IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/lrc/larijb/v5y2015i4p14-23.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Audit Committee Attributes and Earnings Management: Evidence from Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Ibadin L. Ayemere Ph.D

    (Department Of Accounting, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State.)

  • Afensimi Elijah

    (Department Of Accounting, University Of Benin,)

Abstract

Using the agency theoretical framework, the study postulates that audit committee attributes can impact significantly, constraining accrual-based distortion of financial reporting credibility and thus improve the quality of financial reporting. To assess our arguments, audit committee size, audit committee financial literacy, audit committee attendance at meetings, audit committee independence and audit meetings frequency of meeting were regressed on financial reporting quality measured by discretionary accruals. The findings for the full sample and negative discretionary accruals sample confirm our expectation that audit committee characteristics have a constraining effect on earnings management. Specifically, audit committee financial expertise, audit committee size, audit committee independence and diligence showed an inverse and significant relationship with earnings management. This is in tandem with theoretical expectations and suggest that increases in these variables we exert a declining influence on earnings management. The study concludes that there is the need for companies to focus on attributes that strengthen the effectiveness of their audit committees.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibadin L. Ayemere Ph.D & Afensimi Elijah, 2015. "Audit Committee Attributes and Earnings Management: Evidence from Nigeria," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 5(4), pages 14-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:lrc:larijb:v:5:y:2015:i:4:p:14-23
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://thejournalofbusiness.org/index.php/site/article/view/737/514
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bergstresser, Daniel & Philippon, Thomas, 2006. "CEO incentives and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 511-529, June.
    2. 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.
    3. Norman Mohd Saleh & Takiah Mohd Iskandar & Mohd Mohid Rahmat, 2007. "Audit committee characteristics and earnings management: evidence from Malaysia," Asian Review of Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(2), pages 147-163, April.
    4. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    5. Klein, April, 1998. "Firm Performance and Board Committee Structure," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 275-303, April.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. J-L.W. Mitchell Van Der Zahn & Greg Tower, 2004. "Audit committee features and earnings management: further evidence from Singapore," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(2/3), pages 233-258.
    9. Xie, Biao & Davidson, Wallace III & DaDalt, Peter J., 2003. "Earnings management and corporate governance: the role of the board and the audit committee," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 295-316, June.
    10. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    11. Bradbury, Michael E., 1990. "The incentives for voluntary audit committee formation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 19-36.
    12. Choi, Jongmoo Jay & Park, Sae Woon & Yoo, Sean Sehyun, 2007. "The Value of Outside Directors: Evidence from Corporate Governance Reform in Korea," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 941-962, December.
    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. Aprillya Vernanda Putri & Khusnul Prasetyo, 2020. "The Effect of Good Corporate Governance Mechanism on Earnings Management in Lq-45 Companies," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 14(4), December.
    2. 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.
    3. Yousef Abu Siam & Mohammed Idris & Saleh Al- Okdeh, 2021. "The Moderating Role of Family Control on the Relationship between Audit Committee Financial Expertise and Earnings Management," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(12), pages 1-31, July.
    4. Tikkos Sitanggang & Titik Aryati & Bambang Pamungkas & Sukrisno Agoes, 2022. "The role of the audit committee to increase the influence of audit quality and internal control on earnings management," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 29(1), pages 399-418, March.

    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. Ibadin L. Ayemere Ph.D & Afensimi Elijah, 2015. "Audit Committee Attributes and Earnings Management: Evidence from Nigeria," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 5(4), pages 14-23, April.
    2. 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.
    3. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, December.
    4. Frode Kjærland & Ane Tolnes Haugdal & Anna Søndergaard & Anne Vågslid, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Earnings Management in a Nordic Perspective: Evidence from the Oslo Stock Exchange," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, October.
    5. 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.
    6. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Qiang Wu, 2015. "Professors in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Corporate Governance and Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 547-581, September.
    7. Tai‐Hsi Wu & Mei‐Chen Lin & Pei‐Ju Lucy Ting & Jyun Yan Huang, 2024. "Do academic directors matter? Evidence from Taiwan equity market," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 4-29, March.
    8. Nicolas Vlaminck & Gerrit Sarens, 2015. "The relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial statement quality: evidence from Belgium," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(1), pages 145-166, February.
    9. Luminita Enache & Antonio Parbonetti & Anup Srivastava, 2020. "Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 541-577, August.
    10. Tao, Ngoc Bich & Hutchinson, Marion, 2013. "Corporate governance and risk management: The role of risk management and compensation committees," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 83-99.
    11. Jiang, Ling & Ferris, Kenneth R. & Coffman, Edward N., 2009. "The association between financially expert independent directors and the accounting for employee stock options," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1-10.
    12. Wan Razazila Wan Abdullah & Enny Nurdin Sutan Maruhun & Masetah Ahmad Tarmizi & Liyana Ab. Rahman, 2018. "Mitigating Earnings Management: Adoption of IFRS and Corporate Governance Practices in Malaysia," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 8(2), pages 760-772, February.
    13. Chanchal Chatterjee, 2020. "Board Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from India," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(5), pages 1302-1324, October.
    14. Alves, Sandra, 2012. "Executive stock options and earnings management in the portuguese listed companies," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 211-235.
    15. Hideaki Sakawa & Naoki Watanabel, 2021. "Earnings quality and internal control in bank-dominated corporate governance," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 188-220, April.
    16. Dionne, Georges & Triki, Thouraya, 2005. "Risk management and corporate governance: The importance of independence and financial knowledge for the board and the audit committee," Working Papers 05-3, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.
    17. Alexandre Garel & Jose Martin-Flores & Arthur Petit-Romec & Ayesha Scott, 2021. "Institutional investor distraction and earnings management," Post-Print hal-03096196, HAL.
    18. Aman, Hiroyuki & Nguyen, Pascal, 2013. "Does good governance matter to debtholders? Evidence from the credit ratings of Japanese firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 14-34.
    19. Mukesh Nepal & Rajat Deb, 2022. "Board Characteristics and Firm Performance: Indian Textiles Sector Panorama," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 47(1), pages 74-96, February.
    20. Nguyen, Thi Tuyet Mai, 2017. "An examination of independent directors in Vietnam," OSF Preprints ay6dv, Center for Open Science.

    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:lrc:larijb:v:5:y:2015:i:4:p:14-23. 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: Al Hossain (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.thejournalofbusiness.org .

    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.