The Relationship Between Board Diversity and Earnings Management Practices: Literature Review

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review of the existing studies in the literature related to the board diversity aspects and its association with earnings management practices. In general, there are inconsistent findings regarding whether demographic diversity at corporate boards can influence different earnings management practices. Besides, previous studies focused on accrual-based earnings management method and there is a need to include other earnings management methods. The proportion of the minority group on boards should also be taken into consideration when testing the board diversity. The current study contributes to the literature by addressing different future research topics.

Keywords: Board diversity, corporate governance, earnings management