The Increasing Use of Non-Executive Directors: Its Impact on UK Board Structure and Governance Arrangements

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of non-executive directors (NEDs) on the boards of UK listed firms. Using a sample period spanning the publication of the Cadbury Report (1992), this paper evaluates the implications of this increase. The main findings can be summarised as follows. First, the increased demand for NEDs has been more pronounced for firms classified as having proportionately too many executive board members in the pre-Cadbury period. Secondly, the probability of compliance with the Cadbury Report's proposal for a minimum of three NEDs is positively related to the magnitude of the expected net benefits of adding further non-executives to the board. Finally, there is little evidence that the increased use of NEDs caused firms to make costly adjustments to other elements of their control systems in an attempt to re-equilibrate their governance portfolios. These findings are consistent with claims that the recent trend towards greater NED representation on UK boards may have helped to raise general governance standards.     

异地上市公司的政治资源获取:基于聘请北京独立董事的考察

以沪、深两市2002年至2013年A股主板上市公司为样本,本文对异地上市公司聘请北京独立董事的动机与经济后果进行了探讨。研究显示:(1)出于获取政治资源的动机,总部与北京距离较远以及总部所在地制度环境较差的上市公司更倾向于聘请北京异地独立董事;(2)相比较北京当地上市公司,异地上市公司聘请的北京独立董事中任职于政府部门的比例显著更高;(3)聘请北京独立董事的确有助于异地上市公司的政治资源获取,表现为有助于企业股权再融资、进入高壁垒行业以及降低企业违规处罚风险。同时,北京异地独立董事也获取了更高的薪酬。本文研究进一步厘清了我国背景下独立董事聘任决策与其职能发挥间的内在机理,显示了转轨经济背景下独立董事制度可能存在的功能异化,对公司治理机制的完善具有重要意义。     

董事高管责任保险与上市公司关联交易——基于我国上市公司经验数据的检验

董事高管责任保险(D&O保险)是一个市场化的外部治理机制。基于沪深证券交易所2003—2017年上市公司数据,本文实证检验了D&O保险对上市公司关联交易的影响。研究发现,D&O保险显著提升了关联交易总水平、关联销售金额和关联购买金额;根据控股产权性质分组研究发现,D&O保险对非国有控股公司关联交易的正向影响,比对国有控股公司更加显著;D&O保险、关联交易均与公司价值显著正相关,且关联交易发挥中介效应。研究表明,D&O保险通过监督效应提升关联交易,并促使其对公司价值发挥支持效应。研究加深了对D&O保险治理职能的理解,更新了对关联交易经济后果的惯性认知,对促进公司治理治理机制建设和完善现代企业制度具有重要的理论和现实意义。     

学者型独董与公司盈余质量——基于中国上市公司的经验数据

学者型独董普遍存在于中外上市公司董事会中,是公司治理机制的重要组成部分。本文以2005-2015年中国上市公司的数据为研究样本,来考察学者型独董与公司盈余质量之间的影响关系。研究发现,学者型独董对公司盈余质量有着显著的正向影响;学者型独董对民营企业盈余质量的正向影响作用更为明显。进一步检验发现,学者型独董的声誉水平对公司盈余质量有显著的正向影响作用。本文的启示是学者型独董能够有效发挥治理作用,提高公司信息披露质量。     

独立董事制度对公司绩效影响的研究综述

独立董事制度能否提高公司绩效一直是学术界感兴趣的问题,也积累了丰富的研究文献。由于研究角度、方法及对象的不同,却一直没有得到一致的结论。本文从独立董事制度研究进展的三个阶段:独立董事比例、独立董事特征及独立董事评价,详细介绍了国内外关于独立董事制度与公司绩效的观点。     

独立董事:代理问题之一部分

本文研究独立董事制度。经理人的性质在于其是以经营才能方面的人力资本优势加入企业合约而实质拥有企业剩余控制权的人力资本所有者。当董事和董事会实质拥有企业剩余控制权时, 独立董事和内部董事都是企业的经理人, 董事会就是企业的管理层, 董事 (董事会) 与股东之间存在着实质的代理关系和代理问题。因此, 作为经理人的独立董事, 其本身首先是代理问题的一部分, 只有在其与股东之间的代理问题得到较好解决之后, 独立董事才可能成为一种有效的公司治理机制。本文认为, 有关各方缺乏对独立董事的经理人性质和其本身首先是代理问题的一部分的共同认知, 而这正是导致企业董事会的独立性与企业业绩之间不存在显著关系或呈现显著负相关关系的根本原因之所在。     

The Financial Accountability of Australia's Medicare System: A Generational Accounting Analysis

The financial sustainability of publicly funded health care systems is sensitive to the demographics of ageing populations, which have a significant bearing on their financial management, accountability and reporting of their financial performance. This paper examines historical and current trends in demographic structure of Australia's population that are likely to impact on the financial management and accountability practices affecting Australia'suniversal public health care system ('Medicare'). The pay-as-you-go financed funding status of Medicare as represented under both currently required, cash-based accounting principles and proposed accrual-based accounting principles are criticised for not recognising the obligations of the Australian government under Medicare. An alternative system of generational accounting is proposed that projects the financial management costs of Medicare. Data are taken from both historical trends in expenditure and ageing as well as projected demographics. The analysis implies that there is significant intergenerational-inequity in the funding of Medicare, which is not recognised under accrual-based accounting principles that are now being used to evaluate the financial accountability and performance of government entities.     

积小胜为大胜友邦保险上海公司总经理徐正广的成功之路

早就听闻,美国友邦保险有限公司上海分公司徐正广总经理在沪工作十年,个人先后慈善捐款近百万.记者日前专访了这位上海市白玉兰奖得主.     

上市公司财务欺诈问题的研究

目前,对于财务欺诈的研究,集中在成因理论和制度防范上,大多采用规范分析的方法。本文从财务欺诈的成因分析入手,结合我国证券市场己披露案例的研究,我国证券市场的现状,深入分析了财务欺诈的成因。主要有外部环境制度上的缺失因素,也存在企业内部治理结构缺陷的影响。尤其在我国特殊的市场体制下,财务欺诈更是有它自身形成的诱因,阐述了从独立审计的角度,建立应对财务欺诈的防范体系的对策。     

论董事会独立性:对中国实践的思考

本文通过对董事会本源属性——独立性的阐释,提出了董事会独立性的概念框架,为董事会运作中存在的一些问题提供一个理论基础,并以期指导董事会运作实践。     

Foreign Affiliates of the Largest Insurance Groups: Location-Specific Advantages

This article has two objectives. The first is the documentation of the relative importance of the largest insurance or reinsurance companies in the world and changes that may have occurred in the past 15 years. The second objective is to identify some of the factors that may explain the increased internationalization and most‐favored locations of the world's largest insurance groups in transition and developing economies. The results of this study have important implications. First, they indicate that as expected, location‐specific factors such as the size of a market, human capital, and good governance do provide an explication of the internationalization of insurance groups. Second, they also show that other factors, such as cultural distance, regulatory barriers, and competitiveness have a significant impact on the choice of countries.     

上市公司年报的可理解性研究

针对上市公司年报的写作形式存在专业化程度强、理解难度大的问题 ,本文通过学生实验 ,初步测试和评价了公司年报对于投资者的可理解性水平 ,并对提高年报可理解性的途径进行了探讨。