Research on the tax side occupied the stage center during the last decade. Several researchers have attempted to study the different effects of some options such as tax aggressiveness on firms and individuals. Overall, tax aggressiveness affects negatively the longevity of companies but what remains unanswered is by what specific means corporate governance decreases tax aggressiveness activities. In this paper, we examine the effect of some governance mechanisms on corporate tax aggressiveness. The study is based on the analysis of a sample of Tunisian listed firms over the 2006-2012 periods. Our regression results indicate that diversity in gender on corporate board, managerial and concentration ownership has significant effects on firms` tax aggressiveness activities. Board`s diversity and managerial ownership exhibit a positive association with the effective tax rate while increases in concentration ownership tend to affect it negatively. However, findings don`t show any significant effects of corporate board size and external auditor`s profile on the tax aggressiveness.

PurposeThis study sheds light on the determinants related to the corporate board of directors and the firms’ ownership nature of tax aggressiveness strategies of Tunisian listed firms and what could be their effect on its level in a postrevolution context.Design/methodology/approachOur research considers only nonfinancial firms listed in the Tunisian stock exchange during the 2011–2017 period. It is based on unbalanced panel data.FindingsFindings suggest that women presence on the corporate board, CEO duality, the managerial and institutional ownership regularize significantly the level and the management's behavior of engagement in tax aggressiveness practices and reduce the firm’s overall risks of its consequences in terms of tax positions stability.Research limitations/implicationsOur investigation considers only nonfinancial firms to avoid noisy results and for the significant differences between accounting standards within financial and nonfinancial firms, besides sample homogeneity and comparability considerations.Practical implicationsThis study provides evidence that some governance mechanisms, even reasonably dedicated to consider the risk of tax aggressiveness and to prevent its consequences, have a paradoxical effect and amplify the tax aggressiveness’ level rather than defending the firm’s viability and its financial stability. It offers signals to managers about specific governance attributes that strengthen and/or control the extent of tax aggressive strategies.Social implicationsThis research gives a particular road map for society, investors and practitioners to depict the firms’ level of tax aggressiveness and especially to understand its attributes related to the corporate board of directors and the ownership's nature through evidences from a postrevolution context.Originality/valueOur research contributes to prior literature by examining the effect of corporate board characteristics and different ownership natures on the extent of tax aggressiveness during and after the revolution period in Tunisia and confirms and infers some prior findings of tax aggressive determinants in underdevelopment context.

Purpose The accounting literature suggests that the use of accounting standards with greater quality promotes the financial reporting quality and enhances accountability. This study aims to investigate the effect of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) adoption, by official development assistance (ODA) beneficiary countries, on the reported level of their perceived corruption. Design/methodology/approach We investigate a sample of ODA beneficiary countries (168 country-year observations) facing rising levels of corruption. We apply a panel regression analysis for these countries during the period from 2015 to 2018. Findings The findings suggest that the IPSAS’ adoption can significantly influence the level of perceived corruption and implement important evidence about promoting transparency factor for underdeveloped countries. Originality/value This study contributes to the accounting literature by examining the theoretical and empirical insights about the impact of the of IPSAS’ adoption on the level of corruption, which can be considered as a new area of accounting literature and a useful signal for stakeholders in countries seeking adequate solutions to combat and fight corruption activities.

This study investigates the effect of hedged versus nonhedged financial derivative instruments on the intra‐entities' tax aggressiveness. Our findings provide evidence that multinational enterprises manage derivatives instruments to avoid their tax expenses aggressively. Specifically, nonhedged derivatives are an excellent determinant of the tax aggressiveness practices of corporate groups. Besides, this study speaks to the central role of governance quality in mitigating this aspect of tax aggressiveness and provides practical guidance to tax authorities and regulators for establishing new policies for governing financial derivative instruments and preventing tax aggressiveness from negatively affecting firms and society.