5.4 Additional analysis
To provide further evidence that governance matters for a firm’s financial reporting
quality, we examine whether firms with improved governance structure over the
sample period are found to have a higher quality of reported earnings. Canadian
companies have made significant changes in governance practices during the sample
period, pushed by stronger governance rules, higher stakes and shareholder
pressure[7]. If the new governance initiatives and the ensuing governance debate
have helped improve the effectiveness with which boards discharge their financial
reporting responsibilities, one might expect that the association between governance
effectiveness and the magnitude of earnings management and the return-earnings
association has become more pronounced over time. Furthermore, a change analysis
can better address the endogeneity concerns