Does Fintech Development Reduce Corporate Earnings Management? Evidence from China

Abstract

This paper takes A-share companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2011 to 2020 as the research object and empirically tests the impact of fintech development on corporate earnings management and its mechanism. It is found that fintech development significantly reduces corporate earnings management. This conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. The mechanism test shows that fintech development reduces corporate earnings management by alleviating information asymmetry and easing corporate financing constraints. A heterogeneity test shows that fintech development has a greater effect on reducing earnings management in non-state-owned enterprises, small-scale enterprises and enterprises with low profitability, as well as enterprises in non-eastern China and regions with low marketization levels. This study clarifies the impact of fintech development on the field of micro corporate governance and provides rewarding policy implications for reducing corporate earnings management behavior, improving the level of corporate governance and facilitating the high-quality development of the capital market.