The Effect of Investment Firms Ownership on Earnings Overstatement: Test of Strategic Alignment and Efficient Monitoring Hypothesis

This study examines the Impact of investment firms ownership on management opportunistic behaviors in earnings overstatement, using the theoretical foundations of strategic alignment hypothesis, in a sample of 96, listed firms in Tehran stock exchange for a period of 8 years, from 2006 to 2013 that were simple random sampling selected. Data and theoretical foundations collected through library studies and analyzed using correlation method and multiple regression. The study results suggest that there is a significant and positive relationship between earnings overstatement and investment firms ownership. In other words, investment firms as a major shareholder, want to get the benefit of their investee firms. Investee firms managers maximize earnings for responding to its major shareholder too. This is approved in line with the strategic alignment hypothesis. The results also show that earnings overstatement have a significant and positive relationship with the variables of firm size, return on asset ratio and debt ratio. But there is a significant and negative relationship about operating cash flow.