Ownership Structure and Real Earning Management of Food and Beverage Companies in Vietnam: The Moderating Role of Auditing Quality

This study investigates the effect of ownership structure on the real earning management (REM) of food and beverage (F&B) companies listed on the Vietnam stock market, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of auditing quality. The data employed in this study includes 138 listed F&B companies covering the period from 2022 to 2024. Using a feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) approach, the empirical findings confirm that foreign ownership and managerial ownership have significantly negative effects on REM of the F&B companies. However, this study does not find any evidence on the effect of the state ownership on the REM. Additionally, the results indicate that higher audit quality, as proxied by Big 4 auditors, is associated with lower REM. Especially, the findings show positive moderating effects of the Big 4 auditors on the relationship between ownership structure and REM, meaning that the presence of a Big 4 auditor weakens the marginal impact of ownership structure on the REM. This evidence supports the view that governance mechanisms can act as substitutes rather than complements in constraining real earning management, contributing to the broader literature on corporate governance in emerging markets. This study provides the first empirical evidence on how ownership structure influences REM within Vietnamese F&B companies. Moreover, the study offers insights into the moderating role of audit quality in the relationship between ownership structure and REM, thereby enhancing understanding of whether governance mechanisms act as substitutes or complements in constraining opportunistic behavior within transitional economies.