The effect of managers' personality type on earnings management and its moderating role in the relationship between earnings management and corporate social responsibility disclosure

Abstract

: Managers' personality traits can influence corporate financial decisions and performance. On the other hand, earnings management and its relationship with corporate social responsibility disclosure are topics of interest to academics and financial statement users that may be influenced by the personality traits of managers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of managers' personality type on earnings management and its role in the relationship between earnings management and corporate social responsibility. The research population included companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2013-2018. In total, 149 firms were selected by systematic elimination method. We used the library method to collect a part of the data. In addition, managers’ personality type was assessed using Bortner’s questionnaire. The research data were analyzed by multiple regression test in Eviews software. The results show that the variable of managers' personality type has a positive and significant effect on earnings management, In addition, this variable has a significant positive effect on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility in interaction with the earnings management variable. According to the findings of the present study, managers with Type "A" personality in the years when the firm's earnings is managed are more likely to disclose their corporate social responsibility. The results of this research can have a positive impact on the development of internal literature on the subject of research as well as on the improvement of managerial, behavioral and investment decisions in the country.