Thesis:

Moderating role of Company Size on the relationship among Capital Structure, Accounting Conservatism, and Independent Commissioners with Earnings Quality

Earnings quality is an issue that has become the focus of attention in recent years in assessing the financial performance and continuity of companies. The main role of accounting information in financial markets is to provide the necessary conditions for optimal allocation of resources. Following recent financial scandals, investor confidence and trust in the financial reporting system has been weakened, and earnings quality has emerged as an important factor in determining the credibility and reliability of reported figures. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of company size on the relationship between capital structure, accounting conservatism, and board independence with earnings quality in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2010-2014. In this period, 112 listed companies and 560 observations were analyzed using Eviews software. The hypothesis testing method is regression analysis using panel data. The results of the research hypothesis test indicate that there is a negative and significant relationship between capital structure and earnings quality, and a positive and significant relationship between accounting conservatism and board independence with earnings quality. Also, company size weakens the relationship between capital structure and earnings quality and strengthens the relationship betweenaccountingconservatism and board independence with earnings quality.K

Keywords: Company Size, Capital Structure, Financial Leverage, Accounting Conservatism, Independent Commission