The Influence of Earnings Management on Stakeholder Returns in Thai Savings and Credit Cooperatives
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Abstract
This research aims to examine the influence of earnings management on the stakeholder returns allocation in Thai Savings and Credit Cooperatives, including dividend rates, patronage refund rates, and board and staff bonus rates. The study employed secondary data from 263 savings cooperatives between 2015 and 2024, totaling 2,630 observations. The analysis was conducted using a panel data approach with a Fixed Effect model. The results indicate that earnings management has a statistically significant negative influence on dividend rates at the significant 0.10 level, while no significant influence was found on patronage refund rates or board and staff bonus rates. Conversely, profitability, cooperative size, and the growth of reserve and accumulated funds have a positive influence on stakeholder payouts. These findings suggest that the return allocations in Savings and Credit Cooperatives are associated with profitability and internal financial stability. Furthermore, as cooperative payouts are subject to legal and regulatory frameworks that emphasize financial stability, earnings management is not employed as a signaling tool or a mechanism to increase returns for cooperative stakeholders.
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