Ability of Managers and Fraudulent Financial Reporting; Emphasizing The Role of Independent Auditors' Descending Rotation

With the increasing of financial fraud and the negative impact this has had on capital market confidence, companies are facing a lot of pressure to prevent and detect financial fraud. In the present study, we try to evaluate the impact of managers 'ability on fraudulent financial reporting and then measure the impact of independent auditors' downward rotation on this relationship.

To conduct this research, the data of 105 companies listed on the stock exchange for the 11-annual period of 2009-2019 have been used. To measure fraud, the Zare genetic planning model (2015) and to measure the ability of managers, the data envelopment analysis technique based on Demarjan model (2013) has been used. Variables are controlled. It is noteworthy that to analyze the data with the help of Stata software version 14, after controlling the effects of the year and industry, logit regression has been used.

Findings from data analysis showed that the ability of managers has a negative effect on fraudulent reporting of companies. The data also show the reject of the second hypothesis of the research regarding the weakening of the relationship between ability and fraud in companies with the downward rotation of auditing firms.

According to the view of high-ranking companies, the ability of CEOs has a significant effect on the probability of fraud, which according to the findings of regression models of research hypotheses; this relationship is in a negative direction. Also, with the mandatory rotation of auditing firms in order to maintain the code of professional conduct, especially the independence of auditors by regulatory bodies, the downward rotation of auditing firms strengthens the relationship between the Managers’ ability and fraud.

The results of the present study, in addition to covering the existing research gap in this field, are a guide for planning regulatory bodies and regulatory organizations in relation to financial fraud. The innovative aspect of the present study is to examine the downward trend of independent auditors.