Effect of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management Practices of Nigeria Quoted Companies (2010-2015)

 – Effect of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management Practices of Nigeria Quoted Companies (2010-2015) –

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ABSTRACT

The study examines the effect of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management practices in Nigeria listed firms.  Specifically the study examined the joint effect of board size, board independent and audit committee independent, Board size, Board Independence and Audit committee independence on earnings management.

This is premised on the increasing failure of firms in Nigeria and which translate into the inability of organizations to meet the expectations of their various stakeholders and to adhere to a mandatory compliance to corporate governance codes.

The modified Jones model was adopted for non discretional accrual while simple and multiple regression was explored to investigate the corporate governance element on earnings management practices in Nigeria quoted companies.

Four research hypotheses were formulated for the study.  Data for this study were sourced from the financial statement of twelve firms from the period of 2010-2015. These data were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version -23.

The study revealed that Corporate Governance Practices have significant influences on earnings management practice among Nigerian quoted firms.

Based on our findings, it was recommended that there should be constant review and improvement in the Nigeria corporate governance codes governing companies and other listed firms.

Secondly, the use of modified Jones models (earnings management models) in detecting certain types of accrual accounting should be encouraged, because they are substantially more powerful at detecting subtle and bad debt manipulations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page              i

Declaration     ii

Certification       iii

Dedication    iv

Acknowledgements       v

Table of Contents    vi

Abstract      ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

  • Background of the Study             1
  • Statement of the problem      3
  • Research Objectives     5
  • Research Questions       6
  • Hypotheses          6
  • Significance of the Study      7
  • Scope and Limitation of the Study      8
  • Operational Definition of Terms 8

 

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE       

  • Conceptual Review     10

2.1.1 Earnings management      10

2.1.2 Corporate Governance elements            11

  • Corporate governance    11
  • Board size: 14

2.1.5 Audit committee:            15

2.1.6 Board independence       15

2.1.7 Techniques of Earnings Management           17

2.1.8 Major Scandals of the twenty-first century  19

2.2   Theoretical Framework            20

2.2.1 Stakeholder theory  20

  • Review of empirical work 22

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1       Research Design            31

3.2       Population of the study    31

3.3       Sample size Determination        31

3.4       Sources of Data   32

3.5       Model specification      33

3.5.1    Model for firms earnings management represented by NDA    33

3.5.2    Model one      34

3.5.3    Model two    34

3.5.4    Model three   35

3.5.5    Model four35

3.6       Method of data Analysis    36

3.7       Description of Variables       37

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Data Presentation           38

4.2 Data analysis    38

4.2.1 Answer to Research Questions       39

4.3 Test of Hypotheses     41

4.4 Discussion of findings          44

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary of findings     47

5.2 Conclusion        47

5.3 Recommendations      48

5.4 Contribution to Knowledge       49

References     50

Appendices         57

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Financial scandals around the world and the recent collapse of major corporate institutions in the United State of America (USA), South East Asia, Europe, and Africa such as Adelphia, Enron, commercial Banks and recently XL Holidays have shaken investors’ faith in the capital market and the efficacy of existing corporate governance practices in promoting transparency and accountability.

This has brought to the fore once again the need for the practice of good corporate governance (Kajola, 2008).

Corporate governance is about ensuring that the business is run well and investors receive a fair return. Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD), (1999) provides a more encompassing definition of corporate governance. It defines corporate governance as the system by which business corporations are directed and controlled.

The corporate governance structures specify the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation such as the board, managers, shareholders and other stake holders, and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs.

Kang and Kim (2011) note that management could influence reported earnings by making accounting choices or by making operating decisions discretionally.

According to Ebraheam, Saleem and Alzonbi (2012), the integrity of financial reporting system was being questioned due to the failure of the board to oversight its implementation.

Defond and Francis (2005) claimed that the corporate collapse consequence has renewed the significance of corporate governance minority role.

Earnings Management has consistently raised severe concerns about corporate governance practices in a broad-spectrum.

Also, it has brought to spotlight issues relating to quality of financial reporting and the weak internal control system among firms (Ebrahim, 2007; Kanchanapoomi, 2005; Bellow, 2011; & Uwuigbe, 2013).

The Corporate failures of such large organizations in the past have highlighted the intentional misconduct of managers in a wider-spectrum.

In addition, there are apprehensions about the weakness of corporate governance in the past as it was not effective enough to protect investors from expropriation (Uwuigbe, Daramola & Anjolaoluwa, 2014).

REFERENCES

Abbott, L. J., Paker S., & Peters, G. F. 2000. The effectiveness of Blue Ribbon Committee recommendations in mitigating financial misstatement: an empirical study. Working Paper Retrieved from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=84100

Aini, A., Takiah, M. I., Pourjalali  H. & Teruya, J. (2007). Earnings management in Malaysia: A study of effects of accounting policy. Malaysian Accounting Review, 5(1), 185-209.

Alaa Zalata, C. R. (2015). Internal Corporate Governance and Classification Shifting Practices An Analysis of U.K. Corporate Behavior. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance.doi/abs/10.1177/0148558X15571736

Alonso,P. A., Palenzuela,V. A.,& Iturriaga, F., J. L.(2000). Corporate boards in some OECD countries: size, composition, committee structure and effectiveness. Dpto. Economía y Administración de Empresas, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda. Valle Esgueva, 6E-47011 VALLADOLID

Alao, D. (2008). The ethics of creative in financial reporting: The challenges of regulatory agencies in Nigeria. Certified National Accountant Journal, Jan-March, Review

Al-Fayoumi, N.,   Abuzyaed, B. & Alexander, D. (2010). Ownership structure And Earnings management in Emergency Markets. The case study of Jordan. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 38, 28-47.

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