We argue and empirically show on a sample of 270 unquoted, private equity backed companies that the shareholder structure of private companies influences the quality of their accounting information. We show that companies in which private equity (PE) investors have a higher equity stake produce accounting information that is of lower quality than companies in which PE investors have a lower equity stake, controlling for company size and age. We argue that this is evidence that a large equity stake is a substitute for high earnings quality
