The Role of Auditor in Measuring the Relationship Between Creative Accounting Techniques and Their Motives in the Syrian Shareholding Companies (A Field Study)


Abstract in English

The study aims to determine the level of the relationship between creative accounting techniques applied in shareholding corporations and their motivation through a field study that was undertaken on the auditors of shareholding companies. To achieve the objective of this study, a questionnaire was designed as a tool to collect data from the population of the study which is composed of auditors appointed by the Ministry of Finance, and authorized to audit shareholding companies. The questionnaire was distributed to 300 out of 493 auditors. 125 questionnaires were returned, and 115 questionnaires were suitable for analysis.. The study showed difference in estimation of external auditor of the degree of application of Syrian companies for creative accounting techniques in preparing financial statements due to scientific qualification, the certificate of professional accounting, and accounting specialization. And a stronger relationship appeared between the influence technique on the items of the financial position statement and the motivation to achieve specific figures of profit, and the relationship between political costs avoidance and the technique of influence on income statement got the second highest on the level of power. Correlation results between management techniques and their motivation showed that to achieve a certain motive, management might follow more than one technique, they may apply, for example, a technique that influence the items of statement of financial position, statement of cash flows, off-balance sheet financing, in order to achieve specific figures of profit.

References used

Amat. O., and Gowthorpe, C.-Creative Accounting: Nature, Incidence and Ethical Issue- Journal of Economic Literature classification, M41, 2005, p 1-21
Griffiths, I.- Creative Accounting- 4th ed, Sedgwick and Jackson, London, 1980,p.30
Jamal, K., and Tan, Hung-Tong- Joint Effects of Principle Based Versus Rule- Based Standard and Auditor Type in Constraining Financial Managers Aggressive Reporting", The Accounting Review, Vol. 85, No. 4. 2010, pp.1325-1346

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