The Impact of Media and Legal on Earnings Management: Substitution or Complement?

Abstract

This article takes the listed company earnings management as the entry point,and studied the governance effect of media monitor and legal environment on the earnings management of listed companies. The study found that: first, the media monitor can effective constraint of the listed company earnings management behavior, namely with the increase of the degree of media monitor, the degree of the accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management of listed companies will decrease; Second, media monitor will have an important impact on the earnings management strategy of listed companies, namely, under the pressure of media supervision, listed companies tend to use more real earnings management, and use fewer accrual-based earnings management; Third, the media monitor and legal environment in earnings management governance exist significant substitution effect. Media monitor can fill the issue of the failure of earnings management supervision due to weak legal environment.

Keywords: Earnings Management, Media Monitor, Legal Environment

DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-4-13