Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: the “virtuous circle” revisited

We examine the causal relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. Consistent with past studies, we find that the two variables appear to be related when we use traditional statistical techniques. However, using a time series fixed effects approach, we find that the relation between CSR and financial performance is much weaker than previously thought. We also find little evidence of causality between financial performance and narrower measures of social performance that focus on stakeholder management. Our results suggest that strong stock market performance leads to greater firm investment in aspects of CSR devoted to employee relations, but that CSR activities do not affect financial performance. We conclude that CSR is driven more by unobservable firm characteristics than by financial performance.

公司绩效、公司治理与管理者报酬实证研究

本文以中国深、沪两市在2004年上市公司样本作为公司绩效、公司治理与管理者报酬研究对象,从公司绩效、股权结构的安排以及董事会治理三个方面,通过构建最小二乘模型进行多元线性回归,来研究公司内部治理机制对公司管理层报酬的影响。研究结果表明:公司绩效、国有股比例、董事会规模、两职兼任均对管理者报酬产生显著的影响。     

Earnings conservatism and audit committee financial expertise

Using an Australian sample of 494 firm‐year observations, this study finds that accounting financial expertise is the primary type of expertise that influences earnings conservatism, rather than nonaccounting financial expertise. The association between accounting financial expertise and conservatism holds only when the accounting financial expert(s) on audit committees is (are) independent. Overall, results suggest that audit committee accounting financial expertise is important in recognising the asymmetrical timeliness of losses. Findings provide a better understanding of the dynamics between audit committee financial expertise and earnings conservatism and demonstrate the importance of accounting financial expertise in improving financial reporting quality.     

Relation between external audit fees, audit committee characteristics and internal audit

This study examines whether the existence of an audit committee, audit committee characteristics and the use of internal audit are associated with higher external audit fees. Higher audit fees imply increased audit testing and higher audit quality. We find that the existence of an audit committee, more frequent committee meetings and increased use of internal audit are related to higher audit fees. The expertise of audit committee members is associated with higher audit fees when meeting frequency and independence are low. These findings are consistent with an increased demand for higher quality auditing by audit committees, and by firms that make greater use of internal audit.     

Internal governance structures and earnings management

This paper investigates the role of a firm's internal governance structure in constraining earnings management. It is hypothesized that the practice of earnings management is systematically related to the strength of internal corporate governance mechanisms, including the board of directors, the audit committee, the internal audit function and the choice of external auditor. Based on a broad cross‐sectional sample of 434 listed Australian firms, for the financial year ending in 2000, a majority of non‐executive directors on the board and on the audit committee are found to be significantly associated with a lower likelihood of earnings management, as measured by the absolute level of discretionary accruals. The voluntary establishment of an internal audit function and the choice of auditor are not significantly related to a reduction in the level of discretionary accruals. Our additional analysis, using small increases in earnings as a measure of earnings management, also found a negative association between this measure and the existence of an audit committee.     

How have US banks adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Level 3 fair value disclosure rules?

We examine how banks have complied with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's disclosure rules on Level 3 recurring fair value measurements. We document widespread noncompliance with the basic disclosure requirements. We also find that the noncompliant banks are smaller in size and are associated with lower audit quality, lower institutional ownership and less effective internal controls. Our results should be of use to regulators, auditors and audit committees in the United States, Australia and other countries for assessing the likelihood of noncompliance with fair value disclosure rules and improving the quality of fair value disclosures provided to investors.     

Operating performance changes associated with corporate mergers and the role of corporate governance

We find that corporate governance characteristics of acquiring firms (board ownership, board size, and block-holder control) have an economically and statistically significant impact on operating performance changes following mergers. We also show that dispersion of intra-board ownership stakes is an important but heretofore overlooked factor when judging the influence of ownership on the outcomes of corporate choices. Finally, we present evidence that suggests the market sometimes under- or overreacts to merger news when initially revaluing merger partners but corrects any miscalculation following the consummation of the merger.     

El gobierno corporativo y el comité de auditoría en el marco de la responsabilidad social empresarial

The purpose of this paper is to study the principles of the international standard ISO 26000, and the relation between social responsibility and internal control rules management organizations establish their business and relationship with Corporate Social Responsibility the board of directors and the audit committee to strengthen corporate trust and manage corporate risk. The research is based on a survey of companies listed on the Mexican stock market, in 2011. The variables have been studied using a correlational analysis and the chi-square method. Among the main findings of this work we have companies in this study show high levels of compliance with the principles that are directly related to the legal regulations and the rules of this market, but not with those principles which are voluntary adoption. Also, it was found that compliance has nothing to do with the industry or the age of the company, but rather with the fact it is a stock corporation. On the other hand, companies that care about the observance of the laws, are also those that strengthen governance aspects within them.     

利益相关者关系影响公司财务绩效持续性的实证研究

基于123家沪深 A 股上市公司的样本数据,运用时间序列自回归模型;考量卓越与不良绩效企业股东、管理人员、员工、消费者、债权人和政府与财务绩效持续性的关系。结果表明,良好的利益相关者关系与卓越财务绩效的持续性正相关,与不良财务绩效的持续性负相关。不同的利益相关者对财务绩效持续性的影响存在差异,消费者和员工是保证卓越财务绩效持续性的最重要因素,也是陷入财务困境的企业实现业绩转向的关键推动力量。当企业经历财务困境时,股东的积极作用表现突出。     

中小企业板上市公司股权结构、公司治理与企业绩效:基于随机前沿生产函数的分析

本文通过构建深圳中小企业板上市公司股权结构影响企业绩效的复合随机前沿生产函数,利用2006—2008年面板数据对中小企业的股权结构和企业绩效的关系进行了经验研究,结果表明中小企业的股权集中度与企业绩效之间显著正相关,这与国内文献中对大公司的经验研究结果一致,表明当前上市公司的股权集中有利于公司治理改善和企业绩效的提高。但是第一大股东持股比率却与绩效负相关,这与对大公司的研究结论相反,表明在中小企业中存在较为明显的"隧道挖掘"现象,"一股独大"在中小企业中并不利于公司治理。研究结果还表明,国家、法人、外资或个人对公司治理的绩效无显著差异;流通股比重、高管持股、研发人员投入等都与企业绩效不相关;中小企业具有较强的股权融资倾向,不符合"啄食顺序"的资本结构理论。     

The Effect of the Mandatory Adoption of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Executive Compensation

This study investigates empirically the effect of corporate governance principles on executive compensation and firm performance prior to and after the adoption of the first Greek Law on corporate governance. Prior to the adoption of the law, managers were not compensated in line with their performance. Since its introduction, a significant link has been observed between executive compensation and company performance as measured by accounting measures of performance. Following the adoption of corporate governance principles by law, the main mechanism that controls executive compensation is the election of independent non-executive board members. The results are robust to alternative accounting measures of performance.     

The impact of board composition and family ownership on audit committee formation: Evidence from Hong Kong

This study investigates empirically the relationship between three major corporate governance attributes (family shareholding, non-executive directors and independent chairman) and the existence of audit committees across a sample of 397 publicly traded firms in Hong Kong. The results show that at a medium level of family shareholding (between 5% and 25%), the convergence-of-interest effect is dominant and the existence of audit committees decreases. At a high level of family shareholding (more than 25%), the entrenchment effect is dominant and as a result, the existence of audit committees increases. In addition, we show that the response of investors to audit committee existence is not dependent upon family shareholding when there is an independent chairman. The findings of our study also suggest that there is a positive association between the proportion of independent non-executive directors on the corporate board and audit committee existence. In addition, the results show that the positive association between independent non-executive directors is stronger for firms with an independent chairman. Implications of these findings for regulators are discussed.     

Audit committee composition and the use of an industry specialist audit firm

Independent, competent boards of directors and audit committees are said to be important mechanisms of corporate governance. The purpose of the present study is to empirically examine the association between audit committee composition and audit quality. Specifically, the link between the proportion of non‐executive directors on an audit committee, financial qualifications of directors and the number of audit committee meetings held in a year are investigated and expected to have a positive association with the quality of the audit firm used. Audit quality is proxied by industry specialization. The results support the link between a higher proportion of non‐executive directors on an audit committee and use of an industry specialist audit firm. Other measures of audit committee quality (those with a higher proportion of directors with financial qualifications and those that meet more frequently) are not significantly associated with the use of an industry specialist audit firm. Sensitivity analysis shows that the presence of an audit committee is linked to use of an industry specialist audit firm.     

国企高管薪酬影响企业社会绩效的实证研究

基于利益相关者理论,将社会绩效引入高管薪酬显性契约缔约过程,构建了高管薪酬与企业社会绩效关系模型,并以137家国有上市公司为实证样本,采用因子分析、回归分析方法检验了模型的假设关系。研究发现:年薪与企业强社会绩效和企业总体社会绩效显著正相关,与企业弱社会绩效负相关;高管持股与企业社会绩效没有显著相关性。