Current Trends and Future Directions on Women CEOs/CFOs and Financial Reporting Quality

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review studies of women chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) in the context of financial reporting quality. By using electronic searches and keywords to identify relevant studies, a total of 22 published studies are identified over the period 2010-2020. Based on the review, two underpinning theories have been widely used in examining the effect of women CEOs/CFOs on the quality of financial reporting, namely, risk aversion theory and gender-ethics theory. In addition, a majority of the studies documented that women CEOs/CFOs lead to more conservative reporting and higher earnings quality. The findings underscore the importance to examine the gender issue in accounting literature and established a business and management case for women to attain the top position whether as a CEO or CFO. This paper also recommends to practitioners and regulators about the effect of having women as CEOs or CFOs on financial reporting quality as women are a pool of talent that is underutilized. In addition, this paper goes beyond a classic narrative review by suggesting future research avenues to examine further such issues in order to broaden the understanding of the role of women in accounting.