Purpose

Although board interlocking underlying forces are largely hidden, the purpose of this paper is to provide managers, auditors, analysts, regulators and other stakeholders with sociological board interlocking information considering the different backgrounds of their members.

Design/methodology/approach

The research sample gathered 1,606 observations from 2010 to 2017. For data analysis, the direct and indirect board interlocking linkages, considering the different backgrounds of board members, established the centrality indicators. Subsequently, the authors used these indicators according to each measured background in the regression models.

Findings

The results indicate that the political background of board interlocking members is positively related to real earnings management practices, while the financial background has a mitigating effect on such practices.

Research limitations/implications

The findings suggest that individual skills and interests conveyed across the corporate social network have shaped corporate governance, with distinct impacts on the quality of accounting information.

Practical implications

The authors conclude that both backgrounds could have implications on agency conflicts, increasing (policy) or reducing (financial) information asymmetry between the company and its various stakeholders, which indicates that the authors must consider sociological and not just economic aspects within corporate governance.

Social implications

The sociological background of individuals is necessary for the congruence of monitoring mechanisms, and consequently, the quality of accounting information.

Originality/value

This study examines the influence of the political and financial background of board interlocking members on real earnings management practices in Brazilian publicly traded companies in the International Financial Reporting Standards post-adoption period.

中文翻译：

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巴西董事会互锁和盈余管理的政治和财务背景

目的

尽管董事会联锁的潜在力量在很大程度上是隐藏的，但本文的目的是为管理人员、审计师、分析师、监管者和其他利益相关者提供考虑到其成员不同背景的社会学董事会联锁信息。

设计/方法/方法

研究样本收集了 2010 年至 2017 年的 1,606 条观察结果。为了数据分析，直接和间接董事会连锁联系，考虑到董事会成员的不同背景，建立了中心性指标。随后，作者根据每个测量的背景在回归模型中使用这些指标。

发现

结果表明，董事会联锁成员的政治背景与实际盈余管理实践呈正相关，而财务背景对此类实践具有缓解作用。

研究限制/影响

研究结果表明，通过公司社交网络传达的个人技能和兴趣塑造了公司治理，对会计信息的质量产生了明显的影响。

实际影响

作者得出结论，这两种背景都可能对代理冲突、增加（政策）或减少（财务）公司与其各个利益相关者之间的信息不对称产生影响，这表明作者必须考虑公司治理中的社会学方面而不仅仅是经济方面。

社会影响

个人的社会背景对于监督机制的一致性以及会计信息的质量是必要的。

原创性/价值

本研究考察了国际财务报告准则采纳后董事会联锁成员的政治和财务背景对巴西上市公司实际盈余管理实践的影响。