Top management gender and earnings management

Abstract

Top management (including CEOs and CFOs) are firms’ crucial resources, especially in preparing financial statements that are used by external parties in making decisions. Besides, prior literature also demonstrates that top managers’ gender affects their decisions. Accordingly, this study seeks to analyze the effect of CEO and CFO gender on earnings management in manufacture company. We use the modified Dechow-Dichev Model by Mcnichols (2002) to identify earnings management. The results show that female CEOs and CFO have no significant effects on earnings management practices. Several arguments explain the results, including that female CEOs in developing countries do not make significantly different decisions than their male counterparts. Additionally,   CFOs cannot make decisions without CEOs’ approval.