Abstract
The study examines the effect of CEO attributes on Earnings Eanagement Practices (EMP) in Nigeria. EMP was proxied by accrual and Real Earnings Management (REM). Accrual and REM were measured by Larcker and Richardson (2004) as well as Roychowdhury's (2006) models, respectively. Data gathered from the financial statements of chosen firms were analyzed using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator. The sample comprises 76 listed non-financial companies for eleven years from 2011 to 2021, which results in 836 observations. The study revealed that CEO financial expertise and CEO tenure mitigate both accrual and real earnings manipulation in order to improve the quality of the financial statement. More so, CEO reputation and experience influence accrual earnings management while curbing real earnings management. Furthermore, the findings of our study have implications for regulators, shareholders, potential managers, and researchers. Regulators in Nigeria may consider the significant roles played by CEO attributes (financial expertise, tenure, reputation, and experience) in reducing earnings manipulation and, hence, should encourage companies to appoint CEOs with relevant skills, a good reputation, and the stated attributes of experience to properly manage their businesses.
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