An Investigation of the Relation between the Dividend-Paying Status and Earnings Quality in Tehran Stock Exchange

This study investigates the relation between the dividend-paying status and five proxies of earnings quality، including discretionary accruals، transparency، persistence، value relevance، and conservatism. Our sample covers the 10 years، t = 1381-1390 and consists of 247 companies (2350 firm-year observations) listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. The regression method and panel data approach are used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that، dividend-paying firms have higher earnings quality، in comparison with non dividend-paying firms. The results also show that the positive association between dividend-paying status and earnings quality is stronger when the size of dividend pay-outs is larger. Overall، our results suggest dividend paying status is indicative of firms’ earnings quality.