Board characteristics, audit committee attributes and firm performance: empirical evidence from emerging economy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rifat Fariha ◽  
Md. Mukarrom Hossain ◽  
Ratan Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Management Quality

PurposeThis study is designed and directed to analyze the effect of board characteristics and audit committee attributes on the firm performance of publicly listed commercial banks of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThirty publicly listed commercial banks of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have been taken as sample for this study. Data have been collected from annual reports between 2011 and 2017 of the assessed banks. Pooled OLS model has been used for running regression model of this study.FindingsBoard independence has a negative and significant relationship with ROA and Tobin's Q. However, Board Independence has a positive and significant relationship with Stock Return. On the other hand, Board Diversity has a negative and significant relationship with ROA and ROE, which implies inefficiency of diversified board members in the context of Bangladesh. Family duality has a positive and significant relationship with ROA and a negative and significant relationship with Stock return. Board Meeting has a positive and significant relationship with ROA. Audit Committee Size has a negative and significant relationship with Tobins' Q. Independence of audit committee chairman has a negative and significant relationship with Tobin's Q and Stock Returns. Presence of non-executive directors and number of audit meetings have no significant relationship with any of the predicted variables.Research limitations/implicationsAmong all variables of the board characteristics, role of independent directors and participation of female directors have conflicting results in this study. This has raised a question about the fair appointment independent directors and their objective view on the board. Female directors' role is not convincing in the context of Bangladesh as most of the commercial banks are family-owned. Policymakers can tighten and supervise the appointment of independent directors to ensure good governance in the banking sector. Moreover, role of audit committee and independence of audit committee chairman have generated conflicting results in terms of market-based performance measure.Originality/valueBanking sector of Bangladesh experiences huge corruption in the form of excessive NPLs and poor management quality which results in low profit for the firm. This study has explored the problems of management quality and flaws of audit committee which is hampering overall growth of banking industry. Improvement of independent directors' appointment and audit committee formation and reporting will certainly help banking industry of Bangladesh to improve overall performance.

Does board independence moderate the effect of politician directors on CSR disclosure? Evidence from the publicly listed banks in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Harun Ur Rashid ◽  
Syed Zabid Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Csr ◽  
Csr Disclosure

Purpose This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of independent directors on the relationship between politicians on the board and corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD). Design/methodology/approach The ordinary least square has been used to analyze the CSRD data collected from the annual reports of all 30 listed banks of Bangladesh covering six years period ranging from 2013–2018. Further, the study has applied the generalized method of moments to prove the robustness of the model across the endogeneity issue. Findings The study found a positive relationship between board independence and CSRD that indicates board independence enhances the CSRD to a great extent. On the contrary, the inclusion of politicians on the board has shown a negative impact on CSRD that implies the higher the presence of political members on the board of a bank, the lower the involvement of the bank in CSR activities. However, board independence positively and significantly moderates the politician directors on the CSRD. The findings imply that if the independent directors are empowered, they play the role of whistleblowers that, in turn, mitigates the negative role of politician directors to CSRD. Research limitations/implications The study suggests the banks’ management, and regulatory bodies formulate sound policies so that the banks are forced to include more independent directors with enough power and at the same time, reduce the politician directors on the board. Originality/value The study extends debate on the political CSR and CSRD through validating the role of board independence.

“Ownership structure and firm performance: the mediating role of board characteristics”

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Mamunur Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of corporate board characteristics in the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance in the listed public limited companies of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzed 527 annual reports of listed companies in Bangladesh for the years 2015-2017. The direct and indirect effect of ownership structure on firm performance was examined using AMOS 23. Baron and Kenny’s (1986) four steps procedure was used to establish the mediating role of board characteristics. Findings The results demonstrated that foreign ownership and director ownership have significant positive influence on both accounting and market based firm’s performance, while institutional ownership exhibits positive influence only on accounting-based performance (return on assets). With respect to mediating effect, the results show that board size and board independence partially mediate the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of the study is that it focuses only on three years data in examining the hypothesized relationship among the variables. Practical implications Investors, regulators and managers can get evocative insights, particularly who seek to improve their company’s performance in the capital market through restructuring their ownership structure and board composition. Originality/value The study focuses on both direct and indirect effect of ownership structure on firm performance in the context of an emerging and developing economy. In examining the indirect effect, the study uses board size and board independence as the mediating variables.

Board independence and firm performance: evidence from Kuwait

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mejbel Al-Saidi
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
Large Shareholders ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to reduce the knowledge gap by using a large sample and different regressions while controlling the endogeneity and causality issues. Design/methodology/approach This study used the ordinary least square (OLS) and two stage least squares (2SLS) regressions to control the endogeneity and causality problems; this estimation strategy allows for comparison of both estimates to identify any inconsistency and biases in the parameters. Findings General speaking, this study found that board independence negatively affected firm performance based on Tobin’s Q only and the relationship between the two variables ran from board independence to firm performance but not vice versa. Originality/value The current independent directors are not adding value to Kuwait’s listed firms. Some directors who represent large shareholders and the conflict between large shareholders and small shareholders could affect the role of independent directors in Kuwait. To best of the researchers’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider board independent after controlling the issues of endogeneity and causality in Kuwait; thus, the results could be useful for Kuwaiti firms, regulators and policymakers.

Board independence and private information-based trading: evidence from Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiunn-Shyan Khong ◽  
Chee-Wooi Hooy ◽  
Chun-Teck Lye
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Disclosure Quality ◽  
Board Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study investigates the effect of board independence on private information-based trading (PIBT) events. This study also examines the interaction effects of firm's disclosure quality and the statutory and demographic roles of independent directors and board diversity attributes, respectively, on the relationship between board independence and PIBT.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel data of 811 non-financial public listed companies in Bursa Malaysia for the sample period 2009–2017. The dynamic general method of moments (DGMM) is used for the dynamic panel data estimation and to address the potential endogeneity problem.FindingsThe results show that board independence has a negative effect on PIBT and the effect could be strengthened by firm's disclosure quality, women independent directors and board gender diversity, but attenuated by CEO duality. The overall result suggests that apart from independent audit committee, the statutory and demographic attributes of independent directors and board diversity, and firm's disclosure quality are complementary to board independence in preventing persistent PIBT.Originality/valueThis study augments the existing corporate governance and information-based trading literature from the perspectives of firm's disclosure quality, and the statutory and demographic roles of independent directors and board diversity attributes, by examining their effects on the relationship between board independence and PIBT.

Impact of the busyness and board independence on the discretionary disclosures of Indian firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-265
Author(s):  
Kavitha D. ◽  
Nandagopal R. ◽  
Uma Maheswari B.
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of board characteristics such as size, independence, busyness and duality on the extent of discretionary disclosures of listed Indian firms.Design/methodology/approachA disclosure index with 110 items was constructed to assess the discretionary disclosures in the annual reports of listed firms. The study measured disclosure using 1,024 firm-year observations over 8 years from 2009 to 2016. Board characteristics such as size, independence, busyness and duality have been used in the study as indicators of corporate governance.FindingsThe results indicate that while the proportion of independent directors positively impacts the extent of discretionary disclosures, boards with duality and the busyness of the director have a negative impact. The size of the board does not significantly impact the extent of disclosures.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examines the discretionary disclosures made only in the annual reports. Future studies could examine information disclosed in other media. Moreover, this study uses an un-weighted self-constructed disclosure index, which is subject to its inherent limitations.Originality/valueThis study has examined the impact of the “busyness” of the director on the extent of disclosures. This variable has not been explored in prior studies. The significance of the variable indicates that the number of directorships held impacts the efficiency with which a director performs his/her role in the board. The study reiterates the need for firms and policymakers to focus on improving board independence and to move away from leadership structures with duality.

scholarly journals Emerging policies and the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms on earning quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-164
Author(s):  
Mohammed Mahdi Obaid ◽  
Muneer Rajab Amrah
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Earning Quality ◽  
The Relationship

Current study review extant empirical researches on the relationship between CG and EQ. However, the scope of the reviewed studies was shown to vary, most studies on CG and EQ are specific in focus, with different studies focusing on specific aspects or measures of CG. This study evaluates the role of emerging policies and the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms on earning quality within a conceptual framework for the Gulf cooperation council. This study concludes that the majority of companies with big board size, higher board independence, and more frequent meetings have improved EQ. Also, the result indicates companies with big audit committee size, a larger number of independent directors, more audit committee meetings and more experts tend to have an increase in EQ. Finally, this review emerged as a framework suitable for assessing the level of EQ disclosed and the relationship between CG and EQ base on GCC policies.

Board monitoring and audit fees: the moderating role of CEO/chair dual roles

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jizi ◽  
Rabih Nehme
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interaction Variables ◽  
Board Monitoring ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether CEO/chair dual roles influence board monitoring-audit fees nexus. The impact of corporate governance on audit fees literature is lacking in the banking sector, which is subject to different regulations and reporting requirements to other sectors. The level and quality of external audit services are important not only to shareholders and customers but also for regulators’ reputations and public confidence. Design/methodology/approach Examining a sample of the US national commercial banks, this study fills the gap by empirically examining whether the attributes of internal corporate governance mechanisms, proxied by boards of directors and audit committee characteristics, are related to audit fees. We introduce two interaction variables to understand whether chief executive officer (CEO)/chair dual roles influence the relationships between board independence and audit fees on the one hand and between the audit committee and audit fees on the other hand. Findings We find that audit fees are positively associated with board independence, board size, CEO/chair dual role and audit committee financial experts. The results of the interaction variables indicate that boards with higher independence and more effective audit committees tend to demand higher audit quality, and consequently, pay higher audit fees to protect shareholders’ interests from potential power abuse by CEOs who also chair boards. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing extensive understanding of the influence on audit fees of the independence of the board of directors and the effectiveness of the audit committees. The authors first examine the impact of each individual governance variable separately and then introduce two interaction variables. This study provides policymakers with insights into the existing relationships between audit fees and the banking sector governance structure.

The effect of characteristics of audit committee and board on corporate profitability in Iran

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Mohammad Tahervafaei ◽  
Hossein Tarighi
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Outside Directors ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the characteristics of the audit committee and the board and profitability among the companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) in Iran. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the companies listed on the TSE during the period from 2010 to 2015 are investigated. The Linear panel regression method is employed for this purpose. The independent variables of the study are composed of some corporate governance mechanisms including audit committee size, audit committee expertise, board size, board independence, chief executive officer (CEO) duality, and institutional ownership. Findings In spite of the fact that there does not exist any significant association between audit committee size and corporate financial performance, the results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between audit committee financial expertise and profitability. The authors found that the number of board members cannot affect corporate performance; moreover, duality of CEO role in Iranian companies does not affect company performance. However, the outcomes showed a positive and significant association between the proportion of outside directors on the board (board independence) and profitability at 99 percent confidence level. This implies that the role of non-executive directors in Iran is inconsistent with the stewardship theory. This is due to the fact that independent directors understand the status of business and market better than the board’s executive members. Finally, the results indicated that there is no significant association between institutional owners and Iranian companies’ performance. Practical implications The findings of this study will reveal more than ever the role of corporate governance mechanisms for society and users of financial statements because as tools on the CEO actions, they always have to pay attention to the implementation of corporate principles in the economic entity’ operation. Originality/value This is one of the most important studies that simultaneously examine the impacts of characteristics of the audit committee and the board on profitability in an emerging market, and the results of the study may give strength to Iranian as well other developing countries.

‘Welcome on board’: resource dependency and agency theoretic evidence from the South African life insurance market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Latif Alhassan ◽  
Kalwani Zyambo ◽  
Mary-Ann Afua Boakye
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Resource Dependency ◽  
Insurance Market ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose This paper examines the role of corporate governance on the financial performance of life insurers in South Africa. Specifically, the paper tests two competing hypotheses on the role of boards as effective monitors of opportunistic behaviour of executives, as prescribed by the agency theory or as an effective resource, as advocated by the resource dependency view. Design/methodology/approach The paper estimates both static and dynamic panel data of 68 insurers from 2007 to 2014 using random effects, panel corrected standard error ordinary least squares and generalized method of moment’s estimation techniques. Board size, audit committee size, board independence and audit committee independence are used as the governance indicators while profitability is measured as returns on assets and equity. Findings The findings support both the resource dependency and agency theoretic views of boards. Specifically, the results indicate that large board and audit committees improve financial performance which supports the view of boards as effective resources for insurers. In addition, the role of non-executive directors in addressing agency conflict is reflected in the positive effect of board independence on financial performance. However, the long-run causal positive effect is only reported for audit committee size on return on assets. In addition, the paper also finds evidence of profitability persistence in the life insurance market. Finally, reinsurance usage, insurer size and market concentration were found to have a negative effect on financial performance. Practical implications The findings re-enforce the important role of boards in their oversight responsibilities and as effective resources in the operations of highly specialized insurance businesses. Originality/value As far as the authors are concerned, this empirical analysis documents the first evidence of the linkages between governance mechanisms and financial performance of an insurance market in Africa.

scholarly journals The Role of Board Governance on Bank Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-50
Author(s):  
Zuriawati Zakaria ◽  
Noorfaiz Purhanudin ◽  
Ahmad Nazri Wahidudin
Keyword(s):  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Bank Performance ◽  
Board Governance ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Performance Decline ◽  
Loan Losses ◽  
The Impact

This study uses a sample of 119 commercial banks in Asia (specifically China, Philippine, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand) to test the impact of board governance on the bank performance. The result reported based on OLS and within estimators. In addition, two step system estimator is employed in this study to solve endogeneity problem in corporate governance literature. The finding reported that bank with large board and more independent directors sit on board it help the bank to achieve higher performance. The result shows that bank can achieve better performance with younger directors. While CEO duality and female directors are insignificant to influence the bank performance. The result also reported that the higher loan losses provision leads to bank performance decline. This study employ various governance characteristics towards performance among banking sector in selected Asian countries. The result of this study highlight the effectiveness of the board as a functioning device in monitoring and advising manager.

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