Title: Board committee structures and their effectiveness in curbing earnings management: evidence from GCC countries

Authors: Adel Almasarwah; Amal Mohammed Yamani

Addresses: Accounting Department, College of Business and Leadership, Georgia College and State University, 231 W Hancock St, Milledgeville, GA 31061, USA ' Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics and Administration, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This study examines the influence of board committee structure on limiting earnings management (EM) in publicly listed firms within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. This study draws from agency theory and corporate governance literature to assess how certain characteristics of board committees, such as independence, financial expertise and size, relate to earnings management and ultimately the quality of financial reporting. This study employs a rigorous quantitative research design, applying multiple regression analysis to a balanced panel dataset of 550 companies, encompassing 4,400 firm-year observations from GCC capital markets, to generate robust and region-specific empirical insights. The results offer evidence supporting the idea that certain board committee characteristics, especially audit committee independence and financial experience, are significantly associated with less earnings management. These results suggest that effective governance frameworks provide greater integrity towards the integrity of financial reporting. Finally, this research adds to the body of knowledge on corporate governance and financial reporting quality emerging markets with a specific focus on the GCC, an area which remains understudied.

Keywords: board committees; earnings management; corporate governance; GCC countries; financial reporting quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2026.156190

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2026 Vol.16 No.3, pp.321 - 340

Received: 31 Oct 2025
Accepted: 02 Apr 2026
Published online: 07 Sep 2026 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article