Earning Management in Jordanian public Shareholding Service Companies and Influential Factors

Abstract

This study aimed to examine   the effect of several factors; company’s size represented by total assets, return on assets, return on equity, earning per share, financial leverage, book value to price ratio, independent direct board and the audit committee size  on companies earning management, the sample consists of (58) Jordanian service companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange(ASE) in 2012, to achieve the aim of the study a multiple regression model which included many independent variables and the earning management level as the dependent variable..

The results of the study indicated that Jordanian service companies practice earning management by level (26.2%), which is a high percentage with varied levels between companies. It was found that transportation sector ranked first in earning management practices (52.4%) while health care sector ranked last in earning management practices (14.2%). Multiple regression analysis indicated a positive correlation between company’s size, financial leverage and earning management practices. A negative significant correlation was found between directors' board autonomy and company’s earning management practices. No significant correlation was found between return on assets, return on equity, earning per share, book value to price ratio and company’s earning management practices

Keywords: Earning management, Company size, Financial performance.