– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Chartered Accountants South Africa (CAs(SA)) as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have an association with accruals quality.
– The theoretical base of this paper is the link between accounting expertise and accruals quality. The sample consists of 812 observations of Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed firms between 2010 and 2013. The association is tested by regressing the CA(SA) as CEO interest variable and control variables on accruals quality, using three metrics of abnormal accruals.
– The overall results suggest that less accruals management and estimation error is present when the CEO is a CA(SA).
– This is the first study to test the association between having a CEO with a professional accounting qualification, such as CA(SA), and accruals quality. The findings will be of interest to shareholders and top executives when evaluating the appointment of a CEO.
