37. 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.
    38. William B. Tayler & Robert J. Bloomfield, 2011. "Norms, Conformity, and Controls," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 753-790, 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. Halabi, Hussein & Alshehabi, Ahmad & Zakaria, Idlan, 2019. "Informal institutions and managers’ earnings management choices: Evidence from IFRS-adopting countries," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    2. Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Gerald Lobo & Chong Wang, 2015. "Religiosity and Earnings Management: International Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 277-296, December.
    3. Alaa Mansour Zalata & Collins Ntim & Ahmed Aboud & Ernest Gyapong, 2019. "Female CEOs and Core Earnings Quality: New Evidence on the Ethics Versus Risk-Aversion Puzzle," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 515-534, December.
    4. Masahiro Enomoto, 2018. "Cross-Country Research on Earnings Quality: A Literature Review and Future Opportunities," Discussion Paper Series DP2018-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Oct 2020.
    5. Boahen, Eric & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2016. "Do Religion, Corporate Governance and BIG 4 Audit Interactions Affect Misclassification?," MPRA Paper 76804, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. repec:zbw:bofitp:2014_019 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & Monem, Reza M. & Tareq, Mohammad & van Zijl, Tony, 2016. "Secrecy and the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on earnings quality in Europe," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 476-490.
    8. Choi, Ahrum & Jia, Jingyi & Song, Byron Y. & Zhou, Gaoguang, 2024. "Cultural tightness and financial reporting behavior around the world," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    9. Fang, Yiwei & Dbouk, Wassim & Hasan, Iftekhar & Li, Lingxiang, 2014. "Banking reform, risk-taking, and accounting quality : Evidence from post-Soviet transition states," BOFIT Discussion Papers 19/2014, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    10. Elisabetta Ipino & Antonio Parbonetti, 2017. "Mandatory IFRS adoption: the trade-off between accrual-based and real earnings management," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 91-121, January.
    11. Alharbi, Samar S. & Atawnah, Nader & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir & Eshraghi, Arman, 2023. "Gambling culture and earnings management: A novel perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 520-539.
    12. Enomoto, Masahiro & Kimura, Fumihiko & Yamaguchi, Tomoyasu, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management: An international comparison for investor protection," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 183-198.
    13. Al Mabsali, Yousuf Khamis & Hayward, Robert & Eliwa, Yasser, 2021. "Managerial tools used to meet or beat analyst forecasts: Evidence from the UK," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    14. Martin Walker, 2013. "How far can we trust earnings numbers? What research tells us about earnings management," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 445-481, August.
    15. El Diri, Malek & Lambrinoudakis, Costas & Alhadab, Mohammad, 2020. "Corporate governance and earnings management in concentrated markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 291-306.
    16. Costa, Mabel D. & Habib, Ahsan, 2023. "Local creative culture and audit fees," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    17. Visani, Franco & Di Lascio, F. Marta L. & Gardini, Silvia, 2020. "The impact of institutional and cultural factors on the use of non-GAAP financial measures. International evidence from the oil and gas industry," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    18. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    19. Oz, Ibrahim Onur & Yelkenci, Tezer, 2018. "Examination of real and accrual earnings management: A cross-country analysis of legal origin under IFRS," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 24-37.
    20. Fang, Yiwei & Hasan, Iftekhar & Li, Lingxiang, 2014. "Banking reform, risk-taking, and earnings quality – Evidence from transition countries," BOFIT Discussion Papers 19/2014, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    21. Ugrin, Joseph C. & Mason, Terry W. & Emley, Anna, 2017. "Culture's consequence: The relationship between income-increasing earnings management and IAS/IFRS adoption across cultures," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 140-151.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Classification Shifting; National Culture; Legal Environment; Religiosity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

    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:eee:jiaata:v:44:y:2021:i:c:s1061951821000276. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-international-accounting-auditing-and-taxation .

    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.