Download This PaperMarital Status and Earnings Management (A Note)
European Accounting Review, Forthcoming
Georgetown McDonough School of Business Research Paper No. 2876032
32 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2016 Last revised: 5 Jul 2018
Date Written: November 8, 2016
Abstract
In this note, we examine the effect of CEO marital status on the riskiness of financial reporting. Using multiple proxies, we find that firms headed by a single CEO display a higher degree of earnings management than those headed by a married CEO. The effect is economically significant. Our results persist in an instrumental variable regression, suggesting that our results are not driven by innate heterogeneity in preferences.
Keywords: marital status, earnings management, risk-taking
JEL Classification: G02, G32, M41, M49
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Gilles Hilary
Georgetown University - Department of Accounting and Business Law ( email )
McDonough School of Business
Washington, DC 20057
United States