The Effect of Market Competition, CEO Influence, and Corporate Governance on Smoothing Earnings, Accruals, and Firm Devaluation

One of the primary goals of earning smoothing is maintaining the company's reputation because it makes the company more efficient and dynamic. Gaining a suitable position among competitors and the capital market makes investors and creditors more favorable towards the company, and the company does not need to spend more to compete with other similar companies and to get less credit and loans. The purpose of the paper was to examine the effect of market competition, CEO influence, and corporate governance on smoothing earnings, accruals, and firm devaluation among the firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The population was 161 stock exchange companies during the period 2012-2017. The results showed that market competition, CEO influence, and corporate governance (CG) have no significant effects on earnings smoothing. Moreover, market competition and corporate governance did not significantly affect accruals. However, CEO influence has a positive and significant effect on accruals. Finally, market competition, CEO influence, and CG do not have a significant effect on company value.