HARP Seminar: Connecting Earnings Management to the Real World: What happens in the black box of the boardroom?

Time: 12:00-13:00

Lunch: 13:00 - 13:30

Location: 102, Henley Business School, University of Reading Whiteknights

Registration: Free

Presenter: Niamh Brennan - Professor of Management at University College Dublin and Founder/Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance

Abstract:

Accounting choice, earnings management and earnings manipulation are terms frequently used in the literature. This paper reviews these three terms, highlighting the resonances and dissonances between them, and attempts to reconcile varied perspectives in the literature. The paper then connects the prior research to boardroom practices and praxis with a view to deepening understanding of the three terms in practice. The paper concludes by identifying opportunities for future research in this rich field.

Bio:

Niamh Brennan is Michael MacCormac Professor of Management at University College Dublin and Founder/Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance. A first-class-honours, first-in-class UCD Science (Microbiology and Biochemistry) graduate, she qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, holds a PhD from the University of Warwick and is a Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors (London). Her research has received three best-paper awards and a best-article award. In recognition of her research, she received the 2018 British Accounting & Finance Association Distinguished Academic Award. In 2019, she was inducted into the AAAJ Interdisciplinary Accounting Research Hall of Fame. She has held non-executive directorships of numerous Irish companies and state bodies, in some cases as chair of the board, and including chairing/membership of numerous audit committees.