Accounting Conservatism and Corporate Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines the extent to which Algerian companies practised accounting conservatism during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this practice impacted their performance. The study included 323 observations across 65 non-financial Algerian companies from 2018 to 2022. Accounting conservatism was measured by negative (non-operating) accounting accruals, and corporate performance was measured by the return on equity. The COVID-19 pandemic period was introduced as an interactive dummy variable. The results showed increased levels of accounting conservatism during the pandemic, which negatively affected corporate performance. Additionally, leverage had a negative impact on performance during the same period, while company size had a positive effect on financial performance. Therefore, the study recommends adopting flexible accounting policies that allow adaptation to economic changes without significant impacts on performance.