The Impact of Non-Financial Reporting on Earnings Management: Evidence from Large European Public-Interest Entities Before and After the Adoption of the Directive 2014/95/EU

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the effects of sustainability reporting on earnings management (EM) practices, with reference to the European context, in the period pre-post adoption of the Directive 2014/95/EU on the disclosure of non-financial information. Using panel data from companies listed on European Stock Exchanges from 2015 to 2021, the Modified Jones Model (1995) is applied with the ultimate goal of analysing the relationship between the dependent variable Discretionary Accruals (used as proxy for Earnings Management) and the independent variable ESG Disclosure, accounting for a number of control variables (Board Size, Board Independence, Profitability, Leverage, and Country). Furthermore, as few scholars have studied the consequences of mandatory non-financial disclosure on firms incentives to manage earnings, this thesis wants to shed some light also in this regard and to explore whether normative demands for firms to devote more resources into social, environmental and governance reporting activities may lead to higher EM practices or to a change in companies' corporate culture. Financial and non-financial information will be extracted from the Bloomberg Terminal. From an operational point of view, relevant data will be processed using Stata