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This study examines how managerial ability and a firm's business strategy typology affect real earnings management practices. Forty-four non-financial firms from the EGX-100 index were sampled, with 220 balanced observations covering the period from 2017 to 2021. The study used three real earnings management proxies as individual and aggregate indicators based on Roychowdhury (2006). It also used Bentley et al.'s (2013) composite strategy index as a proxy for a firm's business strategy, following the business strategy typology of Miles and Snow (2003) as defender and prospector strategies. Managerial ability is measured using the DEA-Tobit approach established by Demerjian et al. (2012). Panel regression models using fixed and random effects models were then used for data analysis. The findings indicate that managers with higher abilities are less prone to participate in real earnings management. The results also show business strategy negatively influences real earnings management proxies, and firms with prospector strategies are less likely to engage in real earnings management practices than those with defender strategies. Likewise, the results show a significant positive influence of the z-score on the preference for real earnings management. Further, the findings support the political costs and debt covenant hypotheses in positive accounting theory, as firm size negatively affects real earnings management proxies, but financial leverage positively affects them, Based on existing literature, there have been limited research studies about the impact of business strategy on real earnings management practices in general. However, no studies have investigated such a relationship in Egypt or Middle Eastern countries. Furthermore, studies investigating how managerial ability affects real earnings management practices are rare in Egypt. This study supports the idea that contingency theory might explain why some organizations prefer certain real earnings management practices over others.