The impact of creative accounting on the faithful representation of financial Reporting: A case of commercial banks in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the impact of creative accounting on the faithful representation of financial reporting in the case of commercial banks in Zimbabwe. The specific objectives of the study were to explore the effect of government regulation in combating creative accounting on the faithful representation of financial reports and ascertain the effect of external audit on creative accounting as a tool to improve the faithful representation of financial reports. The research methodology used was quantitative through a systematic investigation, and a pragmatic philosophy was adopted. The population of the study consisted of commercial banks in Zimbabwe. The sample size was determined with the help of Krejcie and Morgan (1970). The data was collected using questionnaires distributed online. The study processed data using SPSS and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, regression, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The study concluded that, government regulations, if implemented properly, have the potential to improve the state of faithful representation of financial reports; if the government of the country is corrupt, it negatively affects faithful representation of financial statements, and there is a positive relationship between the quality of external audits and faithful representation of financial reports.