Board Tenure and Specific Skills as Determinants of ESG Reporting: Evidence from ASEAN Listed Companies

This study aims to analyze the factors that influence disclosure level of sharia compliance based on AAOIFI standards. The dependent variable in this study is sharia compliance based on AAOIFI standard, while the independent variables are board age, board tenure, DPS educational bacground and firm age. This research is of a quantitative research, and the data used are secondary data. The samples are determined by purposive sampling method, which is as many as 6 Islamic banks in Southeast Asia. The observation period is from 2013 to 2017. The analysis methode used are content analysis to see the level of disclosure of sharia compliance based on AAOIFI and panel data regression analysis to examine the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. Based on the results of panel data regression, the board age variables, board tenure, DPS educational background and firm age simultaneously influence AAOIFI shari'a compliance rates. However, partially only board tenure has a significant effect on the level of disclosure sharia compliance based on AAOIFI. Whereas, board age variables DPS educational background and firm age do not significantly influence AAOIFI disclosure sharia compliance rates.

The study focuses on the association between audit committee quality characteristics and internal control quality, so as to improve the quality of financial reporting by understanding and managing the audit committee characteristics. In this study, the concept of internal control quality and its association with audit committee characteristics by testing the hypothesis are presented in the context of select Indian companies. Majority of the equity based listed companies at BSE have complied with the legal formalities like appointment of independent directors, number of meetings, size of the audit committee, legal and financial qualifications of the directors, as they were required for the listing at a stock exchange in India. The proportion of independent directors on audit committee and the proportion of directors on audit committee with legal qualifications have association with the internal control, but number of years the firm has been sharing information to the public, Proportion of financial expert on the audit committee, manager’s educational background, managers with financial education background, number of directors on audit committee, number of audit committee meetings, firm age, geographic segments, growth and Constant were not influencing the internal control. Thus, it may be inferred that the companies may improve the internal control by managing the independent directors and directors with legal qualifications, as these characteristics have significant association with internal control.

ABSTRACTResearch Question/IssueThis paper examines the impact of corporate lifecycle on board structure offering insights into how firms evolve and adapt their governance practices over time and across different institutional environments.Research Findings/InsightsBased on a sample of 23,530 firm‐year observations from 51 countries over the period 2013–2021, we find that corporate lifecycle has a positive effect on board gender diversity and board tenure. This positive effect is more pronounced in firms operating in countries with stronger investor protection and in firms facing higher external market discipline. However, the corporate lifecycle has a negative effect on the proportion of board members with financial or industry expertise. This negative relationship turns positive when investor protection strengthens, and market pressure intensifies. The results also show that gender quota adoption positively influences the association between corporate lifecycle and board gender diversity.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsThe findings support lifecycle and legitimacy theory perspectives suggesting that organizations face different challenges and legitimacy pressures at various phases of their lifecycle. To overcome those challenges, companies are likely to adjust their internal governance structures accordingly. The results also provide support for regulations on gender quotas in the boardroom.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsOur results suggest that in the early stages, a company considers appointing financial or industry skilled directors who offer essential knowledge for corporate growth and success. As the company matures, the focus shifts toward bolstering corporate legitimacy and gaining social acceptance. This transition indicates a shift toward holistic governance, where the company prioritizes the representation of stakeholders' interests, both in substantive and symbolic ways.

This study aims to determine the factors that influence sharia compliance based on International Sharia Accounting Standards (AAOIFI) in Islamic banking in Indonesia. This study uses secondary data from the annual report of Islamic banking for the 2016-2020 period. This study aims to analyze the shariah board tenure, shariah board educational background, firm size, and firm age on shariah compliance disclosure in sharia banking. The method used is panel regression analysis. Based on the test results, the variables of board tenure, DPS education, and firm age do not have a significant influence due to the lack of diversity in the tenure of the board and DPS educational background, and the older firm age does not guarantee the fulfillment of sharia compliance which refers to AAOIFI. Meanwhile, the effect of board age and firm size indicates that the age diversity of the board, which is dominated by older age will have more experience and competence, as well as an increase in the size of the banking system, which has the potential to increase the disclosure of sharia compliance according to AAOIFI standards.

This research aims to test the effect of board characteristics on earnings management. Politically connected boards serve as a moderation variable that affects the relationship of board ownership to earnings management. This research used a quantitative approach and panel regression analysis method. The population of this research used data from companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) from 2016 to 2020. The study used a sample of 357 companies. The results revealed that board ownership, board financial expertise, board tenure, politically connected boards, leverage, and board nationality had no significant impact on earnings management. Meanwhile, both firm age and firm size had a significant influence on earnings management practice.

Several calls from practitioners and the relevant literature suggest that audit committee directors with industry expertise complement the knowledge of financial experts. Thus, this study examines market reactions to the voluntary appointment of new audit committee directors with financial and industry expertise in Germany. Using hand‐collected German data on newly appointed audit committee director announcements, we find a significantly positive market reaction around the appointment of financial experts with industry expertise but no reaction around the appointment of financial experts without industry expertise. Consistent with the expectation that some industries demand a higher need for specialised directors, we find a positive market reaction to the appointment of financial experts with industry expertise depending on whether the appointing firm is relatively more challenging for non‐industry experts to monitor and advise. Overall, our findings suggest that market participants demand a combination of financial and industry expertise.

This study examines whether independent audit committee characteristics are associated with real earnings management. We measure real earnings management using abnormal cash flows from operations, abnormal discretionary expenses, or abnormal production costs. Based on a sample of 2,887 firm-year observations for years 2005 to 2007, we document that audit committees with accounting financial expertise or long board tenure are more effective in constraining real earnings management through overproduction. We find partial evidence that audit committees with block shareholdings, accounting financial expertise, long board tenure, or large committee size can more effectively constrain real earnings management through reduction of discretionary expenditures. Generally, we do not find evidence on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and real earnings management through sales manipulation.

This study investigates the relationship between audit committee composition and earnings quality in Tier One banks in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The composition of audit committees, particularly the presence of independent directors, financial experts, and industry experts, is hypothesized to significantly influence the quality of reported earnings. Using a sample of six Tier One banks over the period 2016-2021, this study employs a correlational research design to examine this relationship. Data was collected through questionnaires administered to 90 respondents across operational, middle, and lower management levels, with a response rate of 67%. The study utilized descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis to analyze the data. Key findings indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between audit committee composition and earnings quality. Specifically, the presence of independent directors (r = 0.38, p < 0.05), financial experts (r = 0.29, p < 0.05), and industry experts (r = 0.26, p < 0.05) on the audit committee were all positively correlated with measures of earnings quality. The regression analysis further confirmed these relationships, controlling for other audit committee characteristics such as size and meeting frequency. These findings suggest that the composition of audit committees plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of financial reporting in Tier One banks in Kenya. The study recommends that regulatory bodies and bank management prioritize the appointment of independent directors with relevant financial and industry expertise to audit committees. This research contributes to the existing literature on corporate governance in the banking sector and provides practical implications for improving financial reporting quality in emerging markets.

The role of financial advisorʼs industry expertise in M&A quality: Evidence from goodwill impairment

Purpose: The aim to test the impact of the characteristics of board of directors in reducing and preventing the possibility of financial statement fraud with firm size as variable moderating. Methodoly/Approach: The technique used purposive sampling method resulting of total 435 data and 87 companies in mining sector for the period 2018 – 2022. Findings: The result of this study is that firm size do not strengthen the board independence, board remuneration, board financial and industry expertise, and number meeting board of director on fraudulent financial statement. However, firm size strengthens the CEO financial and industry expertise on fraudulent financial statement. Another result is CEO financial and industry expertise, board financial expertise has a negative influence on fraudulent financial statement, but board independence, board remuneration, board industry expertise and board effort do not have influence on fraudulent financial statement. Practical and Theoretical contribution/Originality: This research is expected to be helpful to the companies regarding the importance of the characteristics of the board of directors whether in large and small companies to prevent and detect fraudulent financial statements. Research Limitation: This limitation is focused only on mining sector companies, and it only measures the characteristic board of directors’ variables.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine external auditors' perceptions of the impact of audit committee financial expertise and industry expertise on the mediating role played by the committee in resolving auditor‐client disagreements.Design/methodology/approachThe study is a 2×2 between subjects experimental design, using 61 Malaysian auditors as participants. The authors manipulate audit committee financial expertise and industry expertise at high and low levels.FindingsIt is found that external auditors perceive that audit committees play a greater mediating role and use mediating techniques to a greater extent when committee members' financial and industry expertise is high compared to when expertise is lower.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to examine the importance of audit committee expertise on the mediating role of the audit committee. The major contribution of the paper is the finding that auditors believe the audit committee's role as a mediator is strengthened not only by the committee members' accounting and auditing expertise but also by their industry expertise. The paper's findings have implications for practitioners and regulators who are concerned with the role of the audit committee in enhancing the integrity of the financial reporting and audit process.

This study examines the role audit committee chair expertise may play in fostering audit quality. The 2002 Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted to strengthen corporate governance practices in the United States; a fundamental part of this act addressed the audit committee structure and composition. Existing literature suggests that audit committee expertise may improve audit quality. In this study I use a logistic model to compare audit committee chair expertise characteristics for first-time going concern opinion firms that dismissed and did not dismiss the auditor after receiving the going concern opinion for the years 2008-2016 with that of firms that received clean opinions and dismissed or did not dismiss the auditor. I find that audit committee chairs with financial expertise, audit expertise, governance expertise and industry expertise are negatively associated with auditor dismissal. This suggests that firms with these audit committee chair expertise profiles may facilitate better audit quality. Moreover, the chair’s audit expertise, industry expertise and financial expertise are differentially significant in the going concern context indicating that these expertise types may temper management’s inclination to dismiss auditors after undesirable opinions. JEL Classification Codes: M41, M42, M49.

This paper aims to assess the effect of corporate governance mechanisms, including board members’ and audit committee members’ characteristics, particularly their independence, expertise in terms of finance and industry and efforts on the level of fraud and money laundering (ML) in financial statements of the listed firm on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The procedure of the study is descriptive correlation based on published information from firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2020, using a sample of 154 firms with 1071 observations. The method used for hypothesis testing is linear regression using panel data. The Benish model is used measure the level of fraud in financial statements, and for ML, the auditors’ opinion are used. The results show that board characteristics, including independence, financial expertise, industry expertise and board effort, as well as audit committee features, such as independence, financial expertise, industry expertise and audit committee effort, have a significant and negative impact on the fraudulent financial reporting and ML. Moreover, since this paper was carried out in an emerging financial market, particularly in Iran, to figure out the effect of corporate governance structures on financial statement fraud and ML, it can provide helpful information for investors and policymakers in this regard.

This paper examines the relation between corporate governance and efficiency performance of public non-life insurance companies in Thailand over the period 2000–2007. Data envelopment analysis is used to compute an insurer's efficiency performance including technical, allocative, cost, and revenue efficiency. We then employ truncated bootstrapped regression to test the relation between efficiency performance and corporate governance. The results show that the characteristics of corporate governance influence the efficiency performance of non-life insurers. In particular, board independence, diligence, and firm size have a positive impact on the efficiency performance of the Thai non-life insurance companies. However, audit committee size, diligence, divergence between voting rights and cash flow rights, board tenure, board age, as well as board ownership have a negative impact on the efficiency performance. Finally, our empirical evidence also indicates that there is an unclear relation between an insurer's efficiency performance and the board size, the proportion of financial expertise on an audit committee, and the board compensation.

The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of ownership structure and board members’ skills in the practice of accounting conservatism of Jordanian listed firms. The data were obtained from the annual reports of 116 Jordanian listed firms for year 2011. By using the multiple regression analysis, the results show that the influence of corporate ownership structure and board skills on accounting conservatism were somewhat varied. All variables were a positive relationship with the conservatism with the exception of the board multiple directorship which has negative relationship with conservatism. Five hypotheses were developed and offered in this paper, institutional ownership and board financial expertise were supported, while family ownership, board tenure and board multiple directorships were not supported due to the higher level of P-value compared to 0.05. These results refer that corporate governance plays a vital role in enhancing the level of conservatism and reducing the agency conflict. Further, regulators bodies in Jordan should increase the effectiveness role of corporate governance in Jordanian companies in order to enhance the quality of financial reports. In addition, this study opens up avenues for more studies on accounting conservatism not only in Jordan, but also in other countries where this area of study is lacking.