The Influence of Earnings Management and Board Characteristics on Company Efficiency

Earnings management is a means by which managers manipulate earnings to conceal the true performance of a company. The characteristics of the board of directors can also influence firm performance. This study applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Tobin regression model to investigate the influence of earnings management and board characteristics on company efficiency. The data sample includes 396 Taiwanese electronics and biotechnology companies from 2009 to 2017. The results indicate that earnings management has an insignificant influence on company efficiency with mixed results on the interactions between earnings management and board characteristics. When companies practiced earnings management, director experiences, a higher proportion of female directors, and a higher number of board meetings increased company efficiency. In contrast, a higher number of independent directors and a higher attendance rate of the directors at the board meeting decreased company efficiency. The results of this study suggest that board diversity, more female directors, and meetings could still improve firm performance despite companies' engagement in earnings management.