Post-2001 corporate collapses: Is earnings quality more closely associated with various dimensions of corporate governance?

Abstract

We investigate the association between various dimensions of corporate governance and the quality of reported earnings for Australian companies in 2000 and 2002, before and after a number of large corporate collapses. We create four dimensions of corporate governance (board, committee, ownership and audit quality) using fifteen individual corporate governance attributes. We find only audit quality appears to improve earnings quality, and only in 2002. Further, we find earnings quality is positively related to firm size and information environment, and negatively related to firm leverage, for the combined 2000-2002 sample. We interpret these results as indicative of economic considerations having an overriding impact on earnings quality, compared to corporate governance, despite the shockwaves felt from recent high-profile corporate collapses.