Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study whether auditor independence reforms introduced in 2004 led to an enhancement in earnings quality in the post-reform era. Design/methodology/approach – This study predicts that as the cost of compliance will vary based on a firm's existing...

Most regulations and corporate governance codes emphasize the adjective independent next to the words auditor and director because auditor and director independence is expected to result in better protection for shareholders and other stakeholders. In this study we use (1) the extent to which...

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the role of corporate governance in earnings management behaviour by US listed banks during the era of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (2003‐2008). Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the issue of accounting quality and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the practice of income smoothing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) emerging markets; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar. Then, to examine the impact of income smoothing on the earnings quality to decide whether income...

In 2001, the US moved to regulate internal control reporting by management and auditors. While some jurisdictions have followed the lead of the US, many others have not. An important question, therefore, is the relevance of internal control to stakeholders. The more specific issue of the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether Japanese Sarbanes – Oxley Act (J-SOX) impacted earnings management and earnings quality of public firms in Japan. Design/methodology/approach – This archival study compares earnings management and earnings quality of firms that...

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of audit committee existence and internal audit function on the earnings management of companies. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses generalised least squares regression to investigate the influence of audit committee existence, internal...

Purpose – This study, based on a merger of gender and accounting theories, aims to explore whether and how earnings management is affected by the presence of female directors on the board of directors and on the audit committee. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs both a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of market and organizational determinants on the voluntary disclosure level of Egyptian companies. Design/methodology/approach – Uses a disclosure index of voluntary disclosure that is based upon the following information...

This paper undertakes an assessment of the evolution of inequality in the distribution of consumption expenditure in India over the last quarter-century, from 1983 to 2009-10, employing data available in the quinquennial 'thick' surveys of the National Sample Survey Office. We find that...