On Friday, November 19, the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Trisakti held an Open Doctoral Promotion Session in Economics, specializing in Accounting, at Campus A, Hendriawan Sie Building (S), 8th floor. During the session, Dr. Eri Kusnanto, S.E., M.Ak., was awarded his doctoral degree with the distinction of “Highly Satisfactory,” becoming the 160th graduate of the doctoral program.

His dissertation, titled “The Influence of Corporate Leadership Structure, Institutional Investors, and Derivative Transactions on Earnings Management with Business Strategy as a Moderator”, examines the impact of leadership structure, institutional investors, derivative transactions, and business strategy on earnings management. The study introduces novelty by enhancing the measurement of proactive sustainability strategy variables with the addition of three new dimensions and eight new indicators.

The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Yolanda Masnita Siagian, MM., CIRR., CMA, CPMA (Asia), alongside Prof. Dr. Etty Murwaningsari, Ak., MM., CA, Head of the Doctoral Program in Economics with a concentration in Accounting. The dissertation was supervised by Dr. Titik Aryati, Ak., M.Si., CA, as the promotor, and Dr. Susi Dwi Mulyani, Ak., MM., CA, as the co-promotor. The examination committee included Dr. Murtanto, Ak., M.Si., CA., CPIA., CCFA.; Dr. Muhammad Nuryatno, Ak., MM., CA; Dr. Suhendra, S.E., MM; and Prof. Dr. Wiwik Utami, Ak., M.Si., CA.

The research introduces new dimensions nomination and remuneration committee, corporate secretary, and general meeting of shareholders (GMS) to the corporate leadership structure variable, building upon the framework proposed by Rajeevan & Ajward (2019). These additions aim to enrich corporate governance analysis with broader coverage, fresh perspectives, and improved accuracy in evaluating leadership effectiveness.

The findings underscore the significant role of corporate governance, particularly through leadership structure and institutional investors, in mitigating earnings management practices. The inclusion of new dimensions, such as the nomination and remuneration committee, highlights the importance of specific governance elements in enhancing transparency and accountability. Business strategy was also found to strengthen the negative influence of leadership structure on earnings management, emphasizing the need for an integrated approach aligning governance policies with operational strategies. Meanwhile, derivative transactions showed no direct effect, suggesting their relevance lies more in financial risk management than in earnings management.

With this achievement, Dr. Eri Kusnanto is expected to contribute significantly to corporate governance research and help companies minimize earnings management practices by improving governance structures, particularly through the leadership elements proposed in his study.