Abstract
Purpose: This study examines the relationship between audit partner tenure and earnings management of companies listed on Vietnamese stock exchanges.
Design/methodology/approach: We use a sample 1,363 observations from 2016 to 2019. We manually collect data on audit partner tenure. Using Datastream financial data, we calculate abnormal accruals using the modified-Jones models (Jones, 1991; Dechow et al., 1995; Kothari et al., 2005), which are used as the proxy for earnings management. We run OLS regressions to test our hypothesis.
Findings: The results show that audit partner tenure is positively related to abnormal accruals. Cross-sectional analyses indicate that the relationship between audit partner tenure and abnormal accruals is more pronounced for firms that are audited by non-Big Four auditors and for firms that have CEO-chairperson duality, suggesting that weak corporate governance is a channel for the established relationship. The evidence also shows that audit partner tenure is negatively associated with the magnitude of income-decreasing accruals but has no relationship with income-increasing accruals. Our findings are robust for several tests, including using the propensity score matching approach.
Originality/value: We are the first to provide evidence of the relationship between audit partner tenure and earnings management in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach: We use a sample 1,363 observations from 2016 to 2019. We manually collect data on audit partner tenure. Using Datastream financial data, we calculate abnormal accruals using the modified-Jones models (Jones, 1991; Dechow et al., 1995; Kothari et al., 2005), which are used as the proxy for earnings management. We run OLS regressions to test our hypothesis.
Findings: The results show that audit partner tenure is positively related to abnormal accruals. Cross-sectional analyses indicate that the relationship between audit partner tenure and abnormal accruals is more pronounced for firms that are audited by non-Big Four auditors and for firms that have CEO-chairperson duality, suggesting that weak corporate governance is a channel for the established relationship. The evidence also shows that audit partner tenure is negatively associated with the magnitude of income-decreasing accruals but has no relationship with income-increasing accruals. Our findings are robust for several tests, including using the propensity score matching approach.
Originality/value: We are the first to provide evidence of the relationship between audit partner tenure and earnings management in Vietnam.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 18 Oct 2022 |
Keywords
- Audit-partner tenure
- accrual earnings management
- Vietnam