Moderating Effect Of Corporate Governance Research Articles

Related party transactions and financial distress: role of governance and audit attributes

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between related party transactions (RPTs), specifically sales and purchases, and financial distress. It also explores the moderating role of various corporate governance mechanisms and audit-firm characteristics in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study spans the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and uses a logistic regression model focusing on an eight-year noncylindrical panel data set, covering a sample of Omani listed companies from 2014 to 2021. Findings The empirical findings reveal a contrasting relationship between RPT sales and financial distress: a significant negative relationship in the postpandemic period, and a positive relationship in the prepandemic period. Conversely, RPT purchases exhibit a consistently significant positive relationship across all periods. The presence of a Big Four audit-firm and audit delay are notable moderating variables associated with audit-firm attributes. Additionally, the board’s review of RPT transactions, size, meetings and independence are significant moderator variables pertaining to corporate governance. Research limitations/implications This study provides empirical evidence to inform regulators of the efficiency and opportunistic aspects of RPTs in relation to financial distress. The study’s findings offer valuable guidance to managers by suggesting ways to reinforce corporate governance practices and strengthen audit mechanisms to counteract the negative consequences of RPTs. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to explore the direct relationship between both RPT sales and purchases and financial distress while also examining the moderating effect of corporate governance and audit attributes. This comprehensive approach distinguishes itself from its unique contributions to the field.

CSR practices and earnings management: the mediating effect of accounting conservatism and the moderating effect of corporate governance: evidence from Finnish companies

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on earnings management (EM). Furthermore, the authors assessed the mediating effect of accounting conservatism (AC) on the CSR-EM relationship over the long term. The authors also tested the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) on the AC-EM relationship in the Finnish context. Design/methodology/approach Linear regressions were applied to panel data using Thomson Reuters’ ASSET4 database. Data were collected from 140 Finnish firms between 2005 and 2022. Findings The results confirm that negative CSR has an impact on EM. Moreover, AC mediates the relationship between CSR and EM. Likewise, CG moderates the relationship between AC and EM. Practical implications This paper may interest academic researchers and potential and current investors. This paper will help investors make relevant investment decisions. Managers should pay special attention to their EM. These firms must take social responsibility vis-a-vis all their stakeholders. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use AC as a mediator and CG as a moderating variable in the Finnish context. This research will enrich the literature by providing a comprehensive picture of the relationships between CSR and EM through AC and CG in developed markets. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the implications of CSR in Finnish companies.

The impact of CEO power on financial flexibility: the moderating effect of corporate governance

The impact of CEO power on financial flexibility: the moderating effect of corporate governance

The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance on the Associations of Internal Audit and Its Quality with the Financial Reporting Quality: The Case of Yemeni Banks

This study investigates the moderating effect of corporate governance on the associations of the internal audit and quality of the internal audit with the quality of financial reporting among commercial banks in the Republic of Yemen. The final sample includes 210 internal auditors, heads of internal auditors, chairpersons, and members of audit committees. Using a survey-based methodology, the results of the Smart-PL4 analysis showed a positive association between the internal audit and quality of the internal audit and quality of financial reporting. Interestingly, the results showed an insignificant association between the internal audit, quality of the internal audit, and quality of financial reporting when considering the moderating effect of corporate governance. It is worth noting that the results confirm the existence of a positive relationship between the internal audit, quality of the internal audit, and quality of financial reporting. This confirms the importance of the internal audit and quality of the internal audit in enhancing the quality of financial reports and instilling confidence in improving internal control processes and the financial reporting framework. Among the study’s many contributions are that it enhances current research on the interrelationship between internal auditing, quality of internal audits, and quality of financial reporting. It highlights the pivotal role of the internal audit, its effectiveness, and its ability to improve the quality of financial reports. This study calls for more stringent internal controls and posits that strengthening the internal audit and quality of the internal audit, along with improving corporate governance, can enable managers to raise financial reporting standards in banks. It also provides a mechanism for audit committees to monitor internal audit processes and evaluate internal performance.

Corporate cash holdings and financial performance: moderating effect of corporate governance and family ownership

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of corporate cash holdings on financial performance. Additionally, it investigates the moderating effect of corporate governance and family ownership on the link between corporate cash holdings and financial performance.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses secondary data regarding the sample of 81 firms listed in the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100 index from 2011 to 2020. The present study applies the system generalized method of moments (GMM) to estimate the dynamic financial performance models.FindingsThe findings reveal that corporate cash holding is significantly positively linked with financial performance. Further, the findings indicate that the board size and chief executive officer (CEO) duality strengthen the association between cash holdings and financial performance, whereas CEO gender and family ownership weaken the positive effect of cash holdings on financial performance. Furthermore, the findings suggest that Covid-19 significantly negatively affected the financial performance of Pakistani firms.Practical implicationsThe findings have several policy implications. First, policymakers need to increase the board of directors' role in observing the firms' cash-holding behaviour. Policymakers may also formulate policies providing stronger protection for minority shareholders from majority shareholders.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine how corporate governance and family ownership influence the link between corporate cash holdings and financial performance in the context of Pakistan.

The effect of environmental uncertainty on tax avoidance with corporate governance as a moderator

The study aims to examine the effect of environmental uncertainty on tax avoidance and the moderating effects of corporate governance. Data collection uses secondary data derived from the financial statements and annual reports of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period of 2017–2019, using the S&P Capital IQ database. The population of this study consists of 80 companies with an observation period of 3 years. Thus, the total o research observations is 240, obtained by the purposive sampling method. The results showed that environmental uncertainty negatively affects tax avoidance. The indicators of corporate governance, which is an independent board of commissioners, can strengthen the relationship between environmental uncertainty and tax avoidance, while audit quality is proven to weaken the relationship between environmental uncertainty and tax avoidance.

The moderating effects of corporate governance and investment efficiency on the nexus between financial flexibility and firm performance

Purpose Financial flexibility, investment efficiency and effective corporate governance mechanisms have been issues of concern to stakeholders. Yet, little empirical evidence on the combined moderating effects investment efficiency and corporate governance mechanisms on the nexus between financial flexibility and firm performance. This study aims to address this gap and extend the extant literature by examining the moderating effects of corporate governance and investment efficiency on the nexus between financial flexibility and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study is based on progression analysis using a sample of 13,865 US listed companies selected from BoardEx (WRDS) for the period (2010–2022) with 89,198 firm-year observations. Findings Findings of this study indicate that financial flexibility improves firm value as well as accounting performance. Furthermore, the results reveal that both investment efficiency and corporate governance moderate the effect of financial flexibility on firm performance. The authors complement and extend the literature on the optimal investment strategies domain by showing that the combined impact of corporate governance mechanisms and investment efficiency strengthens the nexus between financial flexibility and firm performance. Research limitations/implications Key limitations of this study due to the characteristics of the sample selection: country-specific context and proxies used by this study. Practical implications Findings of this study have managerial and theoretical implications for firms’ boardrooms, institutional and individual investors, regulators, academics and other stakeholders regarding behavioural aspects of investment decision-making. Originality/value The authors’ novel contribution to the extant literature is articulated by the conceptual framework underlying this study and by the new evidence regarding exploring the combined effect of corporate governance mechanisms on nexus between financial flexibility and companies’ performance.

Corporate governance, information disclosure and investment - Cash flow sensitivity

We investigate the impact of cash flow on investment spending under the scenarios of underinvestment and overinvestment and the moderating effect of corporate governance and information disclosure on the sensitivity of both. The empirical analysis is conducted by selecting listed companies in the manufacturing sector from 2013 to 2020. We find that companies investment is highly sensitive to cash flow under financing constraints and overinvestment due to agency costs. In the case of overinvestment, improving the level of disclosure significantly mitigates investment-cash flow sensitivity; in the case of underinvestment, improving corporate governance significantly reduces investment-cash flow sensitivity.

Corporate tax avoidance and stock price crash risk: the moderating effects of corporate governance

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and stock price crash risk and the moderating effects of corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and stock price crash risk using the sample consisting of listed firms in Vietnam for the period of 2011–2020 using panel regressions.FindingsThe authors find that there is a positive relationship between tax avoidance and stock price crash risk. Foreign ownership weakens the impacts of tax avoidance on stock price crash risk, while managerial ownership strengthens the impacts. Female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and female chairpersons weaken this relationship. Board gender diversity and state ownership have insignificant moderating impacts.Practical implicationsThese findings could help the stock market build better internal monitoring mechanisms to reduce the impacts of tax avoidance on future stock price crash risk. Investors can recognize the characteristics of corporate governance, especially foreign ownership, managerial ownership, female CEOs and female chairpersons when making investment decisions. The policy makers should consider policies to attract foreign investment and support women entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on the impacts of tax avoidance on stock price crash risk in emerging countries. This paper is the first to investigate the influence of corporate governance mechanisms including state ownership, foreign ownership, female CEOs and chairpersons and board gender diversity on this relationship.

How does corporate social responsibility affect financial distress? The moderating role of corporate governance

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the financial distress (FD) of firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Furthermore, the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) on the CSR–distress relationship is investigated in this study.Design/methodology/approachThe final sample of the study includes 117 companies from 2008 to 2021. The sample firms' CSR engagement is assessed using a multidimensional financial approach, and the likelihood of FD is determined using Altman's Z-score. The governance level is measured using the governance index, which includes 29 governance provisions. To achieve the research objectives, the system generalized method of moments estimator is used. Furthermore, several tests are performed to assess the robustness of the study's findings. The analysis was carried out using STATA software version 15.FindingsThe authors find that CSR is significantly inversely related to FD. The governance mechanism was discovered to be inversely related to FD. Furthermore, corporate governance strengthens the negative relationship between CSR and FD. In addition, the authors find that CSR is significantly inversely related to FD in firms with strong CG mechanisms but has no effect on FD in firms with weak CG mechanisms.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide policymakers, business managers, regulators and investors with a better understanding of the relationship between the quality of CSR investments and the likelihood of FD in Pakistani firms, as well as the role of CG in this context.Originality/valueThis study contributes to our understanding of the role of CG in the CSR-distress relationship in an emerging market. This suggests that policymakers should prioritize CG quality while anticipating the impact of CSR on corporate FD.

Do Controlling Ownership Structure Moderate the Link between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Firm Value?

In this study, we investigate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm value of Chinese listed companies. Our research is based on China’s EPU index developed by previous researchers and financial data on 1749 Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2020. The empirical results reveal that economic policy uncertainty negatively influences firm value, and that corporate governance affects the degree of the effect. To be more specific, we investigate the moderating effect of corporate governance in terms of ownership structure and use 3 variables, the largest shareholder’s holding, board size, and independent directors’ proportion, to measure ownership structure. The results show that the increase in the largest ownership and the expansion of board size can help companies go through the negative effect of EPU on firm value, while the increase in the proportion of independent directors can intensify the effect. The evidence illustrates that Chinese policymakers should pay attention to the possible impact of initiating a new economic policy on firm value. More importantly, our empirical results also give directors of Chinese listed companies advice about how they should adjust their ownership structure to mitigate the effect of the volatility caused by economic policy.

The key audit matters and the audit cost: does governance matter?

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between key audit matters (KAMs) and audit costs and whether board size and independence affect this relationship. Furthermore, this paper examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between KAMs and audit costs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hypothesise that disclosing more KAMs in the audit report is positively associated with audit costs because of the greater effort. The agency theory suggests that firms with good governance will mitigate the agency conflict of interest and improve financial reporting quality. Thus, good governance might moderate the relationship between reported KAMs and audit costs. The authors use a quantitative approach. The authors are using a sample of the UK FTSE all-share non-financial firms from 2014 to 2018 for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms.FindingsThe authors provide evidence of a significant positive relationship between KAMs and audit costs. The relationship is relatively higher when considering the independent directors' percentage as a moderating factor. These results came consistent with the agency theory literature. However, the authors found no empirical evidence to support a moderating effect of board size on the relationship between KAMs and audit cost.Practical implicationsThe finding benefits the regulatory setters to better understand the consequences of the new auditing standards. This paper has theoretical and practical implications for regulators, standard setters, professional bodies, shareholders and academics.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature assessing the regulatory changes related to audit reform and adds to the debate on the impact on audit costs. This paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship between KAMs and audit costs.

Corporate social responsibility and CEO compensation: the moderating effect of corporate governance

Corporate social responsibility and CEO compensation: the moderating effect of corporate governance

Do Investor Overconfidence and Loss Aversion Drive Saudi Firm Market Performance? The Moderating Effect of Corporate Governance

This study investigated the impact of investor psychological bias on a firm’s market value. In detail, we examined the effect of investor overconfidence (optimism) and loss aversion (pessimism) on firm market value. We also aimed to investigate the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between investor behavior biases and firm market value. This study used a sample of 143 firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange over the period from 2012 to 2021. The results suggest that investor overconfidence affects a firm’s value positively. On the other hand, loss aversion is negatively associated with the firm’s market value. Furthermore, we find that corporate governance (measured by board size and board independence) enhances the positive association between overconfidence and firm market value. In contrast, we find that corporate governance seems to marginally mitigate the negative effect of loss aversion.

How Does Financial Technology Affect the Credit and Risk of Commercial Banks in China?

Purpose - Fintech integrates the characteristics of “finance + technology”, applying emerging technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, leading to a great challenge to existing financial service providers. With the rise in development of financial technology, Chinese fintech firms and online payments including third-party and mobile payments systems have attracted worldwide attention. Therefore, this paper aims to study the potential impact of financial technology on the traditional credit business of the banking sector from the perspectives of credit expansion and risk-sharing. Moreover, this study also explores how fintech influences Chinese commercial banks with the moderating effect of corporate governance. Design/Methodology/Approach - The study used a firm-level panel data of 34 Chinese banks over a period of 10 years from 2011 to 2020. The study applies a fixed regression method for hypotheses examining the relationship between fintech development and the credit supply and risk-taking of commercial banks. Findings - The results indicate that the development of fintech has significant impacts on the scale of credit loan and the level of risk bearing. Further research finds that board independence as a moderator positively and significantly influences fintech and bank credit loan scales, while board independence positively but insignificantly affects fintech and risk control in the banking sector. Research Implications - This paper enriches our understanding of the impacts of fintech on traditional financial institutions, and provides a new method for the operations of the banking sector. In addition, this paper provides a new research perspective for managers, especially in Chinese banking, to expand credit business under the moderating role of corporate governance mechanism.

The interplay of corporate tax planning and corporate governance on firm value: Evidence from listed NGX consumer goods firms

The study investigates the interactive impact of tax planning and CG on firm value of the listed Nigerian consumer goods firms by examining whether this relationship is further strengthened or weakened in the presence of strong corporate governance. From the population of the entire 21 consumer goods firms of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), 19 firms with complete data were selected as a sample. Data were collected from the annual reports of these firms and both descriptive and inferential analyses were employed to estimate the relationship between the variables. Tax planning was measured using the effective tax rate and book-tax difference, firm value using Tobin’s q, while corporate governance was measured using board independence. The fixed effect panel regression was used to estimate the relationship. The study revealed a positive relationship between tax planning (for both proxies) and firm value although the relationship is statistically insignificant (p = 0.0981 and 0.387). Also, there is limited evidence to support the assertion that the interactive effect of tax planning and firm value is significantly moderated by corporate governance (p = 0.818). The combined implication is that evidence on the moderating effect of corporate governance on tax planning and firm value is limited and should be interpreted with caution suggesting that more empirical research should be carried out in this area. In addition, shareholders should demand more disclosure of tax-related matters as this will help prevent information asymmetry, improve monitoring, and increase the value effectiveness of tax planning.

Evaluation of Risk as Conducive Environment for Earning Manipulation and Moderation Effect of Corporate Governance: Empirical Study of Listed Indian Firms

Separation of decision-making and risk-bearing functions in dispersed ownership structures offer scope for opportunistic behaviour of managers. Hence necessitate proactive governing mechanism for ratification and monitoring of decisions from the initiation and implementation of the decisions for protection of shareholders as well as stake holders interest. The motive of this paper is to evaluate whether risky behaviour provide conducive environment for earning manipulation and analyze the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) and ownership attributes in reducing earnings management practices in high risk conditions. A structural Partial least square (PLS) equations model was developed to analyze the relationship and CG constructs moderating role was evaluated. Based on a sample of 270 listed Indian firms in NSE during the period of 9 years from 2007–2008 to 2015–2016 using smart-PLS, it was detected that market risk, financing and investing risk manifold opportunities of managers to maximise their own benefits by manipulating the information in their discretion (discretionary accruals measured through modified Jones Model). CG mechanism constructs like audit, risk and compensation committees, board activities, board characteristics, transparency have been found significant in moderating the relationship between risk and earning management while board composition and ownership structure have failed to restrain the opportunistic behaviour of managers in favourable risky environment contradicting acceptance of efficient monitoring hypothesis and resource based view in India corporate setting.

APAKAH PENGHINDARAN PAJAK PERUSAHAAN MENJELASKAN EFISIENSI INVESTASI? BUKTI DARI EKONOMI BERKEMBANG

The purpose of this study is to determine whether corporate tax avoidance can explain efficiency in investment? Based on emerging economies. This study uses secondary data in the form of annual reports or financial statements of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and publications on the pages of each company. The research period is three years (2017-2019). This research uses descriptive statistical analysis and linear regression which is analyzed using EViews. The results of this study are the relationship of tax avoidance has a significant positive effect on investment inefficiency, then the quality of financial statements and corporate governance in the company has a significant negative effect on investment inefficiency. Good quality of financial reports as a moderating variable can weaken the relationship between tax avoidance and investment inefficiency. Meanwhile, the moderating effect of corporate governance on tax avoidance on investment inefficiency does not have a significant effect. This means that corporate governance does not weaken the relationship between tax avoidance and investment inefficiency.

Technological capabilities, technology management and economic performance: the complementary roles of corporate governance and institutional environment

PurposeNowadays, faced with increasingly dynamic and fierce competition, knowledge is considered to be the core to survive and maintain competitive advantages in both managerial practices and academia. Against this background, this study analyzed the influence of technological capabilities (TC) and technology management (TM) on corporate economic performance in the contexts of corporate internal governance mechanisms and external institutional environment from the institutional perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data on Chinese publicly listed manufacturing firms in Shenzhen and Shanghai stock markets from 2008 to 2017 and the final data included 3,679 firm-year observations. Ordinary least square regression was used in both regression analysis and robustness tests.FindingsThe empirical results showed that the interaction between TC and TM was positively related to corporate economic performance and both corporate incentives and monitoring mechanisms strengthened this positive relationship; the positive moderating effects of corporate governance were stronger under a more developed corporate external institutional environment.Originality/valueThis research provides a better understanding of the economic effect of TC and TM from the perspective of knowledge integration by indicating that the interaction between TC and TM can enhance corporate economic performance and delimiting the boundaries of this relationship from the institutional perspective.

Covid-19 and performance disclosure: does governance matter?

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether Covid-19 related information is associated with a higher level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between Covid-19 and the performance disclosure by using three governance mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use quantitative content analysis. The authors applied an automated textual analysis technique to measure the level of Covid-19 information and performance disclosure for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms.FindingsThe authors found a significant positive relationship between the Covid-19 disclosure and the firm performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors also find that both board independence and gender diversity moderate the relationship between the Covid-19 related information and the level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors further run a robustness analysis, which confirms the main results.Practical implicationsThe finding is beneficial for the regulatory setters to better understand whether firms provide generic or meaningful Covid-19 information linked to the firm’s performance. The unique findings of this paper are relevant to regulators, governments, management, shareholders and academics.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature in a unique and core research area not researched previously. The paper links the Covid-19 disclosure with the firm performance from the corporate narrative perspective. The paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship by considering three main mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.