Yuan George Shan
University of Adelaide
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Publication
Featured researches published by Yuan George Shan.
Corporate Governance: An International Review | 2013
Yuan George Shan
Using a sample of 117 Chinese listed companies with a total of 540 firm-year observations during the important period of regulatory change and organizational reform between 2001 and 2005, this study aims to investigate whether Type I tunneling is affected by the internal governance mechanisms (IGMs) from the perspective of principal-principal (P-P) conflict between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. Our findings suggest that state ownership and board of directors‟ meeting are positively correlated with direct transferring of Type I tunneling, but size of board of directors and number of independent directors reveal a negative association. Other IGMs including foreign ownership, supervisory board size, number of professional supervisors and supervisory board meeting were found to have no impact.
Family Business Review | 2014
Chris Graves; Yuan George Shan
The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of unlisted family and nonfamily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMFEs and non-SMFEs) and the effect of internationalization on their relative performance. Results of the regression analysis of 4,217 firms with 11,821 observations over a 3-year period found that SMFEs achieved a higher return on assets as a result of having a superior return on sales. Also, although the results indicate that internationalization had a significant negative effect on the return on assets of SMEs overall, this was not the case for SMFEs, and the results suggest that SMFEs perform better in the international marketplace. These results were consistent across different definitions of family business employed. Implications for future research are explored.
International Journal of Managerial Finance | 2012
Yuan George Shan; Lei Xu
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the level of bad debt provisions of financial institutions is affected by internal governance mechanisms (IGMs) from the perspective of the Type II principal-principal (PP) conflicts between the controlling shareholders and the minority shareholders. Design/methodology/approach - The authors’ sample covers all listed financial institutions in China, comprising a panel data set of 139 firm-year observations covering 1999 to 2009. Within Chinas two-tier corporate governance context, the three IGMs – ownership structure, board of directors and supervisory board – are measured to examine the level of bad debt provisions. Findings - The findings suggest that state ownership and legal person ownership are negatively related to the level of bad debt provisions, but board size reveals a positive association. Other factors including foreign ownership, independent directors, board meeting, supervisory board size and supervisory board meeting were found to have no impact. Practical implications - The spirit of corporate governance reform has not been transferred to financial institutions sufficiently. The board of directors and supervisory board actually act the roles of “window dressing” or “rubber stamp” within the current two-tier system. From the Type II PP perspective, the controlling shareholders are found to moderate the conflicts between other parties but they still expropriate the interests of minority shareholders and are the real beneficiaries of recent reforms. Thus, further financial reforms seem necessary in China. Originality/value - The paper provides an empirical analysis of factors that underlie IGMs during an important period of regulatory change and organizational reform, and fills a literature gap concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of financial institutions.
Journal of Asia-pacific Business | 2012
Yuan George Shan; Lei Xu
The financial sector plays an important intermediary role in the Chinese economy. However, there has been very limited research concerning improvement in corporate governance within this sector. Using an unbalanced data set of 139 firm-year observations covering 1999 to 2009, this study examines the impact of internal governance mechanisms on the performance of Chinese listed financial institutions. Findings suggest that state ownership, legal person ownership, board size, and supervisory board meetings are negatively related to the profitability of these institutions, whereas factors including ownership concentration, foreign ownership, independent directors, board meetings, and supervisory board size have no impacts.
International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation | 2014
Yuan George Shan
This paper examines whether the audit quality of Chinese listed companies is affected by internal governance mechanisms (IGMs). The dataset comprises 443 firm-year observations during 2002-2005. The results show that foreign ownership concentration and the number of professional supervisors are positively related to audit quality, but the size of the supervisory board shows a negative correlation. Other IGMs including state ownership concentration, the size of board of directors, the number of independent directors, the frequency of board meetings, and the frequency of supervisory board meetings are found to have no impact on audit quality. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, according to Young et al. (2008), this paper develops hypotheses from the principal-principal agency problem perspective and examines the impact of IGMs of Chinas highly concentrated state ownership and two-tier board system on audit quality. Second, this paper employs the directors on the board of directors and the supervisory board as pairwise functional units and examines whether there is a level of functional redundancy proposed by Ding et al. (2010). Third, this paper adds to the extant literature by showing the relevance of the legal environment as one of external governance mechanisms.
Modern Asian Studies | 2012
Yuan George Shan; David K. Round
As China approaches economic superpower status, its need to achieve considerably higher standards of corporate governance is becoming paramount. Despite impressive recent advances in its capital and stock exchange markets, the on-going overhang of state ownership in its former state-owned enterprises, together with an unwieldy and ineffective dual board governance system, has left China facing major corporate governance problems that will deter the private investment necessary for its continued growth. This paper illustrates these problems, and suggests possible reforms that will provide the foundation for the efficient further development of Chinas capital markets that is needed to help China become a major economic superpower.
Journal of Computer Information Systems | 2014
Yuan George Shan; Indrit Troshani
XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is heralded to significantly enhance transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in business information supply chains which can facilitate auditing in firms. We investigate the impact of XBRL on financial statements auditing by using empirical evidence from firms listed in the NYSE and NASDAQ between 2009-2011, the time when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) XBRL adoption mandate for publicly listed firms took effect. Our results support claims that XBRL can facilitate auditing which is manifested in reduced auditing costs. That is, XBRL adopters are likely to pay reduced audit fees. We also find that this effect is directly related to firm size, with larger firms benefiting more than smaller firms. As XBRL has been in an emerging state for over a decade, our findings offer much needed evidence concerning its economic consequences which can have important implications for accountants, auditors, and XBRL application developers.
South East Asia Research | 2013
Yuan George Shan; Chris Graves; Hussen Hassan Ali
Since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, there has been renewed interest in corporate governance policies and practices. This study focuses on corporate governance practices in Malaysia, where the increasing incidence of fraud suggests a lack of adequate corporate governance systems in Malaysian listed companies. Using an unbalanced data set comprising 200 companies representing a total of 579 firm-year observations, this study examines the effects of internal corporate governance mechanisms on the occurrence of fraud. Specifically, it looks at the effects of board characteristics, ownership structure and quality of audit on the occurrence of fraud in Malaysian listed companies from 2007 to 2009. The findings indicate that the number of board meetings was positively associated with the occurrence of fraud, but both state and foreign ownership revealed a negative correlation, whereas factors including the number of independent directors, board size, CEO duality and the quality of audit had no observable effects.
Managerial Finance | 2016
Lei Xu; Ron McIver; Yuan George Shan; Xiaochen Wang
Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to link literature on China’s real estate sector and the impact of governance, ownership and political connectedness on firm financial performance. Whether these factors impact listed real estate firms differently to firms in other industry sectors is identified. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper uses pooled 2008-2013 data on A-share firms. Tobin’s Findings - – Industry concentration and proportion of state ownership appear to positively impact performance. Firm size, gearing and greater foreign ownership appear to negatively impact performance. However, differences are identified for real estate firms, in which state control and gearing positively impact performance. Greater state and foreign ownership as well as supervisory board size negatively impact performance. Finally, state control in the presence of local government connections negatively impacts performance, while greater state ownership in the presence of local government connections positively impacts performance. Originality/value - – A lack of empirical evidence on the impact of corporate governance, ownership structures and political connectedness on firm performance in China’s real estate sector is addressed. Importantly, relationships among these factors and the financial performance of China’s listed real estate firms differ to those of firms in other industries.
International Journal of Managerial Finance | 2016
Yuan George Shan; Indrit Troshani
Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) on audit fees based on evidence from listed companies operating in an emerging economy. Whilst IFRS constitute high-quality accounting standards, XBRL represents a technology standard that can enhance the usability of IFRS and overall financial reporting transparency. Design/methodology/approach - – Multivariate analyses are used on a sample of 1,798 firm-year observations between 2000 and 2011 from companies listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange that were subject to XBRL and IFRS adoption mandates. Findings - – The main results suggest that XBRL has a main negative effect on audit fees which is weaker for larger firms. Additionally, the authors find that IFRS increases audit fees for all companies. Whilst this effect is positive for firms of different sizes, it is weaker for larger firms. Research limitations/implications - – Whilst the findings are applicable to the selected sample and may or may not be generaliseable to other economies, they can provide important implications for both regulators and companies that are undertaking IFRS convergence and XBRL implementation projects in developing economies around the world. Originality/value - – This study offers a timely assessment of the economic consequences of IFRS and XBRL on listed companies operating in an emerging economy, in addition to providing an important basis upon which further research can be designed in order to extend the analysis.