Assessing convergence and divergence between accounting information quality criteria: Stakeholder Management Theory Test

Despite the importance of the quality of accounting information in economic decisions and extensive research in this area in the last two decades, the lack of a codified theoretical framework for analyzing and interpreting the quality and multiplicity of criteria has confused stakeholders. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how the relationship between these criteria changes by considering the management of stakeholder interests as an effective factor in the governance process. This research is of applied type and has been done with correlation approach. The statistical sample of the study includes 163 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange in the period 2009 to 2017. The collected data were analyzed by combined data and least squares regression. Findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between stakeholder interest management and criteria related to the quality characteristics of accounting information. Also, no significant relationship was observed between stakeholder interest management and criteria related to external groups. In addition, stakeholder management changed the relationship between accounting information quality criteria in the form of convergence and divergence. Therefore, while legislators should pay more attention to the criteria related to the characteristics of accounting information in order to make regulations related to quality improvement from the perspective of stakeholders, stakeholders should make at least one criterion related to the characteristics of information and one to make their economic decisions. Use criteria related to external groups.