FIRM’S CHARACTERISTICS AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM LISTED PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The global financial crises that have shaken the global financial industry between 2007-2008 have given birth to several problems and worries about the quality of financial reporting worldwide. The manipulation of earnings has the effect of reducing the quality of reported financial data, which distorts the relationship between reported earnings and stock returns and makes it more difficult to allocate resources effectively. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how firm characteristics affect earnings management in the listed pharmaceutical sector of Nigeria. Using an ex-post facto study design, data was collected from yearly reports of specific pharmaceutical sectors in Nigeria from 2012 to 2021. The population of this study consists of all listed pharmaceutical companies on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange as at 31st December, 2021. There are eleven (11) listed pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria. Due to unavailability of data five (5) companies are used for the sample size of this study. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the data, and the findings at showed 5% level of significant that, board independence and audit quality have a major influence on the earnings management of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria. The results show that firm characteristics in Nigeria's listed pharmaceutical sectors significantly influence earnings management. This study concluded that characteristics of the firms had a major impact on the management of earnings for the listed pharmaceutical industries in Nigeria. The study recommends that investors in listed pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria should always be on the lookout for the potential for more real activity earnings management before arriving at their investment decisions.

Keywords

• Firms’ characteristics
• earnings management
• manufacturing industries