The impact of audit committee characteristics on Saudi bank performance

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of audit committee characteristics on the performance of Saudi listed banks. Data are collected from the annual reports of Saudi listed banks from 2010 to 2018. To test hypotheses, this study applies the random effects model as the main method of analysis, while the ordinary least square (OLS), the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) methods are used for robustness check and additional analysis. The empirical results indicate a significant positive effect of audit committee independence on all measures of bank performance (ROA, ROE, Tobin’s Q). The empirical results of this study also provide important implications for regulatory bodies and market participants in Saudi Arabia and developing countries to understand the actual role of different attributes of the audit committees on firm performance.