Nermeen F. Shehata

Development of corporate governance codes in the GCC: an overview

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss and compare the corporate governance codes in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Design/methodology/approach – The development of corporate governance codes in the GCC is considered using an analytical approach. Findings – Efforts and initiatives are underway in the GCC towards improving the corporate governance environment and coping with international developments. Although most GCC codes are comprehensive compared to those of other Middle East North Africa (MENA) countries, and are similar to international codes, as with almost all countries in the region, there is room for development. Updated codes that address the unique nature of these countries could enhance corporate governance. Research limitations/implications – This comparison between GCC corporate governance codes provides opportunities to empirically compare the corporate governance status in these countries through indices or checklists based on the current comparison. Practical implications – The...

Board Diversity and Firm Performance: Evidence from the U.K. SMEs

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between board diversity and firm performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.K. In particular, we investigate the role of gender and age as two dimensions of diversity. Using a large sample of SMEs (34,798 firms) located in the U.K. and focusing on the period from 2005 to 2013, our results show a significant negative association between each of gender diversity and age diversity, and firm performance. Our evidence yields important insights on the association between board diversity and firm performance, and calls suggestions for increased board diversity into question. A possible explanation for our findings could be due to the fact that our sampled firms are SMEs, whereas those in previous studies have been large enterprises. This research provides insights to entrepreneurs on how to enhance their performance, and to governments and policymakers on the development of rules that would achieve better performance in the SME sector.

Does external auditing combat corruption? Evidence from private firms

Purpose This paper aims to document whether firms with audited financial statements pay lower bribes to get contracts than firms without audited financial statements. In other words, this study assesses whether external auditing helps combat corruption. Design/methodology/approach The World Bank Enterprise Survey data covering the period between 2006 and 2014 is used. The total sample comprised more than 50,000 firms in 126 countries. Findings This paper finds that firms with audited financial statements pay significantly lower bribes compared to firms with unaudited financial statements. The results are robust across various estimation procedures, various proxies for bribery and various sub-samples. It is also found that the relationship between audited financial statements and bribery is more pronounced in environments where firms face higher pressure to engage in corrupt practices. Practical implications The results imply that auditing of financial statements can act as a disciplining device to curb bribery in environments that encourage corruption. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt, according to the authors’ knowledge, to examine the relationship between external auditing and corruption using firm-level data that cover 126 countries and is gathered over a 14-year period. Therefore, the results derived from this study are generalizable.

Assessment of corporate governance disclosure in the GCC countries using the UNCTAD ISAR benchmark

This paper aims to present and analyze corporate governance disclosure (CGD) practices among listed non-financial companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries’ stock exchanges. GCC include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study utilizes the benchmark developed by the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This benchmark comprises 52 disclosure items that are divided into five broad categories: (a) financial transparency and information disclosure; (b) ownership structure and exercise of control rights; (c) board and management structure and process; (d) corporate responsibility and compliance; and (e) auditing. This benchmark is based on the UNCTAD publication Guidance on Good Practices in Corporate Governance Disclosure. Results indicate a low level of CGD since corporate governance is still considered novel in the GCC countries. The average disclosure level was 26% while the maximum was 65%. The category with the highest disclosure level was the ‘Financial transparency and information disclosure’ which is the case with other emerging markets. Providing an assessment of CGD using ISAR benchmark provides a tool for its future re-assessment in the GCC countries. Results show how important it is to enhance the awareness of CGD in the GCC countries stressing its importance on the micro and macro levels. Results also provide regulators and policymakers with recommendations on enhancing CGD in the GCC counties. The evaluation of CGD in the GCC countries can also help various stakeholders in their investment decision making.

Dividend Policy and Informativeness of Reported Earnings: Evidence from the MENA Region

This paper documents that informativeness of reported earnings, measured by earnings–return relation, is an increasing function of dividend payout ratio in the Middle East and North Africa region during the period between 2003 and 2014. We argue that higher dividends reduce agency conflicts. Lower agency problems lead firms to disclose information more truthfully, thereby improving credibility of reported earnings. We also show that our results hold for various proxies of dividend policy.

Earnings response coefficient in the MENA region

ABSTRACT This article documents the earnings response coefficient (ERC) for nonfinancial firms listed in the Middle East and North Africa region during the period between 2003 and 2013. Our results show significantly positive ERC for our sample firms. The results are robust across different countries and different industries. Our results also show that ERC increases with increasing the measurement interval. It indicates that more information is incorporated in prices as the measurement interval increase. Consequently, we argue that significance of reported earnings is higher for long-term investors in the MENA region.

Boards’ Gender Diversity and Firm Performance Before and after the Egyptian Revolution

Given the endogenous and contingent nature of firms’ governance choices, it is not surprising that the results of prior studies investigating the association between board attributes and firm performance are mixed. In this paper, we exploit the presence of an exogenous shock represented in the Egyptian revolution in 2011 to assess the effect of gender diversity in the board on firm performance. Our results show that gender diverse firms perform better when their environment becomes more complex and unpredictable. The presence of foreign directors on the other hand has the opposite effect. Our results challenge the notion that diversity attributes are additive, and underscore the benefits of gender diversity in more complex and unpredictable contexts. Overall, we provide evidence that board structure/diversity-performance relationship is contingent upon the social, political and economic context, and changes in response to external shocks.

The status and determinants of corporate governance disclosure: The case of the Gulf countries

ABSTRACT:Corporate Governance Disclosure (CGD) is important for countries aiming to attract international investors and increase foreign investment. CGD helps mitigate the agency problem, improve firm value and enhance capital market efficiency. This research aims to assess the level of CGD in the Gulf countries. The Gulf countries have been selected due to their unique institutional and corporate characteristics. After assessing the CGD level in the Gulf, the association between diversity, board characteristics and CGD is identified while controlling for firm characteristics. Four board characteristics are used: the proportion of independent nonexecutive directors on board, the proportion of family members on board, role duality and board size; whereas diversity variables included proportion of foreign board members, proportion of foreign members in the senior management team, proportion of female board members and proportion of female members in the senior management team. A self-constructed disclosure index is developed to measure CGD. The index includes six sections: ownership structure and investor rights, financial transparency and information disclosure, information on auditors, board and senior management structure and process, information on board committees, and finally, corporate behavior and responsibility. This classification follows most of the international disclosure indices. The sample size includes 270 publicly listed non-financial companies listed on all Gulf stock exchanges, with data taken from 2009 annual reports. The average CGD is 32 percent, the maximum is 63 percent whereas the minimum is 5 percent. Proportion of independent non-executive directors on board, proportion of foreign board members and proportion of foreign members in the senior management team had a significant positive relationship with CGD. This research is considered the first to assess CGD across the six Gulf countries. This study has important regulatory and managerial implications.