scholarly journals Board leadership structure and earnings quality

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinedu Francis Egbunike ◽  
Augustine N. Odum
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Purpose One main concern and issue affecting earnings quality is the extent to which managers manipulate earnings to mislead stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers. This study builds on prior research and examines empirically the relationship between board leadership structure and earnings quality of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper is to specifically focus on four board structure characteristics: board size, composition, proportion of non-executive directors and CEO duality. Design/methodology/approach Data used for this investigation were collected from secondary sources, i.e. annual reports and accounts. The study used the Pooled OLS regression model to examine the effect of the board structure on earnings management for a sample of 45 non-financial listed Nigerian companies (conglomerates, consumer goods and industrial goods firms) for the years 2011 to 2016. Findings Based on the analysis, board size and board composition were positive and significant. However, proportion of non-executive directors was negative and significant; while, CEO duality was positive and statistically significant. It was consequently recommended that audit firms should review their audit business model and become more circumspect of their client, e.g. provide fraud assessment and checks for earnings quality. Boards should not just reflect size but rather the skills and expertise of individuals appointed to the board. Furtherance to this, the effectiveness of boards can be improved by committees and sub-committees allocation of duties. Originality/value Few studies have addressed this area in the country.

The Role of Board Leadership Structure in Firm Governance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danuse Bement ◽  
Ryan Krause
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Independent Director ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Board Chair ◽  
Board Committees ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Boards of directors are governing bodies that reside at the apex of the modern corporation. Boards monitor the behavior of firm management, provide managers access to knowledge, expertise, and external networks, and serve as advisors and sounding boards for the CEO. Board attributes such as board size and independence, director demographics, and firm ownership have all been studied as antecedents of effective board functioning and, ultimately, firm performance. Steady progress has been made toward understanding how boards influence firm outcomes, but several key questions about board leadership structure remain unresolved. Research on board leadership structure encompasses the study of board chairs, lead independent directors, and board committees. Board chair research indicates that when held by competent individuals, this key leadership position has the potential to contribute to efficient board functioning and firm performance. Researchers have found conflicting evidence regarding CEO duality, the practice of the CEO also serving as the board chair. The effect of this phenomenon—once ubiquitous among U.S. boards—ranges widely based on circumstances such as board independence, CEO power, and/or environmental conditions. Progressively, however, potential negative consequences of CEO duality proposed by agency theory appear to be counterbalanced by other governance mechanisms and regulatory changes. A popular mechanism for a compromise between the benefits of CEO duality and independent monitoring is to establish the role of a lead independent director. Although research on this role is in its early stage, results suggest that when implemented properly, the lead independent director can aid board monitoring without adding confusion to a unified chain of command. Board oversight committees, another key board leadership mechanism, improve directors’ access to information, enhance decision-making quality by allowing directors to focus on specialized topics outside of board meetings, and increase the speed of response to critical matters. Future research on the governance roles of boards, leadership configurations, and board committees is likely to explore theories beyond agency and resource dependence, as well as rely less on collecting archival data and more on finding creative ways to access rarely examined board interactions, such as board and committee meetings and executive sessions.

scholarly journals The board of directors and firm performance: empirical evidence from listed companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Merendino ◽  
Rob Melville
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Agency Theory ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis study aims to reconcile some of the conflicting results in prior studies of the board structure–firm performance relationship and to evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of agency theory in the specific context of Italian corporate governance practice.Design/methodology/approachThis research applies a dynamic generalised method of moments on a sample of Italian listed companies over the period 2003-2015. Proxies for corporate governance mechanisms are the board size, the level of board independence, ownership structure, shareholder agreements and CEO–chairman leadership.FindingsWhile directors elected by minority shareholders are not able to impact performance, independent directors do have a non-linear effect on performance. Board size has a positive effect on firm performance for lower levels of board size. Ownership structure per se and shareholder agreements do not affect firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature on agency theory by reconciling some of the conflicting results inherent in the board structure–performance relationship. Firm performance is not necessarily improved by having a high number of independent directors on the board. Ownership structure and composition do not affect firm performance; therefore, greater monitoring provided by concentrated ownership does not necessarily lead to stronger firm performance.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that Italian corporate governance law should improve the rules and effectiveness of minority directors by analysing whether they are able to impede the main shareholders to expropriate private benefits on the expenses of the minority. The legislator should not impose any restrictive regulations with regard to CEO duality, as the influence of CEO duality on performance may vary with respect to the unique characteristics of each company.Originality/valueThe results enrich the understanding of the applicability of agency theory in listed companies, especially in Italy. Additionally, this paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of research evidence of agency theory studies.

Board Leadership Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Listed Companies in Sri Lanka

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Saseela Balagobei ◽  
K.G.A. Udayakumara
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Corporate Governance as a mechanism helps to align management's goals with those of the stakeholders that are to increase firm performance. The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between board leadership structure and firm performance of listed companies in Sri Lanka during the period of 2014-2016. The data was collected from the secondary data sources and board leadership structure is measured by CEO duality. The sample of this study consists of 100 firms listed in Colombo Stock Exchange based on market capitalization. For the purpose of data analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis and independent sample t-test were used to examine the hypotheses of this study. The findings reveal that board leadership structure is positively correlated with firm performance in terms of Tobin’s Q and there is no significant difference in firm performance between CEO duality firms & non-duality firms.

scholarly journals Firm complexity and corporate board size: testing the moderating effect of board leadership structure

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 114-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayam Wahba ◽  
Khaled Kadry Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Most prior studies have argued that the relationship between firm complexity and board size is a monotonic one: complex firm tend to have a large board size. Contrary to previous work, it is hypothesized in this study that this relationship is more likely to be moderated by board leadership structure. Using a sample of 92 Egyptian listed firms over the period from 2000 to 2004, we found that firm complexity exerted a positive and significant coefficient on board size when the firm adopts a leadership structure that separates the roles of CEO and chairman. However, the incremental effect of firm complexity on board size was negative and significant for firms that combine the roles of CEO and chairman (i.e., CEO duality). This study provides supportive evidence for the argument that firms are more likely to manipulate their boards’ characteristics to attain organizational adaptation at the minimum total cost. Thus, studying of one main characteristic of the board of directors without taking into account the expected effect of other characteristics may lead to inconclusive evidence. This study offers insights to practising managers and policy makers. If practising managers want to maximize the value of their firms, they need to broaden their insight to understand that board characteristics are multidimensional, contingent and dynamic in their nature and differ not only across firms and industry, but also across countries. Moreover, before developing and launching new and additional corporate governance reforms, policy makers need to realize that differences in corporate governance systems cannot be fully explained outside their institutional environments.

scholarly journals Exploring the Role of Board Characteristics on Enhancing Financial Performance of Jordanian Listed Companies

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Laith A Alaryan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Board Composition ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Corporate governance considered important topic at the local and international levels, especially after many financial crises and corporate failures and such as Enron and World Com This paper aims to explore the role of board characteristics, (i.e. board size, board composition and board leadership structure) on enhancing firms’ financial performance; this study used the non-financial companies’ annual reports for 6 years (2011-2016) to extract the needed information. The non- financial sector consisted form 167 companies, only 139 companies are included in this study due the lack of data during study’s period. The results revealed that there is a positive role for board composition, board leadership structure, board size, on enhancing financial performance, while there is no significant role for board tenure, on financial performance. These mixed results on the relationship between board characteristics and financial performance have opened up possible research area in the future. For instance, extending the sample to comprise more sectors from Amman Stock Exchange is worthwhile to further support or refute the results of this study.

Does board structure impact a firm's financial performance? Evidence from the Indian software sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepika Bansal ◽  
Shveta Singh
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Companies ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of board structure on financial performance of Indian software companies. It is an empirical study carried out on 92 software companies from 2011 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe board size, board independence, board meetings, CEO duality, audit, remuneration and nomination committee are used as board structure variables. Two accounting-based measures, return on assets (ROA), return on equity and one market-based measure Tobin's Q are used as a representative of financial performance of software companies. Panel regression is used to test the hypothesis.FindingsResults demonstrates that board size, board meetings, remuneration and nomination committee have positive impact on more than one performance measures, while audit committee do not have any relation with any of the performance measures. It is also found that CEO duality has negative but significant relation with firm's performance and board independence has negative influence on ROA.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study attract the attention of company's policymakers, shareholders to know the importance of board structure in increasing the firm's performance. The outcome of the study has relevance in other developing economies also. The results of the study can be utilised by policymakers and regulatory bodies in the formulation of good corporate government (CG) practices for the enhancement of profitability and market value of companies.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that special attention should be given to quality of CG, specifically board structure while measuring corporate financial performance.

Board Structure and Financial Performance of Listed Finance Companies in Sri Lanka

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
S. Jeyan Suganya ◽  
L. Kengatharan
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Ceo Duality ◽  
Insurance Sector ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigated the relationship between board structure and financial performance of listed finance companies in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered from the financial statements of randomly selected 20 finance companies which are listed on CSE under Bank, Finance and Insurance Sector for the period of 2011-2015. Financial performance was measured by return on assets (ROA). Board size, female board members, CEO duality, and non-executive directors were considered as the parameters of board structure. Furthermore market capitalization was taken as the control variable. Pooled OLS was performed using STATA for the analysis of data. Results of the study revealed that board size and non-executive directors had significant relationship with ROA. Besides, female board and CEO duality were not significantly related to ROA. This study may helpful for the practitioners and policy makers to maximize the profit. Moreover, analyzing the relationship between board structure and financial performance of firms offering non-financial services can also be a worthwhile research. 

Corporate governance reporting in Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdur Rouf ◽  
M. Akhtaruddin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Stock Exchanges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Accountants ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
Leadership Structure ◽  
Board Leadership Structure

Purpose This study aims to investigate the extent and nature of corporate governance reporting (CGR) in corporate annual reports of Bangladesh. The aim of the study to test empirically the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and CGR by the listed companies in Bangladesh. The CG examined the proportion of independent directors, board leadership structure, board size, ownership structure and audit committee size. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a sample of 86 listed non-financial companies in Dhaka stock exchanges (DSE) from the period of 2015-2017 and all the companies are selected by judgment Sampling. The study has been used as an unweighted relative disclosure index for measuring CGR. Findings The empirical results indicate that board leadership structure (BLS) is positively associated with the level of CGR. In contrast, the percentage of equity owned by the insiders to all equity of the firm is negatively associated with the level of CGR. Practical implications Findings of this study have important implications for regulatory authority, enforcement agencies such as Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, DSE, policymakers, shareholders and others who have an interemaammast in CG. Originality/value Finding of the study will be a benchmark for policymakers and implementers in torching the avenues of improvement in raising the level of CG reporting.

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