Ownership structure and debt structure as determinants of discretionary accruals: An empirical study of Pakistan

Financial statements are the main source of financial reporting. The basic role of financial reporting is to effectively communicate financial information to outsiders in a timely and credible manner. Firstly this study used different models to evaluate the value of accruals and then presents most reliable results which have been concluded from modified Jones 1995. In order to examine the relationship, sample of nonfinancial listed companies of Karachi Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2014 would be used to run the regression. The results are consistent with said hypothesis, measures, and methodologies. The results demonstrate that discretionary variables decrease gradually with the percentage increases in the blockholders on its significant level. Further our results indicate that financial institutional and nonfinancial institutional ownership has positive but significant influence on discretionary accruals. Finding of analysis proves that short-term liabilities have a positive and meaningful impact on earnings management activities while long-term obligations have a negative and significant impact on discretionary accruals. Results reveal that in Pakistan, creditors of firms are interested in monitoring the activities in long-term debt, and this scenario restricts management less toward earnings management.