A Model for Identifying and Explaining the Themes of Creative Accounting: with the Approach of Thematic Analysis and Fuzzy DEMATEL

Introduction
Due to the turmoil caused by the manipulation of financial statements, the capital markets are facing a large amount of mistrust among shareholders and investors, and even in the presence of strict reporting standards, violations and planned financial distortions can still be witnessed (Ndegwa, 2023). One of these inefficient aspects of capital markets is creative accounting, which under the influence of behavioral and structural drivers can develop the fields of information disclosure distortion in an opportunistic manner in the functions of capital market companies (Goto & Yamamoto, 2023). The emergence of such a process in terms of accounting procedures and information disclosure, as mentioned, increases the scope of mistrust in the capital markets, and it seems that reaching the point of understanding the reasons for the emergence of this method of accounting can prevent the behavioral opportunism of companies (Vollmer, 2023). In other words, creative accounting is a kind of financially conscious behavior to avoid reducing the sustainable interests of companies against the decisions of investors who use the gap in standards for their own benefit, which may face a strong reaction from shareholders in the long run due to hiding aspects of the company's performance (Rahman et al, 2023).
 
 
Research Hypothesis
 
Creative accounting is considered as a process or strategy in the way of implementation, which, although it is in line with accounting rules and standards, due to the deepening of the agency cost, it is far away from the functional realities, and it reflects the news and distorted information of the results in favor of the owners. Power is in the company and at the expense of external users. On the other hand, creative accounting is usually complicated by excessive opportunism in using new methods to describe income. It faces an asset or a liability whose purpose is to influence users and manipulate their interpretations in line with the goals of those in power (Supriya & Vidhi, 2018). A review of the roots of this concept in accounting shows that the terms "innovative" or "aggressive" have been used to describe this method of accounting by studies such as Amat & Gowthorpe (2004) and Cernusca et al (2016), which shows that the concept is emerging, almost due to the lack of specific dimensions, and no clear the contexts of its formation. The main purpose for creating creative accounting is to "distort the facts through the manipulation of the company's profits or costs, which is done to satisfy the possessive interests of a group of people with power."
 
 
Research Methods
 
This study is developmental in terms of results, because there is no coherent framework for the development of the concept of creative accounting in accounting functions, and this study, through a set of scientific methods, seeks to compile and explain the dimensions of the creative accounting model at the level of capital market companies. In terms of purpose, this research, relying on the thematic analysis process and Fuzzy DEMATEL, seeks to evaluate the organizational themes identified in the context of capital market companies. The research approach of the current study, in terms of the logic of data collection, is of a hybrid type; because it investigates a phenomenon about which there is no comprehensive framework in the theoretical fields of accounting at the level of capital market functions, or it is not a consensus. Therefore, first, through the analysis of the qualitative part and relying on the thematic analysis method, an effort is made to determine the dimensions of the creative accounting model in the form of a multidimensional model based on overarching themes; organizer and base provided. After presenting the model and measuring the reliability of its dimensions through Delphi analysis, this study seeks to evaluate the internal relationships of the identified dimensions of the model in the context of capital market companies in a quantitative analysis through Fuzzy DEMATEL.
 
 
Result
 
Based on the current concept in this research, considering that there is no coherent framework about creative accounting, it is first used through qualitative analysis methods to select research components and determine its reliability. Thematic analysis is considered as the executive process of content analysis, which analyzes the basics and concepts of the current topic through simultaneous content analysis in similar studies and conducting interviews to determine its dimensions. In this study, the typology of thematic analysis based on the style of Attride-Stirling (2001) has been used. By following this method, the basic theme shows an important point in the text, and by combining them, the organizing theme is created. The organizing theme is the interface of the overarching themes and the base of the network, and the overarching theme is placed at the center of the theme network. Therefore, at this stage, theme analysis was used for the interview to determine the basic and organizing themes of creative accounting as overarching themes. Therefore, according to the overarching theme of this study, which was creative accounting, a total of 3 overarching themes, 6 organizing themes, and 37 basic themes were created from 12 interviews. It was also determined, based on Fuzzy DEMATEL's technique, that lack of attention to the needs of financial legal knowledge to improve the knowledge of the consequences of creative accounting (C30) as an indicator of educational weakness of the basis of creative accounting "A5" and duality of duty (C17) as an indicator of the type of ownership of the basis of creative accounting "A3" and agency cost (C9) are known as the inherent theorization index of the basis of creative accounting "A2", which is considered to have the most stimulation in the occurrence of creative accounting compared to other features based on this analysis.
 
 
Conclusion
 
The purpose of this research is Exploration and Development of Creative Accounting Identified Themes: Evaluation based on FDEMATEL Process. In the analysis of the obtained results, it should be stated that the element of objectivity inherent in the basis of creative accounting refers to the fact that the distortion of financial information is inherent in the nature of classical accounting methods, because of the measurement of information in the rules of financial standards. The qualitative aspects of information disclosure and accounting procedures are not disclosed, and focus on the benefits of reporting, only the reflected aspects of the financial performance of companies to stakeholders can be measured. Such a process can reduce information values for stakeholders and lead to their one-dimensional perception of information disclosure according to what companies reflect to them. On the other hand, the weakness of internal control, the basis of creative accounting, is considered another axis of distortion of financial information, which refers to the appointment of internal controls in the financial structure of companies, which can lead to the lack of independence of the internal control elements and prevent the accurate assessment of the company's risk and independent functions of the internal audit committee.