The Impact of Board Diversity, CEO Characteristics, and Board Committees on Financial Performance in the Case of Romanian Companies

This paper examines the impact of board diversity, CEO characteristics, and board committees on the financial performance of the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). In order to test the influence of these characteristics, detailed data on more than 70 firms are collected by hand, for the 2016–2020 period, and comprehensive regression models are estimated. The findings show that there are positive effects of board diversity especially with regard to the independent board members. In terms of the board committees, the audit committee is found to have a favourable influence. The regression coefficients imply that a 10% increase in the share of independent board members would be associated with a 0.93% increase in ROE. Based on these findings, it can be argued that improving the corporate governance practices of the companies listed on the BSE would increase the performance and the value of these firms.

The Role of Board Leadership Structure in Firm Governance

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.

Board committees and non-financial information assurance services

The objective of this study is to examine the role that the specialized committees, created within the board of directors, and the auditor play in relation to the hiring of a non-financial information assurance service and in relation to the choices of the assurance provider for such non-financial information. Specifically, this study analyses the effect of the independence and specialisation of the audit committee, the existence of a CSR committee, and the reputation of the financial auditor associated with its classification as Big4. The results indicate that those responsible for financial information do not show interest in contracting an assurance service, especially if it is realized by an accountant provider, except that the information is standardised according to the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the contracted service is comparable to the financial audit standards, has assurance for a reasonable/high level, and is carried out according to the ISAE3000 standard.

Application of Corporate Governance Practices in Companies Listed in CSE Sri Lanka

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to find out the application of corporate governance practices in companies listed CSE in Sri Lanka. Methodology: The study aimed at the factors influence in the application of corporate governance practices and firm’s financial performance in Sri Lanka. In this study, there are two dependent variables namely return on equity and return on asset and four independent variables namely board leadership, board structure, board size and number of board committees. The study used 20 top companies (blue-chip companies) as sample for period of five (5) years 2014-2018. The data was analyzed using the SPSS statistical software package. The descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used in this study. Findings: The results show that there is a positive relationship between corporate governance practices and firm performance, in the Sri Lankan context. And also it was found that there is a positive effect of board leadership board structure, board size and board committees on ROE and ROA the effect of board leadership, board size and board committees are significant with ROE & ROA. Only board structure has an insignificant effect on ROE and ROA.

Impact of Corporate Governance on Financial Returns of Indian Listed Companies

Purpose- In this paper, we have evaluated the relationship of corporate governance with companies’ financial returns using return on assets (ROA) and return on capital employed (ROCE) as proxies. For this purpose, companies listed in Nifty-50 are considered as a sample. Design/Methodology- The present study is conducted on the NIFTY-50 Index with a final sample of 35 companies after excluding banking companies, financial services companies, and companies that did not have the required data in the sample period. Data has been collected for ten years from 2009-10 to 2018-19, and they are analyzed with the help of software packages such as SPSS and Stata. Findings- The results showed that firms’ financial return measures (ROA and ROCE) were significantly affected by governance measures, board committees, and CEO duality. Board size, board meetings, and board independence did show positive relation, but it was not significant. Our analysis observed that corporate governance significantly affected the financial return of Indian listed companies. Practical Implications- Our research work indicated the importance of corporate governance in generating financial returns for Indian listed companies. CEO duality is found to be increasing the ROCE of listed companies in India, and therefore investors should choose such companies where the CEO plays a dual role in the board. Also, policymakers should take into consideration the dual role of CEOs while making changes in company regulations.

The Inclusion of Intellectual Capital into the Green Board Committee to Enhance Firm Performance

The purpose of this study was to conceptualise a framework that reflects an intertwined relationship between the green board committee and firm performance. Agency and stakeholder theories hold a basic notion of supporting the relationship between the green board committee and firm performance. The moderating role of intellectual capital (IC) was introduced in the intertwined relationship between green board committees and firm performance based on a resource-based view theory. This study proposes a new measurement index, namely, the “green board committee index”, to measure the green practices of organisations. This index is comprised of four dimensions: strategy and policymaking, monitoring and control, sustainability, and risk management. The current study hypothesised a significant and positive relationship between the green board committee and firm performance. It was believed that the moderation effect of IC strengthens the relationship between the green board committee and firm performance. The data for this study were proposed to be measured through a content analysis of the company’s annual and embedded reports and a Thomson Reuters DataStream terminal. It adds to the body of knowledge by alluding to an integrated notion of green board committees and IC concerning firm performance. The mentioned conceptual framework sends signals to legislators, regulators, policymakers, and practitioners on the critical insights and actions of green board committees in setting strategies and objectives, addressing sustainability issues, forging a relationship with stakeholders, and increasing the firm’s value from the business operations.

Impact of Corporate Governance on the Cost of Capital: Empirical Evidence from the Non-Financial Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: The study looked at the effect of corporate governance on the cost of capital of firms in Pakistan's non-financial sector. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study sample is comprised of balanced data set of 175 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange between 2008 and 2018. The study used the dynamic panel GMM estimator technique. Findings: The findings revealed that an increase in the number of directors, board independence, CEO duality, and inflation negatively influence the cost of capital. On the other hand, the increase in institutional holdings increased the cost of capital. In addition, it is discovered that board committees, political connections, and economic growth do not affect the cost of capital Implications/Originality/Value: When board size, CEO duality, board independence, and inflation increased, the cost of capital decreased in Pakistan's non-financial sector. Furthermore, board committees, political connections, company leverage, and economic growth do not affect the cost of capital in Pakistan's non-financial sector. In comparison, an increase in institutional shareholding increased the cost of capital in Pakistan's non-financial sector.

The Relevance of Good Corporate Governance Practices to Bank Performance

The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate governance instruments impact firm value in the context of Cambodian banks. This paper considers foreign and domestic-owned banks in Cambodia. This study opts for a balanced sample of foreign and domestic owned banks for the period 2014-2018. Panel data regression is adopted for estimation of main results. The suitable model, i.e. fixed and random effect model is selected using the Hausman specification test where the result shows that the random effect model using generalized least square (GLS) regression is more suitable for the analysis. The findings show that Cambodian banks are having a substantially higher percentage of NEDs on their board, high implementation of governance procedures on board committees where on average the banks are having more than the required two board committees (audit and risk committees) as required by the Prakas on the governance of banks by National Bank of Cambodia. The average board size is around 8 members of which at least 3 members are having a postgraduate degree or a professional qualification. Policymakers need to improve on their supervisory function as the majority of the domestic and some foreign banks do not disclose their annual reports on their company website as required by the Prakas on Corporate Governance of Banks operating in Cambodia. Moreover, amendments should be made to the current corporate governance code for financial institutions as there are no explanatory notes that guide companies and therefore, the current guideline is open to individual and subjective interpretation.