Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of board gender diversity (BGD) in dividend payout decisions of politically embedded firms (PEFs) including government-linked firms (GLFs) and non-GLFs in comparison to non-PEFs from the perspective of an emerging market, China.Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the fixed-effect regression to examine the relationship between BGD and dividend payout decisions of PEFs including GLFs and non-GLFs in comparison to non-PEFs for a sample of Chinese publicly listed firms over the period 2010–2018.Findings: The paper presents robust evidence that BGD is associated with higher dividend payments in PEFs than non-PEFs. Similarly, female directors on GLFs' boards are more likely to pay higher dividends than non-GLFs. Moreover, findings also reveal that the female directors' impact on dividend payout decisions is more pronounced in high corporate social responsibility (CSR) PEFs compared to low CSR peers, regardless of the nature of political ties.Research limitations: The major limitation of this research that it is restricted to Chinese firms that operate under distinctive economic, social, and political environments. However, the study findings are generalizable to other emerging economies which have similar institutional settings and corporate environments with high government intervention like China.Practical implications: The findings will enable policymakers to design policies targeted at the inclusion of female directors on PEFs' boards to reduce information asymmetry and agency conflicts. However, considering the heterogeneity of female directors' role in dividend payout decisions of GLFs and non-GLFs, the policymakers should be cautious while establishing the female quota in these firms.Originality/value: The role of BGD in dividend policy decisions of politically connected firms remained unexplored. This study is the first to unveil the role of female directors in dividend payout decisions of PEFs and non- PEFs. In addition, this research further contributes to the literature by exploring the BGD-dividend policy link in PEFs with high- and low-CSR engagements.

This study investigates how audit committee accounting expertise (ACAE) influences the relationship between audit firm attributes (AUFA) and income smoothing (IS). The study employed 616 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2019 and robust logistic regression as a data analysis technique. The results showed that audit fees (AUF) are likely to decrease IS. The study also found that Big 4 auditors and audit tenure (AUT) might not reduce the likelihood of IS. Interestingly, Big 4 auditors and AUT had a negative and significant relation with IS in firms with a higher proportion of ACAE. The study revealed that a higher proportion of ACAE overturned the positive effect of Big 4 auditors and AUT on IS. The study provides a unique understanding of the moderating effect of ACAE on the link between AUFA and IS. The study makes distinctive contributions by exploring the moderating effect of ACAE on the link between AUFA and IS practices in Nigeria. Previous studies on income manipulation generally focus on accrual earnings; this study provides an insight into earnings manipulation through artificial smoothing indices. Policymakers and investors can benefit from the study’s findings in formulating policies or decisions about corporate financial reporting issues. The study is limited to nonfinancial firms; therefore, the study’s findings may not apply to financial firms.

There is currently a lack of information about the contemporary and potential effects of environmental taxes on environmental accounting disclosure. This study, therefore, explores environmental taxes' impact on Nigerian oil and gas companies' disclosure of environmental accounting information. The study used auxiliary data by generating information on the outcome variable and the explanatory variable from the “Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development” (OECD) and annual reports and accounts of the oil and gas corporations in Nigeria. The analysis included thirteen (13) companies as of December 31, 2021. Fixed-effects regression using Estimation using Driscoll and Kraay standard errors (DKSE) has been used in this study. The study revealed that an increase in total green taxes or transportation taxes will stimulate the disclosure of environmental accounting information by the oil and gas corporations in Nigeria. It is also documented that oil and gas companies that have high C2 intensity are less likely to disclose environmental accounting information. The study findings will be useful to the regulators and policymakers in Nigeria. This is because if the government enhances environmental taxes, it may inspire companies to enhance their environmental accounting procedures.