Purpose:The eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) has been heralded as a tool for improving the quality of characteristics associated with business reporting, which include relevance, credibility, reliability, comparability, consistency, materiality, and understandability, providing significant benefits to all parties involved in the reporting supply chain. Specifically, this study empirically investigates whether XBRLbased financial reports improve the quality of reported earnings, thereby enhancing the credibility of financial reports.Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of XBRL-based financial reports for companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange between 2019 and 2021, the study examined whether XBRL adoption improves the quality of reported earnings.
Findings:The results show that the mandatory adoption of XBRL in the Saudi Stock Exchange did not reduce the earnings management, nor did it improve the quality of reported earnings in the financial reports between 2019 and 2021. In addition, the managers engaged in real activities-based earnings management measured by abnormal cash flows, as well as accrual-based earnings management in the post-XBRL phase.