The Dark Tetrad of personality and Quality of Accounting Information: The moderating effect of corporate reputation

• Grant number: 16/10738-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Administration - Accounting
• Principal Investigator: Ariovaldo dos Santos
• Grantee: Alan Diógenes Góis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade (FEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Companies adopt certain strategies that are often not understood, according to Upper Echelons Theory, this happens under the influence of CEOs' characteristics, one of them is personality. The personality has bright and dark aspects that can influence decision making. In accounting context, the presence of traces of dark personalities, also called Dark Tetrad in CEOs can reduce the quality of accounting information because the personalities of the Dark Tetrad (Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy and Sadism) are related to callousness, impulsivity, manipulation, criminality, grandiosity, enjoyment of cruelty and misconduct thus CEOs with these traits are likely to manipulate earnings or to commit fraud. However, this fact may be reduced in companies with strong reputation due to credibility and trustworthiness that are built into company values and culture. In this context, the present study aims to investigate the moderating effect of corporate reputation on the relationship between the Dark Tetrad of personality and quality of accounting information. Thus, the thesis that I intend to defend in this research is that CEOs with high Dark Tetrad manage more earnings, however, in companies with strong reputation, earnings management is lower due to the values, structures and (formal or informal) rules built on corporate reputation. This implies that companies with strong reputation tend to suppress the opportunistic actions of CEO, enabling better earnings quality. The research design will be conducted into two parts: first part, an archival method; and second part, an experiment method. The use of these two approaches is to make sure that results are robust.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

GÓIS, Alan Diógenes. The dark tetrad of personality and the accounting information quality: the moderating effect of corporate reputation. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade (FEA/SBD) São Paulo.