Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between earnings management behavior and the activity of both the board and audit committee. Design/methodology/approach -Different models to isolate abnormal accruals as a proxy for earnings management are applied to a sample of manufacturing companies. Findings -Earnings management is negatively related to both board and audit committee independence. Such negative relation is stronger when the audit committee is more active. However, this result is not valid for the board activity. Research limitations/implications -Results are limited by the accuracy of the models applied to isolate abnormal accruals. Practical implications -Results may have implications for corporate governance regulations such as board composition, audit committee composition, and their activity. Originality/value -Results of earnings management research are sensitive to the different models suggested in literature to isolate the abnormal accruals.

The paper examines the corporate governance factors and the independent audit quality as determinants of compliance with IFRS recognition and disclosure requirements of income tax accounting in Egypt. Using the initial IFRS adoption in Egypt, the results show evidence that corporate governance factors that indicate the sophistication level of both company's management and owners (i.e., institutional ownership and foreign representation on the board) and the perceived quality of the engaged auditor improve compliance with IFRS requirements. Companies with higher levels of institutional ownership and foreign representation on the board are more likely to engage an audit firm with international affiliation and comply with IFRS recognition and disclosure requirements. The results underline the significance of professional development and regulations of local audit industries in emerging countries for actual compliance with IFRS requirements when they are officially adopted in these countries.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide more comprehensive analysis of the effects of Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) Act on both audit fee premium and auditor change in the US audit market.Design/methodology/approachThe audit fee premium model is employed to track the trend in audit fee premium between 2000 and 2006 for small accelerated filers compared with large accelerated filers and non‐accelerated filers and how the change in auditor affected such trend around the enactment of SOX.FindingsThe results indicate a significant shift in audit fee premium during early years of SOX compliance especially for small accelerated filers compared with large accelerated filers or non‐accelerated filers. Such shift started to wind down during 2006 after the initial application of SOX requirements. Although clients who switched from big to non‐big auditors have experienced a slower increase in their audit fees, these fee savings are lower for small accelerated filers during 2004 and 2005 with the increasing demand for audit services in the US audit industry during these years.Practical implicationsThe compliance costs of significant regulatory changes like SOX may be upfront loaded but their benefits are long‐term benefits in terms of higher quality of financial reporting and better internal controls over financial reporting. When analyzing the effects of such regulatory changes, practitioners and researchers should factor these costs and benefits over a sufficient time horizon.Originality/valueMore comprehensive analysis of SOX effects on the US audit industry not only in the short run during early compliance years, but also in the longer run after the initial setup process.

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Purpose This study aims to critically analyze the fundamentals of the current major Islamic Finance (IF) instruments and contracts in light of both the foundations of IF and the concept of substance over form in the accounting conceptual framework. Such analysis is believed to be necessarily for the IF institutions to provide better and more genuine service to their customers. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the study purpose, the methodology is based on theoretical analysis and analytical review of the major IF contracts. Findings The IF industry needs to focus on the economic substance of the products offered to their clients. In developing and promoting their products, IF institutions need to focus on the ultimate and substantial goals of Islamic Sharia rather than re-packaging existing conventional products under different arrangements and formats to make them appear as Sharia-compliant to their clients. Both religious scholars and IF professionals need to engage in much deeper analysis and understanding of the substantial design of IF instruments and the concept of usury in modern economy. Research limitations/implications This paper does not intend to develop a comprehensive framework for the design of IF instruments to meet the economic substance and ultimate goals of IF principles or measure such economic substance. However, that is definitely a subject for further research. Originality/value By applying concepts like substance over form from other business fields such as the accounting theoretical framework to the IF instruments and contracts, we should gain better understanding and practical implications of these instruments and figure out ways to improve their design to be more consistent with and better serve the ultimate goals of the Islamic Sharia.