Audit Committee Competence and earnings management in Europe

This study analyses the association between the competence of audit committee members and earningsmanagement in a sample of 142 non-financial firms from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UnitedKingdom over the 2006–2013 period. We measure members’ competence through their dedication andexpertis...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Zarza Herranz, César, Reguera Alvarado, Nuria, López Iturriaga, Félix J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/129405
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/129405
https://doi.org/10.6018/rcsar.385331
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Accounting expertise
Audit committee
Corporate governance
Earnings management
Financial expertise
Experiencia contable
Comité de auditoría
Gobierno corporativo
Gestión de beneficios
Experiencia financiera
Descripción
Sumario:This study analyses the association between the competence of audit committee members and earningsmanagement in a sample of 142 non-financial firms from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UnitedKingdom over the 2006–2013 period. We measure members’ competence through their dedication andexpertise. We find that outside directorships have a dual effect, such that a balanced level of dedication tothe audit committee (roughly two outside directorships) reduces earnings management. We examine fourtypes of expertise: audit, non-audit accounting, non-accounting financial, and supervisory expertise. Wefind a negative relation between earnings management and the audit experience of committee members,and that the other types of expertise play no relevant role. We also find that the contribution of audit expertsto curbing earnings management proves particularly important in smaller and less active committees, aswell as in smaller and busier boards.