Modified Audit Opinion and Earnings Management in State-Owned Companies: Evidence From Serbia

Abstract

The aim of the author of this paper is to examine the relationship between Earning Management (EM) and modified audit opinion among state-owned companies in the Republic of Serbia. The study sample consists of 64 state-owned companies whose financial statements were subject of audit by State Audit Institution in period 2018-2021. To detect EM, the financial statements of these companies for the four-year period 2018-2021 were used. The results of the study indicate that there is no positive relationship between EM and the auditor's modified opinion, i.e. that the difference in the distribution of the modified opinion in state-owned companies in which EM is identified and those in which EM is not identified is not statistically significant. These results initially point to the conclusion that auditors do not take EM into account when forming opinions, and do not send warning signals to users of financial statements. However, if one looks at the participation of the modified opinion on the financial statements of state-owned companies in which EM is identified, and especially the motive of EM, it can be said that the auditors of the State Audit Institution are adequately dedicated to this issue.