Corporate board and board committee independence,firm performance,and family ownership concentration: An analysis based on Hong Kong firms

This study examines whether the relationship between corporate board and board committee independence and firm performance is moderated by the concentration of family ownership. Based on a sample of Hong Kong firms, we find no significant association between the independence of corporate boards or board committees and firm performance in family firms, whereas board independence is positively associated with firm performance in non-family firms. Additionally, our findings show that the proportion of independent directors on the corporate boards of family firms is lower than that of non-family firms, but we find no significant difference in the representation of independent directors on the key committees of corporate boards between family and non-family firms. Overall, these results suggest that the “one size fits all” approach required by the regulatory authorities for appointing independent directors on corporate boards may not necessarily enhance firm performance, especially for family firms. Thus, the requirement to appoint independent directors to the corporate boards of family firms needs to be reconsidered.     

上市公司披露会计师事务所报酬的实证分析

2001年证监会首次要求上市公司在年报中披露支付会计师事务所报酬情况这一信息,该项规定既便于考察事务所的独立性,又便于考察上市公司治理结构,使上市公司信息披露迈进一个台阶。这里拟从2001年年报出发,对首次披露会计师事务所报酬进行实证分析,并探讨产生这一现状的深层原因。     

Disclosure of fees paid to auditors and the market valuation of earnings surprises

We investigate if the SEC’s recently mandated disclosure of fees for audit and nonaudit services paid by firms to their incumbent auditors affected the market’s perception of auditor independence and earnings quality. Following the initial fee disclosures in 2001, we find that the market valuation of quarterly earnings surprises (earnings response coefficient) was significantly lower for firms with high levels of nonaudit fees than for firms with low levels of such fees. In contrast, in the year prior to the new fee disclosures, there was no reduction in earnings response coefficients for firms that subsequently reported high nonaudit fees. Our evidence suggests that mandated fee disclosures provided new information that was viewed by the market as relevant to appraising auditor independence and earnings quality.

“迷惘的教育学和教育学的迷惘”——有关教育学学科独立性的思考

本文主要是从教育学作为一门学科的尴尬的学科地位及现状入手,分析其成因,并阐述了什么是"真正独立的教育学"。作者认为,教育学要成为真正的独立之学,必须从根本上改变教育学观,实现教育研究从单纯的学科基础扩展到生活基础,同时明确教育学者的自由与责任。     

我国汇率制度弹性与货币政策的独立性——基于1994年1月—2011年9月数据的实证研究

使用月度数据实证分析1994年以来我国货币政策的独立性,并探讨2005年汇率制度改革对货币政策独立性的影响可发现:以短期存款利率代表官方利率,以同业拆借利率代表市场利率,分析两种国内利率对于世界利率的敏感程度,结果表明官方利率独立性较强,而市场利率独立性很弱。汇率制度改革以后,两种利率独立性大幅提高;鉴于两种国内利率都有缺陷,对货币供给量对国外利率的敏感性进行研究,其结果表明货币政策具有中等的独立性,汇率制度改革后货币独立性显著提高;通过分析货币与外汇储备的关系,可发现冲销操作仍发挥重要作用。     

关于非审计服务的思考

随着信息时代的到来,会计师事务所向客户提供非审计服务已成为一种世界潮流。但是继安然事件之后,业界再度引发了对注册会计师在提供审计与非审计服务时能否保持独立性的质疑。本文在分析非审计服务的产生原因及其对独立性的影响基础上,提出了规范注册会计师提供非审计服务的途径。     

注册会计师审计独立性影响因素分析及对策研究

我国新颁布的会计准则和独立审计准则于2007年开始实施,这对注册会计行业的发展具有重大意义。我国的注册会计师由于行业起步晚,其审计的独立性还存在着很多问题,既受会计师事务所以及注册会计师内部因素的影响,也受宏观经济环境以及证券市场等外部因素的影响,本文在分析了这些因素后提出相关建议,以期对注册会计师执业实务和理论提供参考。     

CENTRAL BANKS: FROM POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT TO MARKET-DEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS

Responses to the financial crisis are undermining the Chinese walls painfully built between monetary and fiscal authorities. Central banks and state treasuries are working side by side as lenders of last resort. Central banks are helping economic ministers with purchases of public debt and discounting of private paper. Regulation and control of financial institutions is now a political football. Central banks must be seen again as market-dependent institutions in a world of currency competition. Privatisation in law or in fact is back on the table.     

浅析非审计服务对审计独立性的影响

审计独立性是审计服务的核心和灵魂,随着非审计服务在会计师事务所业务中所占的比例越来越大,对审计独立性的影响也随着增大。文章阐述了非审计服务对审计独立性的影响,并提出了应对措施。     

The election cycle in the inflation bias: evidence from the G-7 countries

This paper derives and evaluates empirical implications which separate the naive voters view [Nordhaus, W.D., 1975. The political business cycle. Review of Economic Studies 42, 169–190.] from the rational-voters view [Barro R., Gordon, D., 1983. Rules, discretion, and reputation in a model of monetary policy. Journal of Monetary Economics 12, 101–121.] under rational expectations. The observational equivalence of the two approaches obtained under a natural rate vanishes as output persistence is introduced. An analysis of inflation in the G-7 countries reveals election patterns supporting the joint hypothesis that demand shocks persist and that monetary policy courts retrospective voters. Patterns turn weaker as central banks become more independent, but do not disappear. Reducing inflationary bias not only requires more central bank independence, but as well less persistence.