IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i15p8659-d607595.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

State Ownership and Accounting Quality: Evidence from State-Owned Enterprises in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yu Gong

    (Department of Accounting and Taxation, School of Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea)

  • Seung Uk Choi

    (Department of Accounting and Taxation, School of Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea)

Abstract

The inherent problems of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), such as the lack of external monitoring, may harm their accounting quality. However, the results from prior research are not consistent. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of state ownership of SOEs on accounting quality, measured by earnings management. Using the samples of listed SOEs in the A-share market in China from 2009 to 2017, the results indicate that there is a significant and positive relationship between state ownership and earnings management. Furthermore, the results show that higher competition within the industry can effectively inhibit the negative effect of state ownership on accounting quality. Interestingly, the positive relationship between state ownership and earnings management has weakened in recent years, suggesting that the recent mixed-ownership reform of SOEs is effectively working. Collectively, current study extends prior research by focusing on SOEs in a planned economy and by combining the mixed-ownership reform with earnings management. Consequently, this study provides practical implication to regulatory bodies by showing that state ownership plays an important role in the accounting quality of SOEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu Gong & Seung Uk Choi, 2021. "State Ownership and Accounting Quality: Evidence from State-Owned Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8659-:d:607595
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8659/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8659/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 58-76, February.
    2. Lemma, Tesfaye T. & Negash, Minga & Mlilo, Mthokozisi & Lulseged, Ayalew, 2018. "Institutional ownership, product market competition, and earnings management: Some evidence from international data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 151-163.
    3. Francesco Capalbo & Alex Frino & Vito Mollica & Riccardo Palumbo, 2014. "Accrual-based earnings management in state owned companies," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(6), pages 1026-1040, July.
    4. Eskil Goldeng & Leo A. Grünfeld & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2008. "The Performance Differential between Private and State Owned Enterprises: The Roles of Ownership, Management and Market Structure," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(7), pages 1244-1273, November.
    5. Chunling Li & Runsen Yuan & Muhammad Asif Khan & Khansa Pervaiz & Xiaoran Sun, 2020. "Does the Mixed-Ownership Reform Affect the Innovation Strategy Choices of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, March.
    6. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Cosset, Jean-Claude, 2014. "State Ownership, Political Institutions, and Stock Price Informativeness: Evidence from Privatization," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 179-199.
    7. Anita Boros & Csaba Fogarassy, 2019. "Relationship between Corporate Sustainability and Compliance with State-Owned Enterprises in Central-Europe: A Case Study from Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Cao, Xiaping & Cumming, Douglas & Zhou, Sili, 2020. "State ownership and corporate innovative efficiency," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    9. Hanwen Chen & Jeff Zeyun Chen & Gerald J. Lobo & Yanyan Wang, 2010. "Association Between Borrower and Lender State Ownership and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 973-1014, December.
    10. Liu, Baohua & Lin, Yan & Chan, Kam C. & Fung, Hung-Gay, 2018. "The dark side of rent-seeking: The impact of rent-seeking on earnings management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 94-107.
    11. Wang, Hua & Wang, Wei & Alhaleh, Shadi Emad Areef, 2021. "Mixed ownership and financial investment: Evidence from Chinese state-owned enterprises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 159-171.
    12. 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.
    13. Michael Firth & Oliver M. Rui & Wenfeng Wu, 2011. "The Effects of Political Connections and State Ownership on Corporate Litigation in China," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 573-607.
    14. Xia Chen & Qiang Cheng & Ying Hao & Qiang Liu, 2020. "GDP growth incentives and earnings management: evidence from China," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1002-1039, September.
    15. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    16. Liu Wang & Kenneth Yung, 2011. "Do State Enterprises Manage Earnings More than Privately Owned Firms? The Case of China," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(7-8), pages 794-812, September.
    17. Hou, Wenxuan & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Lee, Edward, 2012. "The impact of state ownership on share price informativeness: The case of the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 248-261.
    18. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    19. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    20. Francesco Capalbo & Marco Sorrentino & Margherita Smarra, 2018. "Earnings Management and State Ownership: A Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(6), pages 117-117, April.
    21. Cristina Gaio & Inês Pinto, 2018. "The role of state ownership on earnings quality: evidence across public and private European firms," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(2), pages 312-332, May.
    22. Francesco Capalbo & Alex Frino & Vito Mollica & Riccardo Palumbo, 2014. "Accrual-based earnings management in state owned companies: Implications for transnational accounting regulation," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 27(5), pages 1026-1040.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chaohong Na & Xue Chen & Xiaojun Li & Yuting Li & Xiaolan Wang, 2022. "Digital Transformation of Value Chains and CSR Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-24, August.
    2. Mahmoud Alghemary & Nereida Polovina & Basil Al-Najjar, 2024. "Earnings management of acquiring and non-acquiring companies: the key role of ownership structure and national corporate governance in GCC," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(4), pages 568-588, December.
    3. Yanfei Bai & Dongxue Zhai & Xuefeng Zhao & Delin Wu, 2023. "The Impact of Property Rights Structure on High-Quality Development of Enterprises Based on Integrated Machine Learning—A Case Study of State-Owned Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-23, February.
    4. Fusheng Xie & Peixiang Yang, 2023. "Research on the Impact of Mixed Reform of State-Owned Enterprises on Enterprise Performance—Based on PSM-DID Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-27, February.

    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. Habib, Ahsan & Jiang, Haiyan, 2015. "Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in China: A survey of recent evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 29-45.
    2. Pasquale Ruggiero & Daniela Sorrentino & Riccardo Mussari, 2022. "Earnings management in state-owned enterprises: bringing publicness back in," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(4), pages 1277-1313, December.
    3. Tan, Youchao & Zhu, Zhenmei & Zeng, Cheng & Gao, Minghua, 2014. "Does external finance pressure affect corporate disclosure of Chinese non-state-owned enterprises?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 212-222.
    4. Nguyen, Quynh & Kim, Maria H. & Ali, Searat, 2024. "Corporate governance and earnings management: Evidence from Vietnamese listed firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 775-801.
    5. Wilson, Mark & Wang, Kun Tracy & Wu, Yue & Lau, Archie, 2022. "Institutional investors and earnings management associated with controlling shareholders' promises: Evidence from the split share structure reform in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).
    6. Habib, Ahsan & Ranasinghe, Dinithi & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Islam, Ainul, 2018. "Political connections, financial reporting and auditing: Survey of the empirical literature," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 37-51.
    7. 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.
    8. Lela Nurlaela Wati & Momon & Dwi Cahyono, 2023. "Double-Edged Sword of Controlling Shareholders on Politically Connected Group Business," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 75-91.
    9. Hsu, Audrey Wen-hsin & Liu, Sophia Hsin-Tsai, 2016. "Organizational structure, agency costs, and accrual quality," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 35-60.
    10. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political Connections and Related Party Transactions: Evidence from Indonesia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-63.
    11. Ji, Xu-dong & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2015. "Determinants and economic consequences of voluntary disclosure of internal control weaknesses in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17.
    12. Pavol Durana & Lucia Michalkova & Andrej Privara & Josef Marousek & Milos Tumpach, 2021. "Does the life cycle affect earnings management and bankruptcy?," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(2), pages 425-461, June.
    13. Fang, Ming & Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wu, Qiang, 2022. "External social networks and earnings management," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    14. Jincheol Bae & Jaehong Lee & Eunsoo Kim, 2019. "Does Fixed Asset Revaluation Build Trust between Management and Investors?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-22, July.
    15. Doan, Anh-Tuan & Lin, Kun-Li & Doong, Shuh-Chyi, 2020. "State-controlled banks and income smoothing. Do politics matter?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Jiang, Haiyan & Hu, Yuanyuan & Zhang, Honghui & Zhou, Donghua, 2018. "Benefits of Downward Earnings Management and Political Connection: Evidence from Government Subsidy and Market Pricing," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 255-273.
    17. Zhu, Jigao & Ye, Kangtao & Tucker, Jennifer Wu & Chan, Kam (Johnny) C., 2016. "Board hierarchy, independent directors, and firm value: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 262-279.
    18. Hanwen Chen & Wang Dong & Hongling Han & Nan Zhou, 2017. "A comprehensive and quantitative internal control index: construction, validation, and impact," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 337-377, August.
    19. Braam, Geert & Nandy, Monomita & Weitzel, Utz & Lodh, Suman, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management and political connections," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 111-141.
    20. Mauricio Jara-Bertin & Jean P. Sepulveda, 2014. "Earnings Management and Performance in Family-Controlled Firms:Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Serie Working Papers 01, Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Business and Economics, revised Nov 2014.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8659-:d:607595. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.