This study investigates the main financial technologies adopted by banks to improve their financial performance. The study population consists of commercial banks listed on the Amman Stock Exchange and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and includes financial information and data from 2012 to 2020. A total of 115 questionnaires, consisting of five questionnaires for each bank, were distributed to the study population in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The dependent variable is financial performance, while the independent variable is financial technology (FinTech). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results showed that FinTech has a positive effect on both total deposit and net profits. This study recommends that banks be encouraged to adopt inclusive strategies to attain sustainable development.

This research will examine the impact of the adoption of financial technology on conventional banks’ financial performances. The research will place emphasis on the listed commercial banks at Amman Stock Exchange—ASE, using financial data for the period 2012–2020. The main study tool was a questionnaire that focuses on three main dimensions: financial inclusion—(FI), alternative payment methods—(APMs) and automation—(Auto). A total of 115 questionnaires were distributed to all commercial banks listed at Amman Stock Exchange—ASE. Multivariate regression analysis was employed to test the impact of the FinTech dimension as a proxy for independent variables on Jordanian commercial bank’s financial performance as a proxy for dependent variables. Based on the analysis results, the study concludes that all three FinTech dimensions: FI, APMs and Auto. reflected a positive significant impact on Jordanian commercial bank’s financial performance indicators (total deposit, total loans and net profit margin). Therefore, banks in general should invest more and more into financial technology tools and applications, in order to recruit potential clients and retain their current clients, to be able to sustain under fierce competition within the banking sector.

This research examines the moderating effect of family ownership over the relationship between board independence and earnings management. Using information of industrial companies indexed on Amman Stock Exchange, this research provides evidence of negative relationship between board independence and earnings management, proposing that higher percentage of board independence is related with more effective monitoring to reduce earnings management. Moreover, the results document that the relationship between board independence and earnings management becomes weak when there is an interaction with family ownership control. These outcomes indicate that an increase in the percentage of independent directors to mitigate earnings management is less likely to be influential in the case of family controlled firms. The results of this research could be valuable to regulators in their efforts to restrict the incidence of earnings management and improve the quality of monitoring mechanisms, especially in an environment where the capital market is still evolving and the legal protection and law enforcement are weak.

Purpose: This paper seeks to focus on the diffusion of activity‐based costing (ABC) in Jordan. A conceptual framework from general diffusion theory is adopted to describe the diffusion process within the Jordanian industrial sector. The main objective of the study is to determine the motivations for the implementation or non‐implementation of ABC.Design/methodology/approach: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with financial managers and heads of costing departments of companies within the Jordanian industrial sector. Both face‐to‐face and telephone interviews were used to achieve the research objective.Findings: It was found that the rate of implementation of ABC in the Jordanian industrial sector follows the classical S‐shape. It is also suggested that the supply side of the diffusion process, most notably the role played by consultants, was an influence on many companies. This was not, however, a sufficient condition for companies to implement ABC.Originality/value: Most previous studies focus on the implementation of ABC in Western developed countries. The results of this study make a contribution to existing knowledge in the area of the implementation of ABC, especially in Eastern developing countries such as Jordan. In addition, this research adds further evidence to the value of studying management accounting, and more specifically changes in management accounting practice. It describes the developments undertaken in the implementation of a new system and how a new system becomes accepted in practice.

Purpose: In spite of facilitating and motivating factors in the external environment, the implementation of new management‐accounting techniques as activity‐based costing (ABC) in companies is disappointing. The aim of the study is to determine factors that catalyse, facilitate and motivate the decision to implement ABC in Jordanian industrial companies. Additional objectives include determining the problems associated with ABC implementation and assessing the degree of success of ABC implementation in Jordan.Design/methodology/approach: A sample of the Jordanian industrial companies was selected and a questionnaire survey was employed using a five‐point Likert scale to collect data from the financial managers, descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the collected data.Findings: The findings indicate that the most important factor that facilitates the decision to implement ABC was the provision of adequate training and the most influential factors which motivate the process of ABC implementation include an increasing proportion of overhead costs, and an increasing number of product variants. Consequently, this study found that the interaction of three types of factors (catalysts, facilitators and motivators) create the potential for change in these companies. Barriers to change could make the change process slower, hindering, and even preventing change; and barriers to change were identified that may explain the differing implementation rates of ABC in the Jordanian industrial sector. The greatest barrier to implementing ABC was found to be its high cost of implementation, followed by the high cost of ABC consultancy and computer staff time.Originality/value: The study adds new elements to the institutional approach, and integrates it with concepts from psychology and organizational culture, to create a better understanding of management accounting. The results of study contribute to existing knowledge in the area of understanding the factors which act as catalysts, facilitate, and motivate ABC innovation and of those factors that create barriers to ABC implementation in Jordan.

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the potential moderating role of audit fees in the relationship between audit committee characteristics and earnings management. Specifically, this study aimed to establish connections between audit committee features, such as committee size, member independence, and financial expertise, and the practice of earnings management. To address these research questions, a convenient sample of 46 service providers listed on the Amman Stock Exchange between 2016 and the subsequent year was employed. Descriptive statistical methods were applied to characterize the variables under investigation, while a multiple regression model was utilized to assess the study’s hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant correlation between the size of the audit committee and earnings management. However, a negative correlation was observed between the audit committee’s independence and the financial expertise of its members. Importantly, when audit fees were introduced as a moderating variable, the relationships between committee member independence and earnings management, as well as between committee member financial expertise and earnings management, were found to be weakened. These results have potential implications for policymakers and regulators in Jordan. They may offer valuable insights into corporate governance reforms that could assist Jordanian businesses in enhancing their earnings management practices.