Connecting IFRS and earnings management: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose - 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). Design/methodology/approach - 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. Findings - 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. Originality/value - 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.