GOVERNANCE AND AUDIT ATTRIBUTES AS DRIVERS OF EARNINGS QUALITY

Abstract

This study examines the influence of good corporate governance, financial reporting timeliness, audit tenure, and auditor reputation on earnings quality in banking sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the 2020–2024 period. The study is motivated by the critical importance of earnings quality in the banking sector, which operates in a highly regulated environment and plays a strategic role in maintaining national financial stability, particularly during the post-pandemic period characterized by economic pressures and increased earnings management incentives. The sample consists of commercial banks consistently listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the observation period, selected using purposive sampling. Panel data regression with the Random Effect Model was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that auditor reputation has a significant negative effect on earnings quality, suggesting that banks audited by Big Four auditors tend to exhibit lower earnings quality compared to those audited by non-Big Four auditors. In contrast, good corporate governance, financial reporting timeliness, and audit tenure do not significantly influence earnings quality. However, all variables simultaneously have a significant effect on earnings quality, explaining 22.91% of its variation. These findings suggest that auditor reputation plays a more significant role in influencing earnings quality than other governance and audit characteristics in the Indonesian banking sector, providing valuable insights for regulators, banking management, and investors in assessing and enhancing earnings quality.