This study investigates the impact of earnings management on firms’ financial performance by distinguishing between accounting-based performance and market-based valuation, thereby shedding light on whether managed earnings reflect real economic improvements or merely influence reported outcomes in an emerging market context. Using an unbalanced panel of 474 non-financial listed firms in Vietnam over the period 2017–2023, the study employs Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) estimators. These approaches are particularly suitable for addressing endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, and dynamic relationships inherent in earnings management research under a “large N, small T” panel structure. The results reveal that earnings management has a positive and statistically significant effect on accounting-based financial performance (ROA), while its impact on market-based performance (Tobin’s Q) is statistically insignificant. This divergence suggests that managed earnings tend to enhance reported operating performance without being fully capitalized by the market, reflecting persistent information asymmetry and limited market efficiency in the Vietnamese context. The study focuses on accrual-based earnings management and a single emerging market, which may limit generalizability. Future research may incorporate real earnings management measures and cross-country comparisons to strengthen external validity. By simultaneously applying advanced instrumental-variable and dynamic panel techniques, this study provides robust causal evidence on the asymmetric effects of earnings management on accounting versus market performance, contributing to the literature on earnings quality in emerging economies.

While busy boards have been widely studied in corporate governance, research on this topic in Vietnam is lacking. In the real estate sector, where high leverage and regulatory challenges per-sist, busy boards may impact earnings management (EM). This study explores their influence on EM in listed Vietnamese real estate firms, contributing to corporate governance insights. This research aims to investigate the presence of busy boards and Board of Directors (BOD) character-istics on EM behavior. This research employs the OLS, FEM, REM and Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression model to analysis. Analysis results show that the number of busy boards has a positive impact on EM behavior. The results of this study extend the composite measure of BOD in Vietnam by adding a new factor, which has not been included in previous studies, namely busy boards. Thereby, it helps to improve corporate governance in controlling the "performance results" of the board of directors. Busy boards influence positively EM and oth-er factors: board size, board independence, board expertise, female on board negatively affect EM. The findings of this study demonstrate a relationship between busy boards and EM, subsequently affecting the quality of financial statements. Therefore, the policy makers are recommended to consider comprehensive reviews and possibly "legislate" the advantages of diversity within corpo-rate boards during the drafting, amending, and supplementing of corporate governance regula-tions and rules in Vietnam.

It is argued that managers took advantage of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and remote auditing and used earnings management (EM) practices extensively. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic created new unsearched crisis-related incentives. This study, therefore, tests whether Covid-19 created a new incentive for managers to manipulate earnings. It also examines the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and board independence and EM during Covid-19. A data set of 384 firm-year observations from 2018 to 2021 of non-financial firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) was investigated. Results indicate that Jordanian firms engaged in EM during Covid-19 considerably more than when compared to pre-Covid-19, suggesting that Covid-19 created a new incentive for managers to manipulate earnings. Furthermore, Jordanian firms used income-increasing EM much more when compared to income-decreasing EM. However, when taking Covid-19 into account, no significant association was found between board independence and EM. In addition, the ability of CSR to constrain EM decreased. This adds to the current debate in the literature that even well-established monitoring mechanisms like board independence and CSR are unable to constrain EM practices in a unique business environment caused by Covid-19.

This paper examines the relationship between earnings management and earnings quality in two countries (93 companies from Tehran Stock Exchange and 92 companies from Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange) for the period (2013-2022 Tehran) and (2014-2023 Saudi Arabia). The data were collected as a year -firm and analyzed using multiple regression. The earnings quality was measured through three separate attributes (earnings predictability, earnings smoothness and relevance of earnings). To achieve the research goals, three hypotheses were developed and, in each hypothesis, the moderating role of one of the earnings quality indicators for each category of non-stressed and distressed companies were studied. The results of the research showed that in all cases of measuring the earnings quality, the earnings management in distressed and non-distressed firms are efficient. Similarly, earnings quality of earnings predictability type in the Tehran Stock Exchange and the earnings quality of relevance type in the Saudi Stock Exchange and the distressed firms, the earnings quality of relevance type in the Tehran Stock Exchange and the earnings quality of earnings smoothness type in the Saudi Stock Exchange can explain future profitability. Moreover, for the first time, the emphasis on the relationship between the attributes of the earnings quality and the type of earnings management and future profitability is introduced globally, especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran. By using international data, the comparison between the approach of Saudi Arabia and the approach of Iran will be done.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the characteristics of the board of directors represented by size of board of directors, financial experience, and board of directors’ meetings on earnings management measured by Jones' modified model. The study also aimed to find out the impact of ownership concentration on the relationship between the board of directors’ characteristics combined and the earnings management in Jordanian industrial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a quantita-tive analytical method was applied. The study was applied to a sample of 41 industrial compa-nies where their data were available during the period of study from 2013 to 2017. The findings indicated that the characteristics of the board of directors combined influenced on the earnings management in Jordanian industrial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. Moreover, the size of the board of directors and the financial experience had some effects on earnings management in Jordanian industrial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. However, the board of directors’ meetings had no meaningful effect on earnings management in Jordanian industrial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. It was also found that family ownership concentration had an impact on the relationship between the characteristics of the board of directors combined and earnings management in Jordanian industrial companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. The study concluded a number of recommendations, the most important of which is to encourage the competent bodies and the boards of directors in the public shareholding companies to pay more attention to the development of more legis-lation that focus on earnings quality by reducing earnings management practices. In addition, it is necessary to identify penalties for cases of manipulation and distortion in the financial statements which reduce the use of illegal techniques and attract investors.

Taking the developing Egyptian market as its focal point, the aim of this research is to contribute to the earnings management literature. Due to the limited data available for the Egyptian market, this research examines earnings management based on the entire operating performance of companies. In particular, the question of whether ineffectively performing Egyp-tian companies engage in upward earnings management by devising and applying income-increasing policies was investigated. For the purpose of testing for income-increasing accruals, we examine whether discretionary accruals are greater for ineffectively performing firms than for effectively performing firms. The results show that ineffectively performing Egyptian companies are characterized by positive and considerably greater discretionary accruals when comparatively examined against effectively performing companies. A reasonable interpretation of these results is that ineffectively performing companies engage in earnings management practices, with the most likely mechanism being an opportunistic increase in their reported earnings. Overall, the findings of this study show that operating performance is a critical determinant of earnings management. In terms of the implications of these findings, it is necessary for officials within the Egyptian government to enhance the country’s corporate govern-ance processes, especially in view of the limitations surrounding law enforcement and investor safeguards.

This study was aimed at investigating the impact of creative accounting methods called “Earnings Manage-ment and Income Smoothing” on earnings per share in the Jordanian industrial companies. The model of Dechow et al. (1995) [Dechow, P. M., Sloan, R. G., & Sweeney, A. P. (1995). Detecting earnings management. Accounting Review, 70(2), 193-225.] was adopted to measure earnings management, and the model of Francis et al. (2004) [Francis, J., LaFond, R., Olsson, P. M., & Schipper, K. (2004). Costs of equity and earnings attributes. The accounting review, 79(4), 967-1010.] was adopted to measure income smoothing. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the analytical quantitative approach was adopted. The study community consisted of the 57 industrial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). As for the study sample, 36 companies were selected according to the target sample method in the period from 2008 to 2017. The results showed that there was a statistically significant impact of using the creative accounting methods on earnings per share in the industrial companies listed on the ASE, and there was an impact of practicing both earnings management and income smoothing on earnings per share in the industrial companies listed on the ASE. The results also showed that 27.8% of the industrial companies practiced earning management, while 47.2% of the industrial companies practiced income smoothing.

The growing convolution of industries and the need for corporate business survival has created a cognizance dilemma on the nexus of earnings management and managerial compensation paradigm, especially in developing nations. Hence, this paper sought to examine the nexus of earnings management and managerial compensation in Nigerian manufacturing firms. The study collected panel data from audited annual financial reports of six selected manufacturing firms listed in the Nigeria Stock Exchange, covering the period from, 2012-2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and Panel Regression Model. The findings indicate that earnings management is a significant determinant of managerial remuneration. Therefore, the study concludes that managing earnings of firms has a positive significant relationship with executive remuneration, and as such compensation should be tied to performance of the firm in real values.

The existence of good corporate governance is expected to minimize the occurrence of earnings management practices when the company is in financial distress condition. This research aims to provide empirical evidence on the influence of financial distress on earnings management practices as well as the existence of good corporate governance projected by the proportion of independent commissioners and the proportion of audit committees in weakening the influence of financial distress on earnings management practices. The population of this study is property, real estate, and building construction sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2015-2019. Sampling techniques used are purposive sampling techniques and obtained samples as many as 185 samples. The earnings management tool used in this study was classification shifting. The data analysis techniques in this study used Eviews 10. The results of the analysis provide evidence that financial distress affects earnings management practices, while the proportion of independent commissioners is unable to moderate, and the audit committee strengthens the influence of financial distress on earnings management practices.

This paper investigates the impact of CSR disclosure and CEO integrity on earnings management. Analyzing a dataset of 750 firm-year observations of 150 Vietnam listed firms during the period from 2014 to 2018, the paper shows a significant positive effect of CSR disclosure on earnings management and a significantly negative impact on the CEO integrity on earnings management. The result confirms the previous studies that companies with more CSR disclosure are likely to engage in earnings management through increasing discretionary accruals. This suggests that managers may use CSR reporting to camouflage their earnings-management activities. Furthermore, the findings add to the literature of determinants of earnings management by offering an insight into CEO integrity and come to the proposal of enhancing the CEO role to control the earnings activities.