Earnings management and CSR: A study on Swedish listed companies

Abstract: In this study, we investigate the use of earnings management and its relationship with companies' CSR policies. Three accrual-based models are used to detect earnings management among Swedish listed companies during the period 2005-2015. Our findings show an inverse relationship between earnings management and the strength of CSR policies, suggesting that companies with strong CSR policies are driven by transparency and responsibility concerns, which also translate into their quality of earnings. Our findings are consistent with previous research over time, implying that the recent popularity increase of CSR has not altered the earnings management and CSR relationship.