The Relationship between Intellectual Capital and Earnings Quality

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the intellectual capital of firms and their earnings quality. The Research was conducted with 158 accepted companies and 948 firm-year observations from Iran stock market. Empirical studies were conducted based on hypothesis by Value Added Intellectual Coefficient as measures of intellectual capital and taking absolute value of Discretionary Accruals as measures of earnings quality. The results of statistical test show that intellectual capital and its human capital component have a significant positive impact on earnings quality and lead us to conclude that intellectual capital has a positive role in financial practices and reporting.