Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between tax avoidance, firm value and managerial ability in Tehran Stock Exchange and Over the Counter (OTC), according to the related theoretical foundations. Design/methodology/approach: To calculate the managerial ability in this study, DEA is used based on the accounting data, company profile and industry and the hypotheses are estimated in a period of 12 years during 2004 to 2015 in TSE and OTC. Within the previous studies, to test the hypotheses, only the classical regression method is usually used and most of the times the effect of macroeconomic variables is not considered. In this study, in a new act for testing the hypotheses, three statistical methods are used, that is, classical regression models, mixed effects multilevel models and Bayesian multilevel models. Also in this study, the test of structural change is used to control the effects of macroeconomic variables, like inflation and other economic and political influence, on the results. Findings: The results of these three methods show that the effect of income smoothing and earnings quality on the relationship between tax avoidance and firm value are significant. Originality/value: Although several studies are conducted so far on the subject of the study, the current study is the first project which combined Bayesian econometrics. Therefore, the results are quite noble.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of managerial ability on tax avoidance in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) and OTC by classifying the income smoother and non-income smoother companies based on the theoretical approaches. Design/methodology/approach: To measure the managerial ability the data envelopment analysis is applied based on the accounting data, company and industry characteristics. In this research, hypotheses are tested for the first time by three statistical methods, namely classical regression models, mixed effect multilevel models, and Bayesian multilevel models, which have never been addressed in Persian accounting research studies. The hypotheses are estimated during a 12-year period from 2004 to 2015 in TSE and OTC. In this research, according to Lucas’s critique, structural change test is used in order to control macroeconomic and political variables affecting the results of the study. Findings: The results of hypothesis testing by employing three statistical methods suggest that only one hypothesis of this investigation is significant, which shows the significant association of type of market’s impact (exchange of OTC) on the relationship between managerial ability and tax avoidance. Originality/value: Each company’s performance is affected by various factors. The study intends to mention that the performance of listed companies in the stock market depends heavily on its financial reports. And investors with perceived perception by the reports, can indirectly squeeze their stock indexes with their sudden sale of stocks, and question the company’s performance with losses to the company.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of product market competition and corporate governance on firm’s management performance in the Tehran Stock Exchange market. According to the research literature, the governance mechanisms used in this study consist of ownership structure, structure of the board of directors and capital structure. In addition, Herfindahl–Hirschman Index and market size were used to measure the product market competition. Design/methodology/approach: This study used one selected sample among the firms in the capital market of Iran from 2004 to 2012. Findings: The results of this study indicated that there is a significant relation among the major governance mechanisms (including ownership concentration, independence of the board of directors and debt ratio) and product market competition and management performance. The findings of this study also showed that product market competition is effective on the relation between corporate governance and the performance, and this is what has been ignored in most of the conducted studies. Originality/value: In general, the results of this study supported the idea that product market competition is effective on implementation and efficiency of governance mechanisms.

This research aims to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets in Iran, Iraq and Jordan. In order to collect the required data, a standard questionnaire provided in the literature was used. The research period is the second quarter of 2022, and its population includes managers, accountants and auditors engaged in listed and non-listed companies. The research findings indicate that the outbreak of COVID-19 has affected SMEs’ performance in investigated emerging markets. For the first time, this research has examined the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of SMEs in emerging markets. The research was conducted in the three countries of Iran, Iraq and Jordan, which have different environmental conditions indicating the impact of contextual factors on the effects of the spread of COVID-19. The results can be useful for different parties, such as SMEs’ owners and regulatory bodies in similar markets.

The present study investigates the relationship between audit quality and earnings management in banks listed on the Stock Exchange of Iraq and Oman. This paper used audit firm size, auditors’ industry expertise, audit report timeliness, auditor change, and auditors’ opinions to measure audit quality. Financial statements, notes attached to financial statements, and reports of independent auditors of 28 banks listed on the Iraqi Stock Exchange and 8 banks listed on the Oman Stock Exchange during the financial period of 7 years (2015 to 2021), and hypotheses were tested using EViews software and panel data. The results of the hypothesis testing showed no significant relationship between the firm size and the auditors’ change and earnings management for both countries (Iraq and Oman). This is while the relationship between the auditor’s industry expertise, the timely presentation of the audit report, and the auditor’s opinion and earnings management for both countries (Iraq and Oman) is negative.