The affiliations and characteristics of female directors and earnings management: evidence from Turkey

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether the presence of female directors with specific attributes has an effect on earnings quality in a patriarchal emerging country with a collectivistic culture and a substantial gender equality gap and where the majority of companies are controlled by large business groups. Design/methodology/approach The current study uses a unique hand-collected data set that covers all non-financial companies listed on the Borsa Istanbul between the years 2009 and 2017, using the GMM method to overcome potential omitted variables and reverse causality problems. Findings The current study demonstrates that the presence of female directors on company boards is not associated with earnings management. Similar results are obtained for the percentage of female directors with specific attributes such as busyness, professional expertise and audit committee membership. Surprisingly, the results suggest that there is a negative (positive) relationship between the percentage of female directors that are affiliated (unaffiliated) with controlling business groups and earnings management. Originality/value The current study tests the relationship between the presence of female directors and earnings management in a cultural and institutional setting that is substantially different from countries where the majority of previous research on female directors has been conducted. In addition, this study puts a special emphasis on female director affiliation and provides evidence that contradicts the expectation regarding the direction of the relationship between the percentage of affiliated female directors and earnings management.