CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria

AbstractMotivated by agency conflicts of real earnings management and upper echelons in CEO demographic characteristics, this study examines the effect of CEO attributes on real earnings management and addresses the question of whether the presence of an independent board ensures accurate and reliab...

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Main Authors: Auwalu Musa, Rohaida Abdul Latif, Jamaliah Abdul Majid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Cogent Business & Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2023.2194464
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author Auwalu Musa
Rohaida Abdul Latif
Jamaliah Abdul Majid
author_facet Auwalu Musa
Rohaida Abdul Latif
Jamaliah Abdul Majid
author_sort Auwalu Musa
collection DOAJ
description AbstractMotivated by agency conflicts of real earnings management and upper echelons in CEO demographic characteristics, this study examines the effect of CEO attributes on real earnings management and addresses the question of whether the presence of an independent board ensures accurate and reliable financial reporting practice. The study also examines the extent to which independent boards moderate the relationship between CEO attributes and real earnings management. Using a sample of 292 observations from Nigeria, an emerging market, from 2018 to 2021, a feasible generalized least square (FGLS) regression model was used to analyze the data. The authors also consider alternative measures of real earnings management. Our results demonstrate that CEO financial expertise, compensation, and CEO nationality reduce real earnings management and improve the financial reporting quality. Accordingly, the results show that independent directors on the board strengthen the CEO’s ability to reduce likely earnings manipulation. However, we find that the presence of a female CEO does not mitigate real earnings manipulation, but that the presence of independent directors enhances the ability of female CEOs to reduce earnings manipulation and produce reliable financial reports. Our results are robust and may have implications for regulators, shareholders, managers, and researchers because it shows that CEO attributes and the presence of independent directors on the board are associated with higher earnings quality.
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spelling doaj.art-37506d3f41ed4a95a2d2f41d086599992023-07-28T20:55:15ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Business & Management2331-19752023-12-0110110.1080/23311975.2023.2194464CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from NigeriaAuwalu Musa0Rohaida Abdul Latif1Jamaliah Abdul Majid2Department of Accounting, Bauchi State University Gadau, NigeriaTunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaTunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaAbstractMotivated by agency conflicts of real earnings management and upper echelons in CEO demographic characteristics, this study examines the effect of CEO attributes on real earnings management and addresses the question of whether the presence of an independent board ensures accurate and reliable financial reporting practice. The study also examines the extent to which independent boards moderate the relationship between CEO attributes and real earnings management. Using a sample of 292 observations from Nigeria, an emerging market, from 2018 to 2021, a feasible generalized least square (FGLS) regression model was used to analyze the data. The authors also consider alternative measures of real earnings management. Our results demonstrate that CEO financial expertise, compensation, and CEO nationality reduce real earnings management and improve the financial reporting quality. Accordingly, the results show that independent directors on the board strengthen the CEO’s ability to reduce likely earnings manipulation. However, we find that the presence of a female CEO does not mitigate real earnings manipulation, but that the presence of independent directors enhances the ability of female CEOs to reduce earnings manipulation and produce reliable financial reports. Our results are robust and may have implications for regulators, shareholders, managers, and researchers because it shows that CEO attributes and the presence of independent directors on the board are associated with higher earnings quality.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2023.2194464real earnings managementCEO attributesindependent boardfinancial reportingupper echelon theory
spellingShingle Auwalu Musa
Rohaida Abdul Latif
Jamaliah Abdul Majid
CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
Cogent Business & Management
real earnings management
CEO attributes
independent board
financial reporting
upper echelon theory
title CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
title_full CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
title_fullStr CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
title_short CEO attributes, board independence, and real earnings management: Evidence from Nigeria
title_sort ceo attributes board independence and real earnings management evidence from nigeria
topic real earnings management
CEO attributes
independent board
financial reporting
upper echelon theory
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311975.2023.2194464
work_keys_str_mv AT auwalumusa ceoattributesboardindependenceandrealearningsmanagementevidencefromnigeria
AT rohaidaabdullatif ceoattributesboardindependenceandrealearningsmanagementevidencefromnigeria
AT jamaliahabdulmajid ceoattributesboardindependenceandrealearningsmanagementevidencefromnigeria