The Moderating Effect of Gender on Audit Committee Attributes and Earnings Management

Abstract

There exist a number of studies that have been conducted on the influence of audit committee attributes on earnings management but no attention has been given to the moderating effect of gender on audit committee attributes and earnings management. The main objective of this study was to examine the moderating effect of gender on the impact of audit committee attributes on earnings management of listed Agricultural companies in Nigeria for a period of six years (2012-2017). The study used ex-post facto and correlational research designs. The population of the study was the five (5) Agricultural companies in Nigeria listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as of 31st December 2017 and all the companies were used as a sample of the study. The study used a panel of multiple regression techniques for data analysis. It was found that gender has a strong and significant influence on the impact of audit committee attributes on earnings management of listed Agricultural companies in Nigeria. It was recommended that the audit committee of companies in Nigeria should comprise of at least 40% of women. Regulatory bodies concerned in Nigeria like Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Stock Exchange and Financial Reporting Council should clearly state the composition of audit committee members and increase the number to ten where women should form 40% of the members of the committee and a woman with financial knowledge should be made the chairperson of the committee since women have shown a significant level of commitment to their responsibilities and contribute in reducing earnings manipulation.