Sammanfattning Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet Titel: Accounting Hocus-Pocus - En studie över de oberoende styrelseledamöternas påverkan på resultatmanipulering. Bakgrund: De principbaserade regelverk som börsnoterade företag tvingas följa, skapar utrymme för ledningen att manipulera redovisningen. Utöver dessa möjligheter kan ledningen dessutom genom manipulation av kassaflödet, justera företagets resultat. När dessa resultatmanipulationer används med fel avsikt riskerar de att minska informationsvärdet av företagets redovisning. Vi ställer oss frågande till hur styrelsens oberoende kan förklara resultatmanipulering. Syfte: Studien avser att förklara i vilken utsträckning resultatmanipulering i svenska företag påverkas av styrelsens oberoende. Metod: Genom användning av tvärsnittsstudie med en deduktiv ansats har studien granskat huruvida resultatmanipulering påverkas av styrelseledamöternas oberoende, samt av olika attribut som anses förstärka ledamöternas övervakande effekt. Studiens hypoteser formulerades med hjälp av teorier som PAT, Agentteorin och Stewardshipteorin som sedan testades mot data insamlad från företag på Stockholmsbörsen för år 2017. Slutsatser: Studien finner avvikelser mellan resultaten för redovisningsmanipulation och kassaflödesmanipulation. Resultatet visar att oberoende styrelseledamöter i svenska styrelser har en negativ relation till kassaflödesmanipulering, medan relationen till redovisningsmanipulation är positiv. / Abstract Master Thesis in Business Administration Titel: Accounting Hocus-Pocus - A study of the independent directors effect on earnings management Background: The principle-based regulation that listed companies are obliged to follow gives the management opportunities to manipulate the accounting with discretionary accruals, and thereby changing the reported earnings of the company.  The management could also manipulate the earnings through real activities manipulation. When these acts of earnings management are used with the wrong intentions it could reduce the information value of the company’s financial reports. We are questioning how different board dependence and -independence could explain earnings management. Purpose: The study aims to explain to what extent earnings management in Swedish companies is affected by board independence. Method: By using a cross-sectional study with a deductive approach our study has researched how earnings management is affected by board independence, and how different attributes is to enhance the independent board members monitoring. Hypotheses were formed through theories such as PAT, Agency theory and Stewardship theory which later was tested with data gathered from companies of the Stockholm stock exchange of the year 2017. Conclusions: Our study finds a difference between the results of manipulation through the discretionary accruals and real activities manipulation. The result show that independent directors have a negative effect on cash flow manipulation while they have a positive effect on accounting manipulation.

公司名稱不僅僅是識別的代號，還具有深切的意義存在，且更名還需花費很大的成本、面對原有客戶流失的風險，故企業更名背後的真正涵義是值得深入探討的。 本研究旨在探討在CRSP有更名紀錄之美國上市公司，是否會透過實質交易或裁決性應計之方式進行盈餘管理。除了比較更名前後盈餘管理程度之差異，同時也以更名公司為實驗組，並選取未更名公司作為對照組，檢測在更名後，更名公司與未更名公司之盈餘管理程度是否有顯著差異。另外，為額外分析不同類型的更名原因，是否會採取不同的盈餘管理方式，依不同標準選取以下二類之更名公司：第一類為因業務範圍改變而更名；第二類為無原因之更名。 實證結果發現，更名公司在更名後，比起更名前及未更名公司，可能有以操縱銷貨來壓低現金流量、透過過量生產以降低銷貨成本的實質交易行為，進行裁決性應計項目之盈餘管理也較為嚴重。額外分析不同原因的更名公司之實證結果則發現，無原因之更名公司在更名後，進行實質交易之情形較業務範圍改變之更名公司嚴重。 / This study investigates the impact of corporate name changes on earnings management. We examine earnings management behavior in the period leading to the passage of name change effective year and in the period following the passage of name change effective year, focusing on both real earnings management and accrual-based earnings management. To make further investigations, we conduct analysis of firms that change name because of broader or narrower focus the firm’s scope of business versus firms that change name with no reason. The empirical results show that name change firms use more accruals and real earnings management after name changes when compared to similar firms. Furthermore, we also find that firms change name with no reason tend to adopt real earnings management when compared to the firms that change name because of broader or narrow focus.

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本研究主要探討中國上市公司內部控制品質與盈餘管理是否有關聯。在本研究中分別使用兩種盈餘管理方式進行實證，結果顯示內部控制品質和盈餘管理程度呈顯著負相關，意即內部控制品質越好，越能抑制公司管理者進行盈餘管理。精確來說，良好的內部控制品質可以抑制管理者利用裁決性應計數美化財務報表，意即好的內部控制可以減少應基礎盈餘管理；在實質盈餘管理方面，本研究發現良好的內部控制品質可以減緩管理者透過過度生產向上盈餘管理，降低管理階層增加裁決性費用已達到預期盈餘目標以及抑制公司透過操控銷貨以影響盈餘之情況，意即好的內部控制能有效減少管理者進行實質盈餘管理。整體而言，本研究結果發現好的內部控制，能有效減少管理者進行應計基礎及實質盈餘管理。 / The objective of this thesis is to investigate whether there is a relationship between internal control and earnings management. In this thesis, I use two types of earnings management: accrual-based and real activities earnings management and I find that there is a significantly negative relationship between quality of internal control and earnings management. Specifically, my results show that high-quality internal control inhibits managers from earnings management through discretionary accruals, implying that high-quality internal control could lower the level of accruals-based earnings management. Moreover, I document that high-quality internal control could reduce upwards real earnings management through increase production, decrease influence through decreasing manipulation discretionary expenses and lessen level of abnormal cash flow. Collectively, I find that high-quality internal control can lower the level of real and accrual-based earnings management behaviors.