EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT COMMITTEE INFLUENCE ON CSR WITH FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE MEDIATION

Financial reporting is a crucial aspect of the
accounting system for communicating financial
performance to stakeholders. Financial performance,
particularly profit, is often influenced by earnings
management practices that may pose information risks to
investors. The audit committee plays an essential role in
overseeing financial reports and reducing earnings
manipulation risks. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is
another key element affected by financial performance and
earnings management practices. This study aims to analyze
the effects of earnings management and the audit
committee on CSR, with financial performance as a
mediating variable. Earnings management is measured
using discretionary accruals, the audit committee is
measured by the number of members, financial
performance is assessed using return on equity (ROE), and
CSR is evaluated using the CSRI index based on GRI G4.
This quantitative research uses panel data from 33
conventional banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange
(IDX) from 2020 to 2022 with 99 observations. Data
analysis was conducted using SPSS 25. The results show
that earnings management has a negative but insignificant
effect on financial performance, while the audit committee
has a positive and insignificant effect. Earnings
management positively but insignificantly affects CSR,
whereas the audit committee has a negative and significant
effect on CSR. Financial performance does not mediate the
relationship between earnings management and CSR but
mediates the relationship between the audit committee and
CSR. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of
financial reporting dynamics, audit oversight, and CSR
implementation.