Audit partner tenure and earnings management: Evidence from Vietnam

Tri Tri Nguyen, Tan Tran, Bich Pham, Phuong Tran

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Downloads (Pure)

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Financial Reporting and Accounting
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 18 Oct 2022

Keywords

  • Audit-partner tenure
  • accrual earnings management
  • Vietnam

Cite this