The Moderating Role of Family Control on the Relationship between Audit Committee Financial Expertise and Earnings Management

Abstract

The current study offers empirical evidence on the way the family ownership moderates the association that exists between the financial experience of the audit committee and earnings management based on a sample of 44 manufacturing firms that are registered with the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) from 2012 to 2016. From the results of the study, there is a significant negative association between the financial experience of the audit committee and earnings management. In addition, the study shows a positive interaction of the financial experience of the audit committee and the family ownership on earnings management. This indicates that an increase in the percentage of audit committee members having financial expertise, in order to restrict earnings management, is less likely to be influential in the case of family controlled firms. These results have implications for policy makers and regulatory bodies in Jordan since they highlight the need to improve the good corporate governance practices and attempt to constrain the incidence of earnings management in Jordanian firms.