Multiple Directorships of Board Members and Earnings Management: An Empirical Evidence From French Listed Companies

: The aim of this research is to study the impact of multiple directorships of board directors on earnings management. Precisely, we empirically investigate the relationship between the number of outside directorships held by board members and the degree of earnings management of listed French companies. The research sample is composed of 90 non financial French listed firms that belong to the SBF 120 index, for the financial year 2008. The findings indicate, therefore, that the accumulation of many outside directorships by board members may lead to a higher level of earnings management, as measured by the magnitude of discretionary accruals. Thus, our results prove that board of directors cannot deter earnings management effectively when its members held several additional outside directorships.