PurposeThe present study attempts to assess the relationship between management characteristics (managerial entrenchment, CEO narcissism and overconfidence, managers' myopia, real and accrual-based earnings management) and financial statement readability of listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In other words, this paper seeks to answer the question that “whether management characteristics have a favorable effect on financial statement readability or not.”Design/methodology/approachMultivariate regression model is used to meet the purpose of this study and research hypotheses are also examined using a sample of 1,050 listed observations on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2012–2017 and by employing multiple regression patterns based on panel data technique and fixed effects model. Moreover, exploratory factor analysis of six variables (tenure, board independence, CEO duality, CEO ownership, board compensation and CEO change) is used for calculating managerial entrenchment and the FGO index is used for measuring readability.FindingsThe obtained results show that there is a negative and significant relationship between managerial entrenchment and accrual-based earnings management and a positive and significant relationship between real earnings management, managers' myopia, managers' narcissism and overconfidence and financial statement readability.Originality/valueSince the present study is the first paper to investigate such a topic in the emerging markets, it provides useful information about intrinsic and acquisitive characteristics of management for accounting information users, analysts and legal institutions that contribute greatly to financial statement readability. Besides, the results of this study aid the development of science and knowledge in this field and fill the existing gap in the literature.

The present study investigates the relationship between management characteristics (managerial entrenchment, CEO narcissism, overconfidence, board effort, real and accrual-based earnings management) and the audit report readability of listed firms. In other words, this paper seeks to answer the question of “whether management characteristics can have a favourable effect on the audit report readability or not.” The multivariate regression model is used for this study. Research hypotheses were also examined using a sample of 1004 observations on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2012–2018 and by employing multiple regression patterns based on a panel data technique and fixed effects model. The results show a negative and significant relationship between managerial entrenchment and real and accrual-based earnings management and the audit report readability, based on the FOG index, and a positive and significant relationship between management narcissism, CEO overconfidence, and board effort and the audit report readability, based on the FOG index. Moreover, a negative and significant relationship exists between management entrenchment, CEO overconfidence, real and accrual-based earnings management, and audit report readability based on text length and Flesch indices. A positive and significant relationship was evident between CEO narcissism and board effort and audit report readability based on the same indices. Besides, research models were also examined for more confidence using other additional methods, including FE, T + 1, ABB, and GMM, which confirm the study’s preliminary results. Since the present study is the first paper to investigate such a topic in the emergent markets, it provides valuable information about intrinsic and acquisitive characteristics of management for users, analysts, and legal institutions that contribute significantly to financial statement readability.

Purpose This study aims to concern about the relationship between management managerial attributes (management entrenchment, narcissism and overconfidence of the chief executive officer, board effort and real and accrual earnings management) and comparability of financial statements listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In other words, this paper aims to answer the question that “whether managerial attributes contribute significantly to the comparability of financial statements or not”. Design/methodology/approach The multivariate regression model is used for hypothesis testing. The hypotheses were examined using a sample of 768 listed observations on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2012–2017 and by using from the multivariate regression pattern based on panel data techniques and the random-effects model. Findings The obtained results show a significant and negative relationship between management entrenchment, real and accrual earnings management, comparability and the relationship between management narcissism, overconfidence and board effort and comparability of financial statements is positive and significant. Originality/value As the present study is the pioneer study on such topics in the emerging markets, it provides valuable information concerning the intrinsic and acquired features of the management for users, analysts and legal institutions with a considerable impact on the comparability of financial statements. Moreover, this study’s results contribute significantly to the development of science and knowledge in this field and fill the gap in the literature.

The current study investigates the relationship between tax avoidance, management ability, and firm value. Three hypotheses are proposed to meet the paper’s objective. For conducting such a practical study based on a post-event descriptive correlational approach, data are gathered from the website of the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2014–2020. A total of 183 companies were selected through the systematic elimination method and analyzed using the R statistical software. The results indicated a negative relationship between managerial ability and tax avoidance. Moreover, we find a significant negative relationship between tax avoidance and firm value. Finally, the findings argue that in companies with high-ability managers, the intensity of the negative relationship between tax avoidance and firm value is mitigated.

Purpose This study aims to assess the relationship between managerial entrenchment and the chance of fraud in financial statements, which are the only available source for shareholders’ decisions, so their accuracy and reliability are of great importance. Hence, the realization of contributing factors to preventing financial information distortion is vital. Moreover, managerial entrenchment on the chance of fraud in the company’s upcoming years has also been analyzed. Design/methodology/approach The factor analysis of five variables [chief executive officer (CEO) duality, managerial ownership, board independence, board compensation and CEO tenure] is used for management entrenchment. To examine the hypothesis testing, multivariate regressions, feasible general least squares regression and Logit model regression are used. The statistical sample under study in this paper includes 1,122 year-company observations during 2013–2018 and Beneish’s (1999) model is used for evaluating fraud. Findings The study results show a negative and significant relationship between management entrenchment and the chance of fraud in financial statements. That means managers with a higher degree of managerial entrenchment are more likely to create value and acquire wealth for the firm, and that causes them not to waste and waste the firm resources through enhancing the supervisory mechanisms. Moreover, the study results also show that improving and strengthening management entrenchment will lower the upcoming years’ fraud condition. Originality/value The current paper is the first time that the relationship between managerial entrenchment and financial statement fraud is assessed within a study. The results of the paper help the beneficiaries and shareholders realize different aspects of management entrenchment. That means managers’ power and authority can be used to make shareholders’ interests, but they can hinder misuse and fraud.