The mediating mechanism of earnings management on the relationship between life cycle and financial reporting quality: Finding from MRA and fsQCA

The study examined the relationship between organization life cycle (OLC) and financial reporting quality (FRQ) in the Vietnamese context with the mediating role of earnings management (EM). We used estimation OLS, fixed effects model, and other robustness tests to validate the results on a sample of 408 Vietnamese listed companies over the period 2010–2017. In addition, we compare the regression results with a recently established approach is, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The multiple regression analysis results suggest that firms with low profits or poor financial performance have low-quality financial statements. On the other hand, when firms mature or have significant retained earnings, the quality of financial information improves and peaks. Besides, throughout the OLC, real earnings management behaviors are less likely to be used than accruals earnings management. Finally, because of the mediating effect of EM, the influence of OLC on FRQ is increased. The fsQCA findings indicate complex configurations between OLC, EM and other controls factors to the outcome of FRQ. This research contributes empirical evidence to the scientific literature on accounting and corporate governance. Next, the main contribution of our study is the examination of mediating role of EM on OLC-FRQ association through both regression analysis and the fsQCA approach. Additionally, we conducted this study in Vietnam, where the legal framework in protecting the investors is still not complete; this will significantly contribute to the literature overview of OLC and FRQ.