Volume 13 - Issue 1

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Sri Lanka: Food & Beverage and Hotel Sectors
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya., 2024) Randenigala, C.J.; Wijesinghe, M.R.P.
The company's earnings are crucial for investors' decision-making since they provide emblems about value-creating ability. However, with the possibility of manipulating earnings, the whole purpose of financial reporting becomes valueless. External independent auditing can be identified as a control mechanism that minimises earnings management. This study examines the impact of audit quality on earnings management in the food and beverage sector and hotel companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2019. The real earnings management approach and total accruals are used to measure the earnings quality, while audit firm size, presence of the audit committee, frequency of the audit committee meetings and audit timeliness are the audit quality proxies. The study used regression analysis as the main analysis tool, and the findings reveal the existence of earnings management in the food and beverage and hotel sectors. Fascinatingly, audit quality does not significantly impact earnings management in the food and beverage sector, while it exists in the hotel sector. Moreover, companies' size and leverage significantly impact earnings management in both sectors. These findings suggest that effective regulation and monitoring are necessary to improve audit quality for both sectors, especially in the hotel sector companies in Sri Lanka. Hence, enhancing audit quality would minimise earnings management and improve earnings quality, which is instrumental to the decision-makers, especially investors and creditors. Henceforth, we suggest improving the audit quality in the food and beverage and hotel sectors and enhancing disclosure requirements such as research and development expenses, audit time, and non-audit services.
An Analysis of the Obstructive Factors that Impact the Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya., 2024) Amarasooriya, D. N. P.; Premarathna, S. P.; Rajadurei, S.
The sector of small and medium enterprises is considered an encouraging platform for the economic empowerment of women through participating in economic development as entrepreneurs. The lower productivity exhibited by these SMEs in Sri Lanka was identified as a result of the high participation rate of female entrepreneurs in the informal economy. An unfavourable environment has been created obstructing the transition of women entrepreneurs towards the upper echelon of the business world through diverse impediments. Thus, the research focused on exploring the barriers that hinder the business growth of women entrepreneurs in small and medium-scale enterprises. Accordingly, the research was conducted as secondary research: a literature survey. In Sri Lanka, a minor percentage of female participation in small and medium enterprises occurs due to limited access to financial resources, lack of financial literacy, social prejudices, social and cultural restrictions, and limited opportunities for networking and communicating with external resources. Thus, closing the gender gap in education, giving access to capital through a concerted policy action and providing women entrepreneurs with opportunities to improve their financial literacy and educational level were highlighted as the major recommendations in the study to empower women entrepreneurs to climb the value chain. Women entrepreneurs in small and medium-scale enterprises need to be facilitated with greater access to the domestic, regional and international markets in order to enable them to expand their businesses with productivity and innovation. Thus, vital policy measures should be taken to mitigate the barriers involved in formalizing the business mechanisms while focusing on increasing the benefits that women entrepreneurs can gain through that standardizing process.

Volume 13 - Issue 1 - 2024

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