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Problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality

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  • Ahsan Habib
  • Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine empirically the consequences for financial reporting quality of having audit committees that include problem directors, that is, directors with prior involvement in corporate bankruptcies, major accounting restatements, or other accounting scandals. An ordinary least squares regression model is used to examine the association between problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality as proxied by accruals and real earnings management. Results reveal that there is a positive association between the presence of problem directors on the audit committee and real earnings management, and this association is more pronounced in cases where those problem directors have been involved in prior instances of accounting restatements and fraudulent reporting practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahsan Habib & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, 2016. "Problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 121-144, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:46:y:2016:i:2:p:121-144
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2015.1039477
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    Cited by:

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    2. Street, Daniel A. & Hermanson, Dana R., 2019. "How do restatements affect outside directors and boards? A review of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 19-46.
    3. Salehi, Mahdi & Mokhtarzadeh, Mahdi & Adibian, Mohammad Sadegh, 2021. "The Effect of Audit Committee Characteristics and Auditor Changes on Financial Restatement in Iran. || El efecto de las características del comité de auditoría y los cambios de auditor en el restablec," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 31(1), pages 397-416, June.
    4. Ghafran, Chaudhry & O'Sullivan, Noel & Yasmin, Sofia, 2022. "When does audit committee busyness influence earnings management in the UK? Evidence on the role of the financial crisis and company size," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

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