ACCOUNTING IRREGULARITIES AND TAX AGGRESSIVENESS

We examine the association between the incidence of accounting irregularities and aggressive tax reporting. We use Beneish's M-score model to measure accounting irregularities and effective tax rates (ETR) to measure tax aggressiveness. Based on analysis of publicly listed Malaysian firms from 2008 to 2011, we find a positive but not significant relationship between accounting irregularities and tax aggressiveness. Though contrary to prior findings, our study adds to the evidence of the various motivations behind the unethical behavior involving financial reporting and/or taxation decisions. The finding of this study is useful to both financial and tax authorities in understanding the link between financial and tax reporting decisions.