Transparency and quality of financial reporting are important factors for decisionmaking. This study examines the effect of family ownership and corporate governance on earnings management practices. Our sample focuses on non-financial firms with predominantly family ownership listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for 2017-2019. The study reveals that family ownership and the presence of an audit committee are associated with decreasing earnings management practices. Our additional analyzes confirm both expropriation and monitoring effects of family ownership on earnings management. Up to a certain level of ownership, family management tends to engineer earnings reporting for personal or group benefit. However, when ownership is dominant, family members carry out their supervisory function properly and encourage management to take actions and decisions in line with the interests of the company and other stakeholders. This research implies that share ownership by family members needs to be encouraged, even though the policy-making authority still regulates the maximum limit of ownership to avoid dominant power.