scholarly journals Corporate governance, ownership, company structure and environmental disclosure: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murya Habbash
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Iso 26000 ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
One Year

This study examines the Environmental Disclosure (ED) practices in Saudi Arabia and the potential relationship with Corporate Governance (CG) , ownership and company structure, following the application of the Saudi 2006 CG code in 2007. The study deepens the understanding of ED and its main determinants in one of the largest economies in the Middle East. A self-constructed ED checklist, based on ISO 26000, is used. We employ regression and content analyses to examine a sample of 267 annual reports covering the period 2007-2011. The analysis finds that the average ED has improved following the application of the Saudi 2006 CG code to 30%, more than double the 14.61% found by Al-Janadi et al. (2013) during 2006-2007. The analysis also finds that audit committee effectiveness, role duality, state and institutional ownerships, firm profitability, and industry sensitivity positively affect ED. However, board independence, family ownership, and firm size are found not to be significant determinants, while a negative significant correlation was found with firm leverage. The results imply that CG regulators and stakeholders should acknowledge the importance of active audit committees comprising relevant experts and independent directors, in addition to the role of state and institutional ownership in enhancing ED. The study covers a five-year period, contrary to the majority of ED studies which focus on only one year. The study helps to fill the gap in ED literature in developing countries. Finally, the study provides a recent evaluation for the Saudi CG code recently applied in 2007.

scholarly journals Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Firm Performance in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Helmi A. Boshnak
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Concentrated Ownership ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms including board size, independence, and meeting frequency, audit committee size and meeting frequency, CEO duality and ownership concentration on the operational, financial and market performance of Saudi listed firms using a contingent theoretical-based framework drawing on agency theory, stewardship theory and resource dependence theory. This study examines 210 listed Saudi Stock Exchange firms over the timeframe 2017 to 2019. The paper applies both a manual content and regression analysis approach. The results show that firm performance deteriorates with board size and independence, audit committee and meeting frequency, and the presence of CEO role duality, while performance improves with board meeting frequency and ownership concentration. Thus, Saudi firms should respond by maintaining smaller boards and more frequent meetings, keeping the Chair and CEO roles separate, and maintaining smaller audit committees with more focused meetings. Further, the appointment of independent directors only makes a meaningful contribution to firm performance where they are truly independent. Finally, more concentrated ownership tends to encourage better firm performance due to the regime of monitoring and discipline concomitant with more powerful shareholders. The implications of this paper are threefold. First, the implementation by Saudi Arabia of the latest corporate governance regulations and IFRS adoption almost certainly impact firm performance markedly. Second, corporate governance regulations should recognize the role of more frequent board meetings and more concentrated ownership in enhancing corporate performance. Third, stakeholders should apply pressure on investee firms to maintain smaller boards, engage genuinely independent directors, separate the role of Chairman and CEO, and maintain smaller audit committees with fewer and more effective meetings. The results should help corporate boards when deciding on the best corporate governance mechanisms to enhance firm performance. Further, the study should provide policy makers with a better understanding of the corporate governance structures required to promote better performance by drawing on existing theories and the empirical modelling, in an emerging economy setting such as Saudi Arabia, a new and broader data set, thereby informing better future policy and protecting shareholders’ interests.

scholarly journals The Effect of Corporate Governance on Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 66-85
Author(s):  
Feren Frisca Tania ◽  
. Mukhlasin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Negative Effect

This study aims to analyze the effect of the effectiveness of internal control, independent commissioners, the expertise of the board of commissioners, the number of audit committees, and the expertise of the audit committee on tax avoidance in manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange period 2016-2018. This research is expected to be a material consideration for companies in making decisions related to taxation. The deductive approach used in this study by developing hypotheses based on relevant theories and findings of previous studies. Agency theory is used to see the effect of corporate governance on tax avoidance. The data collection method uses secondary data from the company's financial statements and annual reports according to specific criteria. Data analysis was performed by descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The results of the regression analysis prove that effectiveness of internal control and number of audit committees had a positive effect which means higher effectiveness of internal control and number of audit committees cause more tax avoidance, conversely independent commissioners and expertise of the board of commissioners had a negative effect which shows greater independent commissioners and expertise of the board of commissioners cause less tax avoidance. Another result claim that the expertise of the audit committee did not affect on tax avoidance. In contrast to previous studies, this study is more varied by combining several independent variables. JEL Codes: G34, H26.

scholarly journals An exploration of the role of records management in corporate governance in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpho Ngoepe ◽  
Patrick Ngulube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Corporate Citizenship ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Good Corporate Governance ◽  
Auditor General

Background: Corporate governance maybe approached through several functions such as auditing, an internal audit committee, information management, compliance, corporate citizenship and risk management. However, most organisations, including governmental bodies, regularly exclude records management from the criteria for a good corporate-governance infrastructure. Proper records management could be the backbone of establishing good corporate governance.Objectives: Utilising the King report III on corporate governance as a framework, this quantitative study explores the role of records management in corporate governance in governmental bodies of South Africa.Method: Report data were collected through questionnaires directed to records managers and auditors in governmental bodies, as well as interviews with purposively selected auditors from the Auditor-General of South Africa. Data were analysed using various analytical tools and through written descriptions, numerical summarisations and tables.Results: The study revealed that records management is not regarded as an essential component for corporate governance. Records management is only discussed as a footnote; as a result it is a forgotten function with no consequences in government administration in South Africa. The study further revealed that most governmental bodies have established internal audit units and audit committees. However, records-management professionals were excluded from such committees.Conclusion: The study concludes by arguing that if records management is removed as a footnote of the public-sector operations and placed in the centre of operational concern, it will undoubtedly make a meaningful contribution to good corporate governance.

scholarly journals The role of an audit committee in bank solvency: An emerging market case

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussein Salia ◽  
Emmanuel Budu Addo ◽  
Nicholas Adoboe-Mensah
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Effective Functioning ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The Impact

Recent discourse on corporate failures gives prominence to the impact of weak corporate governance systems in most corporate entities, hence reasons for investors and creditors pessimism. This literature review article seeks to articulate how audit committee could strengthen corporate governance in organizations. The paper reviews the guidelines developed by the Bank of Ghana to curb the degeneration of the Banking sector in Ghana following the collapse of seven indigenous banks between 2017 and 2018. The objective of this paper is to underscore the effective functioning of audit committees as a panacea to the corporate governance weaknesses in Ghana. The paper observes that albeit the Bank of Ghana, as a regulatory body, underscored weak corporate governance systems – it failed to emphasize mechanisms for strengthening audit committees in its guidelines to regulate the sector. The paper, therefore, promotes the presence and effective functioning of the audit committees as an additional layer to strengthen the monitoring and supervisory functions within corporate bodies. It recommends that the Bank of Ghana must emphasize the establishment of audit committees as a core part of corporate governance systems of all banks to ensure that the interest of all stakeholders is protected adequately through the oversight role of the audit committees.

scholarly journals Synergistic Integrated Business Model-Sustainability-Technology of Top Malaysian Oil and Gas PLCs: The Moderating Role of United Nations SDG 5

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Dayana Mastura Baharudin ◽  
Maran Marimuthu
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
Code Of Corporate Governance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose – This study investigates the impact of the three main determinants of strengthening the sustainability practices of the oil and gas public listed companies of Bursa Malaysia (PLCs) through the Business Model, Sustainability and Technology synergistically compared between pre and post Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance 2017 (MCCG 2017).Design/methodology/approach – The study has followed the purposive sampling method followed by descriptive statistics, regression analysis and content analysis derived from the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance 2012 (MCCG 2012) and the MCCG 2017 together with previous studies of the analysis of the annual reports and integrated reports in order to explore the reporting of the business model, sustainability and technology as a synergy.

scholarly journals The Effect of Audit Committees on the Sustainability of Financial Inclusion Transactions in Saudi Banks in the Light of the Saudi Vision 2030: أثر لجان المراجعة في استدامة الشمول المالي بالمصارف السعودية في إطار رؤية المملكة 2030م

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (13) ◽  
pp. 109-90
Author(s):  
Rasha Abdulrhman Fallatah Rasha Abdulrhman Fallatah
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Banking Business ◽  
Vision 2030 ◽  
Bank Employees ◽  
The Relationship

This study aims to examine the relationship between the roles of audit committee and the satiability of financial inclusion in banking sectors in Saudi Arabia. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach to achieve the aims of the study, and the questionnaire was the tool of the study which applied to (60) of bank employees and managers in Saudi Arabia. The results revealed that there is positive relationship between the role of audit committee in Saudis’ banks and the satiability of financial inclusion with (0.003) less than (0.005) While, there are negative relationship between the satiability of financial inclusion and audit committee meetings, experiences, and the independency of audit committee members (0.400), (0.841) (0.105). Directing the interest of Saudi banks towards designing the objectives of the audit committees in a manner consistent with the requirements of the banking business and in accordance with the goals of Vision 2030.

Voluntary adoption of AAOIFI disclosure standards for takaful operators: the role of governance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahru Azwa Mohd Zain ◽  
Wan Amalina Wan Abdullah ◽  
Majella Percy
Keyword(s):  
Board Of Directors ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Supervisory Board ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Voluntary Adoption

Purpose This paper aims to determine the role governance plays in the voluntary adoption of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) Disclosure Standards by Islamic insurance (takaful) operators in the Southeast Asia (SEA) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 44 takaful operators in the SEA and the GCC regions. While corporate governance (CG) strength is measured by the use of the frequently examined variables of the board of directors and audit committee, Shari’ah governance strength is measured by the characteristics of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board (SSB). Content analysis is used to extract disclosure items from the 2014 annual reports. Agency theory, stakeholder theory and political economy theory are argued to support the hypotheses. Findings The results show that CG strength has a positive and significant effect on the voluntary adoption of AAOIFI Disclosure Standards by takaful operators, indicating that CG plays an important role in the disclosure of information in the annual reports of takaful operators. However, the results show a lack of association between SSB strength and voluntary adoption of AAOIFI Disclosure Standards. Our results suggest that the SSBs may not be as involved as the other CG mechanisms (such as a board of directors and audit committees) in reviewing financial reports. On another note, the level of the political right and civil liberties has a negative and significant effect on the voluntary adoption of AAOIFI Disclosure Standards, providing an indication that stakeholders in a community with greater freedom tend to be more active in pressuring takaful operators to provide more information to justify their existence in the community. Similar to SSB strength, the legal system is also found to have no significant association with the voluntary adoption of the AAOIFI disclosure standards. Practical implications This study provides stakeholders with a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the governance role in increasing the transparency of takaful operators by examining the governance factors using a self-constructed disclosure index. Originality/value Our study is among the first to provide an in-depth analysis of voluntary adoption of AAOIFI Disclosure Standards for takaful operators in these two regions; therefore, this study has implications for regulators and standard setters. The findings of this study are expected to provide information to regulators and standard setters on the role of governance in improving the transparency of takaful operators.

Audit Committee and Tax Planning Of Listed Firms: Evidence from Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-115
Author(s):  
B. Tijjani ◽  
Z. Peter
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Financial Firms ◽  
Financial Expertise ◽  
Negative Effect

This study investigates the effect of audit committee on tax planning of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. It aims at finding out the audit committee structure that improves tax planning thereby reducing tax liability of the firms. Data for the study were extracted from annual reports and accounts of the sampled non-financial companies for a period of ten years (2008 – 2017). The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics to provide summary statistics for the variables, and correlation analysis was carried out using Pearson product-moment correlation to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Regression analysis was also conducted. The study reveals that the audit committee's compositions, frequency of meetings, and financial expertise have a negative effect on tax planning of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. In addition, profitability shows a positive and significant effect on tax planning, and leverage has a negative effect. Theoretically, the study is significant for its contribution to agency and stakeholder theories as they explain relationship between corporate governance and tax planning. The findings have implications for the various stakeholders of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. They should be assured of tax planning for companies who have a good number of non-executive directors in audit committees, frequent meetings which are attended by members, and financial experts. Keywords: Tax planning, audit committee, corporate governance, tax expenses, non-executive directors.

Auditor Selection and Audit Committee Characteristics

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. Abbott ◽  
Susan Parker
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Industry Specialization ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Auditor Selection ◽  
High Level ◽  
Industry Specialist

The role of the audit committee in corporate governance is the subject of increasing public and regulatory interest. We focus on one frequently noted function of the audit committee: auditor selection. We argue that independent and active audit committee members demand a high level of audit quality because of concerns about monetary or reputational losses that may result from lawsuits or SEC sanction. Auditors who specialize in the client's industry are expected to provide a higher level of audit quality than do nonspecialists. Thus, we predict that firms with audit committees that are both independent and active are more likely to employ an industry-specialist auditor. We find that firms with audit committees that do not include employees and that meet at least twice per year are more likely to use specialists. This study contributes to our understanding of audit committee functions and provides evidence that industry specialization is an important element of auditor selection.

scholarly journals Audit committees in listed companies: an international comparison of composition and meetings

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Esmée Van Gansbeke ◽  
Patricia Everaert ◽  
Gerrit Sarens ◽  
Ignace De Beelde
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Internal Auditor ◽  
Corporate Governance Codes ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

This paper compares the number of audit committee (AC) members, meeting frequency and the presence of internal auditors at AC meetings of listed companies according to their country of domicile. We consider the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Hypotheses are developed based on differences in corporate governance codes. Data are gathered from annual reports of 100 listed companies in these countries. Our results indicate fewer AC members in the Netherlands, and a higher frequency of AC meetings in the UK and Belgium, countries where corporate governance codes do not proscribe a minimum number of meetings. The presence of an internal auditor at AC meetings was, on average, highest for firms listed in the USA.

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