The aim of this paper is to shed the light on the concepts of agency theory by measuring one of the problems that arise from it, which is represented by earnings management (EM) practices. The research problem is demonstrated by the failure of some Iraqi banks and their subsequent placement under the supervision of the Central Bank of Iraq, which was attributed, in part, to the inadequacy of the agency model in protecting stakeholders in shareholding institutions, as well as EM, pushed professional institutions to adopt the corporate governance model as a method to regulate the problem of accounting information asymmetry between the parties to the agency. We are using the Beneish M-score model and the financial analysis equations in the Beneish model for bank data for both the income statement and the financial position to do so. The sample includes 30 Iraqi banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2017, with the goal of inferring agency problems through EM practices. The results show that there are problems for the agency in the research sample banks throughout the research periods, and the percentages of those problems vary from one year to another. Apart from detecting agency problems, the art of financial ratios that have been used can be useful for auditors in conducting financial analyses, and thus they can be used as tools to detect fraud, given those agency problems resulting from profit manipulation are only aspects of fraud in the financial statements.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to compare and evaluate Earnings Management in Tunisia and Iraq. Theoretical framework: Earnings Management is an important topic that has been studied by a significant number of researchers, as well as those who are interested in the accounting profession. Earnings Management has gotten a lot of attention from academics, professionals, and other interested parties in recent years (e.g. Kliestik et al., 2020; Rahman et al., 2021; Gamra &Ellouze, 2021) Design/methodology/approach: The sample includes ten banks listed on the Bourse of Tunisia and Iraq Stock Exchanges for the year 2017. We have used a model of Kothari et al., (2005) as a tool to measure Earnings Management in both markets. Findings: The result of the study indicates that companies listed in the two markets exercise Earnings Management. Practices for managing earnings are used to either enhance, decrease, or balance out earnings. Research, Practical & Social implications: the approaches to Earnings Management take considerably different directions. As a result, the trend in Tunisia was among of profit growth. in contrast, the companies listed in (ISE) engage in Earnings Management with the intent of cutting profits. The evident indecait that taxation on businesses, political pressure from governments, and other factors may all be contributing factors to rising or falling earnings management practies. Originality/value: the fact, our current study is the first to compare earnings management in companies operate in both the markets of Tunisia and Iraq.

The current study is based on previous findings, where corporate governance (CG) significantly increased corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance transparency while reducing the tendency of corporate management to engage in earnings management (EM). A sample of 11 Iraqi banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2020 was selected. The CG was included in the board size and board independence apart from the variables of Chief Executive Officer (CEOs) gender, majority shareholder ownership, foreign ownership, and institutional ownership. The CSR included the wage growth rate, bank contribution growth rate for social security, training programmes, subsidies, environmental protection, and bank compliance with the law. Specifically, EM practices were revealed from the sample. As bank management was not involved in CSR activities, the significant interaction role of CG was not discovered in the relationship between CSR and EM. An insignificant relationship between CG mechanisms (CGMs) and EM was also demonstrated. Summarily, CSR and CG structures were substandard among underdeveloped countries.

The study investigates the impact of audit committee performance (ACP) and audit team (AT) characteristics on audit quality. The research problem emerges when we question whether the characteristics of audit committees (ACs) impact audit quality. Additionally, an inquiry arises regarding the influence of the characteristics of the audit (CAT) team within the audit offices of Iraqi audit firms (AFs) on the audit quality. ACP characteristics include the number of members, independent members, financial and accounting experience of committee members, meeting frequency, and the presentation of financial annual reports (FARs) and auditor’s reports. CAT encompasses the team’s number, experience and industrial specialization (EIS), auditor’s judgment, and time required for audit tasks. We relied on a study (Husain, 2020; Alderman & Jollineau, 2020; Al-taee & Flayyih, 2022) in the study model design. The sample comprises 82 firms from the Iraq Stock Exchange with disclosed financial reports (2021–2022). The results reveal that the presentation of FARs and the industrial specialization and experience of CAT significantly influence audit quality, while other variables show no significant impact.

The aim of this work is to assess systemic risk of Tunisian listed banks. The goal is to identify the institutions that contribute the most to systemic risk and that are most exposed to it. We use the CoVaR that considered the systemic risk as the value at risk (VaR) of a financial institution conditioned on the VaR of another institution. Thus, if the CoVaR increases with respect to the VaR, the spillover risk also increases among the institutions. The difference between these measurements is termed △CoVaR, and it allows for estimating the exposure and contribution of each bank to systemic risk. Results allow classifying Tunisian banks in terms of systemic risk involvement. They show that public banks occupy the top places, followed by the two largest private banks in Tunisia. These five banks are the main systemic players in the Tunisian banking sector. It seems that they are the least sensitive to the financial difficulties of existing banks and the most important contributors to the distress of the other banks. This work aims to add a broader perspective to the micro prudential application of regulation, including contagion, proposing a macro prudential vision and strengthening of regulatory policy. Supervisors could impose close supervision for institutions considered as potentially systemic banks. Furthermore, regulations should consider the systemic contribution when defining risk requirements to minimize the consequences of possible herd behavior.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of green bond issuance on the stock market, based on the share prices of 29 companies located in different countries around the world. Using our financial map and applying clustering techniques, we study price fluctuations and identify the influences shaping them. Our contribution lies in methodological innovation through a Multidimensional Scaling approach. Based on this innovative approach, the results of this investigation revealed a complex dynamic in which various factors such as company size, issue volume, total number of issues, geographical location, country GDP, and even governance indices such as the corruption index interact significantly.