Earnings Management in Saudi Nonfinancial Listed Companies
Mohammed Al Shetwi

Abstract
This study investigates the earnings management practices in Saudi nonfinancial listed companies. It examines the effects of IPO events, company size, and leverage on their earnings management activities. The result of the regression model revealed that Saudi nonfinancial listed companies practice earnings management, and the size of a company is negatively related to its level of earnings management. Testing using the independent- sample T-test finds the result to be robust. The finding is in line with the view that larger companies are more capable of monitoring the incentives that may lead management to exercise earnings management than smaller companies. Further, this result implies that a capital market consisting mainly of small and mid-sized companies, such as the Saudi capital market, needs to update financial rules and regulations related to financial reporting.

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