M41 - AccountingReturn

We study the trade-off between real earnings management activities (REM) and accrual-based earnings management (AEM) among newly listed Vietnamese firms from 2009 to 2019. First, we found that firms exhibit REM as well as AEM around listing events to beat earnings targets. We further explore whether managers use REM and AEM as substitutes, considering both internal factors- firms’ characteristics and external factors like audit quality and institutional environments. Our results indicate that companies employ a greater amount of AEM and less REM when they have a higher firm size, measured by total assets, experience higher levels of liquidity. Nevertheless, firms experiencing higher levels of cash flow from operating activities, net operating assets are more likely to engage in REM and but less likely to use AEM. However, when considering external factors including audit quality and institutional environments, there is limited evidence of a trade-off between the two methods. While audit quality appears to constrain only AEM, the corruption index has a negative impact on REM. Interestingly, consistent with previous studies, we also provide evidence that managers make adjustments to the level of accruals after the fiscal year-end based on the actual level of real earnings realized during the year.

This study explores the influence of the Covid-19 period on earnings management behaviour (EM) for 150 Algerian companies. The period of study (2018 to 2021) was divided into the pre-pandemic period (2018 and 2019) and the pandemic period (2020 and 2021). The study used two measures for earnings management: discretionary accruals (accounting EM) and abnormal cash flows (real EM). The results indicate that accounting EM decreased during Covid-19 compared to pre-Covid-19. But for real EM, it was the opposite; it has seen an increase during Covid-19. These results have many implications regarding the commitments of various contributors to preparing financial information and other related parties to ensure the accuracy of financial reporting during periods of crisis. More specifically, accounting standards setters should issue additional explanations regarding the accounting for some items, and auditors should extend the range of verification when certifying financial statements.

This study aims to prove the factors that affect learning outcomes achievement of management accounting courses. The sample is accounting students at four major universities in East Java, Indonesia. The questionnaire was filled out using a Google form, and the number of samples was 417 respondents. Hypothesis testing using partial least squares. Nine hypotheses were tested with gender as a moderating variable. Performance expectations and effort affect student intensity and subsequently affect active participation. Changes in facilitation conditions and the level of participation affect the achievement of learning outcomes. Different from prediction, gender was not shown to be a moderating variable.

90 per cent of enterprises in the European Union (EU), including Lithuania, are small enterprises that prepare the abridged financial statements. Verifying the fairness of these reports for stakeholders is challenged due to the lack of data. The aim of this research is to develop a novel model based on fuzzy logic for detecting fraudulent financial statements in micro and small enterprises by using financial ratios suitable for abridged financial statements. The results have shown that the developed fuzzy model enables estimation of the level of fraud in each individual element of accounting. Identifying each fraudulent accounting element allows us to gain insights into the areas where the enterprise has committed fraud. The proposed model has been designed to help small businesses reduce the risk, but it may also be used by public authorities as a tool for achieving greater business transparency.

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of ownership structure on financial performance of Ethiopian commercial banks. Hence, the financial performance of state owned commercial bank was compared with privately owned commercial banks in Ethiopia based on key financial performance measures. In order to achieve the stated objective, the study adopts a quantitative research approach by using financial ratio analysis and test for means equality analysis techniques. Samples of fifteen commercial banks were selected based on the year of establishment. Audited financial statement data covering from 2011 to 2017 analyzed. The result reveal that ROEs of public sector bank was higher than those of private banks but the overall performance of state owned bank was not observed sound because other financial ratios including ROA, LDR, CDR, CAR and NIM, of most of the private banks were found superior. Other findings of the study show that there is a significance difference between the financial performance measures like ROE, CDR, LDR, CAR, EIR and NIM between states owned CBE and the privately owned banks in Ethiopia. In terms of ROA, not statically significant difference between state owned and private commercial banks in Ethiopia over the studied period.

We examine whether the presence of outside directors with multiple boards seats influence firms related-parties transactions. These non-executive directors with vast skill, experience, knowledge, prestige and shared networks are part of major Boards Committees responsible for key corporate policies, strategy and management. Subsequently, it remains an untested assumption whether the outcome of related parties' transactions are influenced by the presence of this class of 'busy directors'. We obtain data from 142 companies across five sectors between 2009 and 2014 and conduct analysis using a two-stage multiple regression. The results reveal that the existence of multiple directorships on boards failed to evolve as predictors for related parties' transactions. We thus conclude that the presence of these 'busy directors' on boards does not alter a firm's related parties' transactions significantly. Overall, this may suggest that the influence of executive directors and other outside directors and key management personnel do play an important role in explaining organizationally complex strategic decisions in this regard.

The recent global developments have emphasized the limits of the actual corporate reporting system. Today's organizations experience a growing pressure exercised by various types of stakeholders as a result of the increasingly public concern regarding environmental and social issues. Hence, companies must assume their responsibility for the improvement of the environment and society within which they operate materialized through the disclosure of sustainability and corporate responsibility information. The main challenge is not to simply increase the amount of information provided inside the annual reports, but to increase their relevance through new, comprehensive and condensed reporting practices which combine and interconnect financial and nonfinancial data. Accordingly, the concept of integrated reporting is founded. Despite its necessity and adequacy, differences among countries regarding the adoption of integrated reporting exist. This paper aims to analyze the relation between the number of integrated reports issued by companies inside a country in relation with its economic, social and environmental performances. The results found that there is a higher commitment from companies, belonging to more developed countries, to make their contribution towards the development of integrated reporting concept and practice.