This research investigates the relationship between sustainability and accounting quality, as well as the direction of this relationship. The analysis focuses on the decline in accounting quality related to earnings management and performance scores derived from the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) assessment frameworks. The final sample includes 126 US companies listed on NASDAQ and NYSE stock exchanges, selected after methodological screening. A detailed and methodological analysis of the accounting and sustainability data of these randomly selected companies from 2018 to 2024 shows a negative relationship using correlation and regression analysis between earnings management and ESG performance for all variables analysed, except for 2023. This negative correlation is statistically significant for each year with a significant correlation, and the R² values indicate that the explanatory power of the models is moderate.
XIII. ÉVFOLYAM 2025. SPECIAL ISSUES 3. 2-12
DOI: 10.24387/CI.SI.2025.3.1
A cikk megtekinthető:
REFERENCES
ALLMAN, E. – WON, J. (2022): The Effect of ESG Disclosure on Corporate Investment Efficiency. In Proceedings of Paris December 2021 Finance Meeting EUROFIDAI-ESSEC. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3816592
ALMUBARAK, W. I. – CHEBBI, K. – AMMER, M. A. (2023): Unveiling the connection among ESG, earnings management, and financial distress: Insights from an emerging market. Sustainability, 15(16), 12348. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612348
ANDRIOSOPOULOS, D. – GIALTOURIDIS, C. (2021): Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: The Impact of Product Market Competition. European Financial Management Association 2021 Annual Meeting.
AREN, S. (2003): Yöneticilerin Kar Yönetimi İle İlgili Tutumlarɪ ve IMKB’de Bir Uygulama. (Ph.D.) Gebze Yüksek Teknoloji Enstitüsü Yayɪnlangmamiş Doktora Tezi.
BANSAL, M. (2024): Earnings management: A Three-decade Analysis and Future Prospects. Journal of Accounting Literature, 46(4), 630-670. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-10-2022-0107
BARNETT, M. L. – SALOMON, R. M. (2012): Does It Pax to Be Really Good? Addressing the Shape of the Relationship between Social and Financial Performance. Strategic Management Journal, 33, 1304-1320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.1980
BILLIO, M. – COSTOLA, M. – HRISTOVA, I. – LATIONO, C. – PELIZZON, L. (2021): Inside the ESG Ratings: (Dis)agreement and Performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(5), 1426–1445. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2177
BROOKS, C. – OIKONOMOU, I. (2018): The Effects of Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosures and Performance on Firm Value: A Review of the Literature in Accounting and Finance. The British Accounting Review, 50(1), 1-15. https://doi.rog/10.1016/j.bar.2017.11.005
BUDAI, E. – DENICH, E. – HAJDU, D. (2021): Financial Reporting Quality at SME-s – A Theoretical approach. Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 23(1), 109-121.
COMPACT, U. G. (2004): Who Cares Wins: Connecting Financial Markets to a Changing World.
DECHOW, P. M. – SLOAN, R. G. – SWEENEY, A. P. (1995): Detecting Earnings Management. Accounting Review, 70(2), 193–225. https://www.jstor.org/stable/248303
DEFOND, M. L. – JIAMBALVO, J. (1994): Debt Covenant Violation and Manipulation of Accruals. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 17(1-2), 145-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-4101(94)90008-6
DENG, Y. – ONG, T. S. – SENIK, R. (2024): Trick or treat? A Bibliometric Literature Review of Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(5), 4361-4383. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2806
DUMAN, H. (2010): The Practices Of Earnings Management Effect Over The Quality. Of Financial Reporting And Company’s Performance In The Principal Of Disxlosure: An Application In IMKB. (Ph.D.), Selçuk Üniversitesi, Yayɪnlangmamiş Doktora Tezi.
ED-DFALI, S. – ADARDOUR, Z. – DERJ, A. – BAMI, A. – HUSSAINEY, K. (2025): A PRISMA‐Based Systematic Review on Economic, Social, and Governance Practices: Insights and Research Agenda. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(2), 1896-1916. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4069
FENG, Z. – WU, Z. (2023): ESG Disclosure, REIT Debt Financing and Firm Value. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 67(3), 388-422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-021-09857-x
FRIEDE, G. – BUSCH, T. – BASSEN, A. (2015): ESG and financial performence: Aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Intvestment, 5(4), 210-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917
GAO, S. – MENG, F. – GU, Z. – LIU, Z. – FARRUKH, M. (2021): Mapping and Clustering Analysis on Environmental, Social and Governance Field a Bibliometric Analysis Using Scopus. Sustainability, 13(13), 7304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137304
GAVANA, G. – GOTTARDO, P. – MOISELL, A. M. (2022): Related Party Transactions and Earnings Management: The Moderating Effect of ESG Performance. Sustainability, 14(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105823
GONÇALVES, T. – GAIO, C. – FERRO, A. (2021): Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: Moderating Impact of Economic Cycles and Financial Performance. Sustainability, 13(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179969
GRIMALDI, F. – CARAGNANO, A. – ZITO, M. – MARIANI, M. (2020): Sustainability Engagement and Earnings Management: The Italian context. Sustainability, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124881
HAIYU, Y. (2024): Environmental information disclosure, earinings quality and the readability and emotional tendencies of management discussion and analysis. Financial Research Letters, 60, 104913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104913
HEALY, P. M. (1985): The Effect of Bonus Schemes on Accounting Decisions. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 7(1-3), 85–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-4101(85)90029-1
HO, K.-C. – XU, X. – SHEN, X. – YU. J. (2024): Does better CSR disclosure minimize the problem of asymmetric financial reporting? The role of market supervision. Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting, 53(1), 99-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02102412.2023.2235225
INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (2018): Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: Chapter 2.
JONES, J. J. (1991): Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations. Journal of Accounting Research, 29(2), 193–228. https://doi.org/10.2307/2491047
LIU, T. – ABDELBAKY, A. – ELAMER, A. A. – ELDAHGOUB, M. (2023): Real earnings management and ESG disclosure in emerging markets: The moderating effect of managerial ownership from a social norm perspective. Heliyon, 9(12), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22832
LO, K. (2008): Earnings management and earnings quality. Journal of accounting and economics, 45(2-3), 350-357.
NAGY, M. – VALASKOVA, K. – DURANA, P. (2022): The Effect of CSR Policy on Earnings Management Behavior: Evidence from Visegrad Publicly Listed Enterprises. Risks, 10(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/risks10110203
NGUYEN, T. T. H. – IBRAHIM, S. – GIANNOPOULOS, G. (2023):. Detecting Earnings Management: a Comparison of Eccrual and Real Earnings Manipulation Models. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 24(2), 344-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-08-2021-0217
NURRAHMAN, K. A. – MITA, A. F. – SISWANTORO, D. (2019): Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Performance & Earnings Management in ASEAN: Are Islamic Companies Better. E-Proceedings 8th International Islamic Economic System Conferencee, 440-449.
PWC. (2021): Most important characteristics investors look for in ESG reporting worldwide in 2021.
REZAEE, Z. – TUO, L. (2019): Are the quantity and quality of sustainability disclosures associated with the innate and discretionary earnings quality? Journal of Business Ethics, 155, 763-786. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3546-y
RICAPITO, F.-P. (2024): Earnings management and ESG performance: Empirical evidence from Italian context. Corporate Ownership & Control, 21(2), 86-101. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv2li2art7
SANTOS-JAÉN, J. M. – LEÓN-GÓMEZ, A. – SERRANO-MADRID, J. (2021): The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Earnings Management: Bibliometric Review. International Journal of Financial Studies, 9(4), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs9040068
ŞEKER, Y. – ŞENGÜR, E. D. (2021): The Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance on Financial Reporting Quality: International Evidenc. Ekonomika, 100(2), 190-212. https://doi.org/10.15388/Ekon.2021.100.2.9
SOFIAN, F. N. R. M. – MOHD-SABRUN, I. – MUHAMAD, R. (2022): Past, Present, and Future of Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management Research. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 16(2), 116-144. https://dx.doi.org/10.14453/aabfj.v16i2.9
VAGNER, L. – VALASKOVA, K. – DURANA, P. – LAZAROIU, G. (2021): Earnings Management: A Bibliometric Analysis. Economics & Sociology, 14(1), 249-262. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2021/14-1/16
VELTE, P. (2019): The Bidirectional Relationship Between ESG Performance and Earnings Management–Empirical Evidence From Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 10(4), 322-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-01-2019-0001
VELTE, P. (2020): Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: A Literature Review. Corporate Ownership & Control, 17(2), 8–22. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv17i2art1
WAN, G. – DAWOD, A. Y. – CHANAIM, S. – RAMASSAMY, S. S. (2023): Hotspots and Trends of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research: A Bibliometric Analysis. Data Science and Management, 6(2), 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsm.2023.03.001
YANIMA, C. – GHAZI, Z. (2022): The effect of corporate social responsibility practices on real earnings management: evidence from an European ESG data. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 19(1), 11-30. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41310-021-00125-1