An Analysis of Financial Statement Manipulation among Listed Manufacturing and Trading Firms in Ghana. Issue 1 (2nd January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Anning, Asafo Adjei; Adusei, Michael
• Is Part Of: Journal of African business. Volume 23:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 165
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02
• Subjects: Financial statement manipulation -- financial statement fraud -- beneish Model -- financial Ratios -- manufacturing and Trading Firms -- ghana Stock Exchange; Africa -- Commerce -- Periodicals; Africa -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 338.96
• DOI: 10.1080/15228916.2020.1826856
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1522-8916

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We analyze the likelihood of financial statement manipulation among 19 listed manufacturing and trading firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange for the period 2008 to 2017. We use the Beneish model to group the firms into those likely to engage in financial statement manipulation and those not likely to be involved in financial statement manipulation. Generally, the results show that majority of the firms are likely to be involved in financial statement manipulation. Also, we find that profitability, liquidity, financial leverage, change of audit firm, and the overall economic condition (Z-score) are firm-level factors that predict the likelihood of financial statement manipulation among listed manufacturing and trading firms in Ghana. Given the high number of manufacturing and trading firms likely to engage in financial statement manipulation, there is the need for the managers of the Ghana Stock Exchange to subject future financial reports of these firms to rigorous scrutiny to safeguard the interest of their stakeholders.