Gender diverse board and earnings management: evidence from French listed companies

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sana Triki Damak
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Level ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
The Government ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of board gender diversity on earnings management level and strategy. Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted in the French context where firms are pressured since 2010 to appoint more women on boards. More specifically, this research is based on a sample of 85 companies listed in the SBF120 over 2010-2014. A number of econometric techniques are used including generalized least squares to test the panel regressions. Findings The results suggest that women on boards are effective in their monitoring role. Indeed, the findings show a significant negative effect of board women presence on earnings management practices level. However, there is no empirical evidence that board gender diversity affects the earnings management strategy. Moreover, the results reveal that some control variables influence significantly the earnings management level and strategy. Practical implications The findings support the efforts made by French political bodies to increase gender diversity on corporate boards, and might inspire political actors of other countries to take initiatives to regulate the promotion of women’s appointment on boards of directors. Social implications This paper contributes to the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice. Indeed, the findings highlight the beneficial effects of women participation in power and decision-making positions. Originality/value This research contributes to the debate around gender diversity on boards. Most prior studies that have analyzed the relationship between gender diversity and earnings management were conducted in a voluntary context of appointing women on boards. This paper extends prior research by addressing this issue differently and in a regulated context: where the government set mandatory quotas for female board representation.

Board gender diversity, corporate governance, and earnings management

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurlan Orazalin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weak Evidence ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether board gender diversity and other board characteristics affect earnings management practices of top public companies in Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes data of top public companies for the period 2010-2016. Data on corporate governance were manually collected from annual reports and investment memorandums, and financial data were collected from audited financial statements. Findings The empirical results show that companies with greater board gender diversity are more effective in constraining earnings management. The findings also indicate that companies with larger boards adopt a more restrained approach to earnings management practices, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. However, the results provide weak evidence of the association between board independence and earnings quality. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and earnings management in emerging markets such as Kazakhstan that offers managerial and policy implications.

Board gender diversity: performance and risk of Brazilian firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Mastella ◽  
Daniel Vancin ◽  
Marcelo Perlin ◽  
Guilherme Kirch
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Firm Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Female Presence ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to intend to check if female board representation affects performance and risk and to analyse the evolution of the demographic aspects of the presence of women on boards in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a sample of 150 Brazilian publicly traded companies from 2010–2018, with different measures of firm performance, firm risk and women’s presence on the board. The study approach is based on a set of ordinary least squares, quantile and panel data regressions. Findings The presence of women on the board has a positive effect on all of our accounting and market performance measures. However, the result of the impact on risk is not conclusive. The study also found that the number of females on the board has a more significant effect at the lower levels of firm performance measured by return on equity, but at the higher levels when measured by Tobin’s Q. Regarding return on assets, the more significant effect happened on the extremes of the performance distribution. The study findings point that market investors place more value in female presence on the board than in director positions. Originality/value By estimating the impact of women’s presence on the boards of directors in firm performance and risk, this study aimed to verify this impact in different aspects of the company. In addition, the authors did so in a sample with many years, making it possible to evaluate the historical evolution of the feminine presence in the boards of administration as well as in the groups of directors, assisting Brazilian legislators with new evidence about the possible impacts of Draft Law 7179/2017.

Board and audit committee effectiveness in the post-ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations era

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1137-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Safari
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aggregate Effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the corporate governance literature by examining the aggregate effect of board and audit committee characteristics on earnings management practices, particularly in the period following the introduction of the second edition of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. Design/methodology/approach This paper begins by embarking on an extensive review of extant empirical research on boards of directors and audit committees. Then, the paper reports on the use of a quantitative analysis approach to specify the relationship between board and audit committee characteristics (introduced by the ASX Corporate Governance Council) and the level of absolute discretionary accruals as a proxy for earnings management. Findings The findings suggest that greater compliance with board and audit committee principles is linked to lower earnings management, indicating that deliberate structuring of boards and audit committees is an effective approach for enhancing a firm’s financial reporting quality and providing support for the efficacy of the second edition of principles and recommendations related to boards and audit committees suggested by the ASX Corporate Governance Council. Practical implications This study significantly extends the literature and has notable implications for financial reporting regulators, as the findings regarding the monitoring role of boards and audit committees should be beneficial for future revisions of corporate governance principles and recommendations. Originality/value This study focuses on the aggregate effect of board characteristics recommended by the Australian Corporate Governance Council on earnings management practices, and the results support the effectiveness of the board and audit committee characteristics recommended by the ASX Corporate Governance Council. New directions for future improvements to the principles and recommendations are identified.

The effect of earnings management on shareholder value and the role of board gender diversity

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-334
Author(s):  
Viput Ongsakul ◽  
Pornsit Jiraporn ◽  
Young Sang Kim
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
September 11 ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Stock Market Reactions

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether shareholders are convinced by earnings management. This study also explores how board gender diversity (the presence of female directors on the board) may influence the extent to which shareholders are convinced by earnings management. Design/methodology/approach The authors estimate the stock market reactions to the September 11 terrorist attack using the standard event study methodology. The authors then run a cross-sectional analysis to investigate whether the market reactions are influenced by the extent of earnings management. Furthermore, the authors test how board gender diversity affects the degree to which earnings management influences the stock market reactions. Findings The study results show that the market reactions to the attack are substantially mitigated for firms that exercise more upward discretionary accruals, implying that earnings management is successful in convincing shareholders. Additional analysis corroborates the results, including propensity score matching, instrumental variable analysis and using Oster’s (2019) method for testing coefficient stability. Crucially, the authors find that board gender diversity helps shareholders see through earnings management better. The presence of female directors significantly weakens the extent to which shareholders are persuaded by earnings management. Originality/value This study is the first to explore the effect of earnings management on shareholder wealth using the September 11 terrorist attack. The research design is less vulnerable to endogeneity and is thus much more likely to show a causal effect of accounting accruals on shareholder wealth.

scholarly journals Corporate governance, Islamic governance and earnings management in Oman

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed I. Elghuweel ◽  
Collins G. Ntim ◽  
Kwaku K. Opong ◽  
Lynn Avison
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
Corporate Earnings ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate (CG) and Islamic (IG) governance mechanisms on corporate earnings management (EM) behaviour in Oman. Design/methodology/approach The authors employ one of the largest and extensive data sets to-date on CG, IG and EM in any developing country, consisting of a sample of 116 unique Omani listed corporations from 2001 to 2011 (i.e. 1,152 firm-year observations) and a broad CG index containing 72 CG provisions. The authors also employ a number of robust econometric models that sufficiently account for alternative CG/EM proxies and potential endogeneities. Findings First, the authors find that, on average, better-governed corporations tend to engage significantly less in EM than their poorly governed counterparts. Second, the evidence suggests that corporations that depict greater commitment towards incorporating Islamic religious beliefs and values into their operations through the establishment of an IG committee tend to engage significantly less in EM than their counterparts without such a committee. Finally and by contrast, the authors do not find any evidence that board size, audit firm size, the presence of a CG committee and board gender diversity have any significant relationship with the extent of EM. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first empirical attempt at examining the extent to which CG and IG structures may drive EM practices that explicitly seek to draw new insights from a behavioural theoretical framework (i.e. behavioural theory of corporate boards and governance).

Is Board Gender Diversity Linked to Financial Performance? The Mediating Mechanism of CSR

2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 863-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Galbreath
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Stakeholder Interests ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Positive Direct ◽  
Corporate Social

The evidence for a positive, direct link between the representation of women on boards of directors and financial performance is tenuous. Given the importance of the gender diversity–financial performance debate, researchers are left to examine how, if at all, the two are linked. The present study takes the position that the link is indirect. Specifically, following stakeholder theory, an argument is made that women on boards’ attunement to stakeholder interests leads them to influence firms’ prosocial actions, which results in higher levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In turn, following the extant literature, CSR is expected to be positively linked to financial performance. Relying on a sample of Australia’s largest publicly traded firms, the results demonstrate that women on boards are linked to CSR and that CSR is linked to financial performance. However, in the mediation test, CSR appears to fully mediate the link between women on boards and financial performance. The results are discussed along with limitations and future research directions.

scholarly journals Do Women On Boards And In Top Management Reduce Earnings Management? Evidence In France

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faten Lakhal ◽  
Amal Aguir ◽  
Nadia Lakhal ◽  
Adnane Malek
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
The Relationship

<p>The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of gender diversity on the boardroom and in top management positions on earnings management by French-listed firms. Based on a sample of 170 firms over 4 years, we find that the proportion of women on the board standing as a director or a chair reduces earnings management. This finding suggests that women are effective on their monitoring role and are then considered as a crucial corporate governance device. We also find that the relationship between the presence of at least three women on the board and earnings management is negative suggesting that by increasing the number of women on board through regulation and legislation, French firms are likely to enhance the effectiveness of the board to better detect earnings management. However, women standing in CEO and CFO positions do not affect earnings management practices. These findings suggest that efforts made by political bodies to promote equality between men and women on boards are beneficial for French-listed companies by limiting earnings management practices. However, regulating or imposing a quota of women on boards can create a temporal shortage of qualified women available to take up such positions.</p>

Gender diversity in the Italian boardroom and firm financial performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niccolò Gordini ◽  
Elisa Rancati
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Law System ◽  
Firm Financial Performance ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Right

Purpose This study aims to analyse the relationship between board gender diversity and firm financial performance in Italy, where the recently enforced Law 120/2011 prescribes gender quotas for boards of directors. Design/methodology/approach Panel data analysis was used to examine the gender diversity–firm financial performance relationship in an unbalanced panel of 918 Italian listed companies during the years 2011-2014. Findings Gender diversity, as measured by the percentage of women on a board and by the Blau and the Shannon indices, has a positive and significant effect on Tobin’s Q, while the presence of one or more women on the board per se has an insignificant effect on firm financial performance. Practical implications The results suggest that board gender diversity is not a simple “numbers game”, greater gender diversity may generate economic gains, greater gender diversity does not destroy shareholder value, investors do not penalize companies that increase female representation on their boards and Italian companies should focus their efforts on the right mix of men and women rather than on simply the presence of at least one woman on a board of directors. Originality/value Most articles on this topic use data from countries with a legal system based on common law; this paper analyses Italy, a country with a civil law system. This is almost certainly the first study to examine the effect of board gender diversity on firm financial performance in the Italian market.

Impact of board characteristics on governance, environmental and ethical disclosure

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanen Khaireddine ◽  
Bassem Salhi ◽  
Jabr Aljabr ◽  
Anis Jarboui
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Panel Regressions ◽  
Mandatory Adoption ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how board characteristics impact the governance, environmental and ethics disclosure. Board characteristics such as board size, gender diversity, board independence, CEO/chair duality and board meeting are included. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a sample of 82 companies listed in the SBF120 between 2012 and 2017. A number of econometric techniques are used such as generalized least squares to test the panel regressions. Findings Board independence, board gender diversity and board meetings have a positive and significant influence on governance, environmental and ethics disclosure. Board size is positively and significantly associated only with corporate environmental disclosure. The adoption of Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI, G4) has not affected or biased the corporate governance (CG), environmental and ethics disclosure. Originality/value This study adds to the literature on management reporting behavior and ethics and contributes to the extant CG literature by offering new evidence on the disclosure of good CG practices as well as environmental and ethics behavior. This study offers new insights about the potential influence of board characteristics on such specific disclosure practices focusing “during the optional period of GRI4 and after their mandatory adoption”.

Corporate governance compliance and accrual earnings management in eastern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson M. Waweru ◽  
Ntui Ponsian Prot
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Capital Markets ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether compliance with corporate governance (CG) requirements has constrained earnings management (EM) for companies listed in Kenya and Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprises of 48 companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. The data are collected from annual reports over the period 2005-2014, a total of 480 firm-year observations. Panel data models are used in the analyses. Findings The results show that discretionary accruals (DAs) average about 11.3 per cent, whereas audit quality is negatively and significantly related to DAs. However, board independence, board gender diversity and director share ownership were positively and significantly related to DAs suggesting that CG may not have constrained EM in eastern Africa. Research limitations/implications The findings should be understood within the context that only annual reports and audited financial statements that were filed with Capital Markets Authority (Kenya) and Capital Markets and Securities Authority (Tanzania) are used as source of information. Originality/value The study potentially contributes in three main ways. First, this is the first cross-country analysis that has examined the effect of CG structures on EM in an African context. Second, literature on CG and EM has been extended. Finally, the authors have extended research by observing the limitations of CG in reducing EM in an environment that is experiencing weaknesses in CG structures.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document