A behavioral perspective of financial reporting and audit quality

The primary aim of the research project is to investigate the effect of managers’ (CEOs and CFOs) personal characteristics on accounting choices, as well as on the implications of these choices for financial reporting quality. In addition, the personal characteristics of the Board of Directors and the audit partners in relation to financial reporting will also be examined. Studying the effect of directors’ characteristics on financial reporting quality will provide insights as to what factors increase or decrease the efficiency of the boards as monitoring mechanisms. Meanwhile, the investigation of audit partner individual characteristics will broaden the spectrum of factors that determine audit, and by implication, financial reporting quality in firms. In examining the aforementioned issues, the focus will be on Swedish listed firms.