Top management team, Islamic religiosity, corporate governance, and earnings management: A systematic literature review

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Abstract

This study systematically reviews and synthesizes empirical evidence on the role of corporate governance in moderating the relationship between Islamic religiosity of the top management teams (TMT) and earnings management. It examines how Islamic religiosity of the TMT affects earnings management practices, how corporate governance mechanisms help constrain such practices, and to what extent corporate governance strengthens or weakens the effect of Islamic religiosity on earnings management. Using a systematic literature review (SLR) guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 protocol, publications from 2009 to 2025 were collected from six major databases. From 224 initial studies, a rigorous screening and thematic synthesis produced 35 relevant articles. Findings show that the Islamic religiosity of TMTs generally reduces earnings management, as moral and ethical values foster honesty and accountability. However, this effect weakens under external or organizational pressures. Corporate governance plays a key role in limiting earnings management and moderates the Islamic religiosity-earnings management relationship. This study highlights that effective governance combined with religious integrity enhances transparency and accountability. The findings provide both theoretical and practical insights for strengthening ethical leadership and financial reporting quality.

Keywords: Islamic Religiosity, Top Management Team, Corporate Governance, Earnings Management

Authors’ individual contributions: Conceptualization — S.S., D.S., H.R., and N.W.; Methodology — S.S. and D.S.; Formal Analysis — S.S.; Data Curation — S.S.; Writing — Original Draft — S.S.; Writing — Review & Editing — D.S., H.R., and N.W.; Visualization — S.S.; Supervision — D.S., H.R., and N.W.; Project Administration — S.S.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: G3, L2, M4

Received: 23.09.2025
Revised: 14.10.2025; 31.10.2025; 30.11.2025
Accepted: 12.12.2025
Published online: 16.12.2025

How to cite this paper: Sari, S., Siswantoro, D., Rossieta, H., & Wijayati, N. (2025). Top management team, Islamic religiosity, corporate governance, and earnings management: A systematic literature review. Corporate Board: Role, Duties and Composition, 21(4), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbv21i4art4