The Corporate Governance Effects of Audit Committees

Arguments associated with the promotion of audit committees in many countries are premised on their potential for alleviating weaknesses in corporate governance. This paper provides a synthesis and evaluation of empirical research on the governance effects associated with audit committees. Given recent policy recommendations in several countries aimed at strengthening these committees, it is important to establish what research evidence demonstrates about their existing governance contribution.A framework for analyzing the impact of audit committees is described, identifying potential perceived effects which may have led to their adoption and documented effects on aspects of the audit function, on financial reporting quality and on corporate performance. It is argued that there is only limited and mixed evidence of effects to support claims and perceptions about the value of audit committees for these elements of governance. It is also shown that most of the existing research has focused on factors associated with audit committee existence, characteristics and measures of activity and there is very little evidence on the processes associated with the operation of audit committees and the manner in which they influence organizational behaviour.It is clear that there is no automatic relationship between the adoption of audit committee structures or characteristics and the achievement of particular governance effects, and caution may be needed over expectations that greater codification around factors such as audit committee members' independence and expertise as the means of correcting past weaknesses in the arrangements for audit committees. The most fundamental question concerning what difference audit committees make in practice continues to be an important area for research development. For future research we suggest (i) greater consideration of the organizational and institutional contexts in which audit committees operate; (ii) explicit theorization of the processes associated with audit committee operation; (iii) complementing extant research methods with field studies; and (iv) investigation of unintended (behavioural) as well as expected consequences of audit committees.     

审计委员会与信息披露质量:来自中国上市公司的经验证据

本文选择深交所信息披露考评结果与证券分析师盈余预测精度作为上市公司信息披露质量的衡量指标,使用2006年深市上市公司的相关数据,实证检验了审计委员会与上市公司信息披露质量之间的关系.研究发现,与未设置审计委员会的上市公司相比,设立审计委员会的上市公司具有更高的信息披露质量,审计委员会的独立性对提高上市公司信息披露质量有着积极的促进作用.本文的政策含义是,在进一步完善资本市场的过程中应重视上市公司审计委员会建设.     

公司治理、审计风险与审计定价——基于CCGINK的经验证据

本文采用南开大学公司治理研究中心发表在2004年<管理世界>第二期的论文中公布的2002年度"中国上市公司治理100佳"的公司治理指数作为公司治理质量的替代变量,以"100佳"中的55家2001年至2004年的数据作为研究对象,采用多元回归方法,分析公司治理指数、审计风险、审计师规模与审计定价的关系.结果发现,公司治理指数越高,审计定价越低;随着公司治理指数提高.国际四大和本土五大明显降低了审计定价,而本土次五大的审计定价却没有明显下降,说明审计定价受到公司治理风险影响,国际四大及本土五大对源于公司内部治理的风险更加敏感.原因可能是大型事务所运用了风险导向审计模式,在争取到优质客户后,采取了合理的风险定价策略,以保持优质客户.上述发现对大型审计师获得审计收费声誉溢价的观点做了局部修正.     

Ceremonies of Governance: Perspectives on the Role of the Audit Committee

The widespread establishment of auditcommittees in large UK companies cannot be explainedby evidence of their effectiveness as a mechanism ofcorporate governance, since such evidence is sparse.In this paper, participants' accounts of auditcommittee activity are explored, using conceptsdeveloped in actor-network theory. The paper suggeststhat a possible explanation for the popularity ofaudit committees may be found in their ceremonialfunction, which, through a comforting display ofconcern for corporate governance standards, validatescompany legitimacy and enables access to resources forsurvival and growth.The paper briefly reviews the literature on auditcommittee effectiveness, noting its limitations, anddescribes a qualitative study of audit committeeactivity through the perceptions of participants –audit committee chairs and members, finance directors,internal and external auditors. The actor-networkconcept of `translation' is used to frame theseperceptions, highlighting the ceremonial components ofaudit committee meetings and the performance ofquestioning. It is argued that, aside from anysubstantive audit committee activity, this ceremonialperformance plays an important part in offeringcomfort and reassurance to investors and lenders.     

The Governance of Directors' Pay: Evidence from UK Companies

We examine the determination of directors' compensation in UK quoted companies between 1985 and 1994. The primary innovation contained in the paper is the focus on the governance mechanisms that determine pay outcomes. Our results indicate that: (i) directors' compensation is positively related to pre-dated shareholder returns and company size with the quantitative effect of the latter dominating the former. (ii) We find that the pay-for-performance link has become quantitatively stronger over our sample period. (iii) There has been positive adherence to the principles of the Cadbury report, but these variables play little statistical role in shaping the direct compensation of top directors.     

上市公司治理:理论与现实的距离——基于1250份上市公司“自查报告和整改计划”的分析

本文根据1250家上市公司所公布的"自查报告和整改计划",重点从大股东、董事会/监事会、经理层以及投资者法律保护等四个方面对"自查报告和整改计划"的调查问题进行全面归纳、整理、分解和剖析,通过统计分析和理论文献对比,综合反映出目前我国上市公司治理现状和问题.调查分析结果表明,虽然我国目前已基本上建立了一整套与上市公司治理相关的法律法规,上市公司在大股东、董事会、经理层和投资者保护等方面的行为得到了一定的规范约束.但是,我国上市公司治理仍然处在不断完善过程中,如何强化大股东的信托义务和法律责任,从根本上解决大股东侵占中小股东利益的问题、保证董事会制度的独立性和有效性、培育经理人市场,积极推进股权激励机制、落实投资者法律保护制度等成为今后完善我国上市公司治理的重要任务.     

The Role of Debt Contracts in UK Corporate Governance

The model of managerial incentives used in Positive Accounting Theory sees debt contracts as important in accounting choices in firms. The paper argues that agency theory and costly contracting theory imply a much wider role for debt contracts as corporate governance mechanisms for controlling relationships between lenders and firms. We analyse the creditor's problem in providing debt to the firm in terms of anticipated agency costs. This analysis leads to a consideration of contracting solutions involving the choice of debt contract terms providing credit protections which are efficient in agency cost and contracting cost terms.The model of debt contracts accepted in the literature is based upon US research, both theoretical and empirical, and thus reflects US institutional experience. This model involves detailed bonding and monitoring terms focusing upon financial and other covenants and implies customisation of such terms to meet creditors' contracting requirements. The paper reviews evidence on the applicability of this model in practice and concludes that, despite broad similarities, institutional biases are present if the model is applied to countries other than the US. We examine evidence on UK debt contracting practices, in particular contract form and content, types of covenant, lenders' perceptions of the role of covenants as control mechanisms, and the issue of standardisation versus customisation. The paper identifies important differences in debt contracting in the UK, for example in types of covenants and the role perceived for them by creditors and identifies standardisation in contract terms as being more common than often implied by other research.     

区块链技术与企业绩效:公司治理结构的调节作用

当前,我国正在全面迈进数字经济新时代.区块链技术作为数字经济最为重要的基础技术设施之一,正在加速推动新一轮产业变革和数字创新,被越来越多的企业接受和应用.区块链技术对企业绩效的作用机制是什么?针对以上问题,本研究通过倾向得分匹配方法(PSM)选取2014-2019年中国沪深A股上市公司为研究样本,以当年是否引入区块链技术作为公司治理手段为哑变量,通过计量分析研究了区块链技术应用与企业绩效之间的关系,并进一步探索了公司治理结构在区块链技术应用与企业绩效关系间的调节作用.研究发现,区块链技术应用对企业绩效有促进作用;当公司治理结构呈现较高独董比例和较高股权集中度时,区块链技术应用对企业绩效的促进作用得到加强.     

网络舆论的公司治理影响机制研究——基于定向增发的经验证据

上市公司定向增发是其重要的财务决策,往往涉及公司治理的好坏,历来受到网络舆论的关注.本文利用股吧中针对上市公司定向增发的评论这一个特定数据作为网络舆论的替代变量,研究在网络时代网络舆论对于公司内部以及外部的治理机制的影响,特别是在我国法律保护不健全的现实环境下,网络舆论在保护中小投资者权益方面所发挥的作用.实证结果表明,遭到网络舆论反对的增发公司,其定向增发公告后的股票超额收益率显著为负,其后该定向增发预案通过相关部门审核的概率也显著下降.换句话说,网络舆论会先后触发两层外部治理机制——资本市场的惩戒和监管部门的严格审查.与之形成对比的是,没有证据表明网络负面舆论会触发内部治理机制——网络负面舆论对于定向增发预案通过股东大会的概率不产生显著影响.本文进一步发现,网络负面舆论越高的公司,增发实施之后,公司业绩下降的概率也越大,这表明网络舆论并非是空穴来风或是毫无根据,而是能够在事前发掘出定向增发中可能存在的问题.     

战略联盟的范围、治理与稳定性间关系的实证研究

本文从联盟伙伴间的关系视角出发,分析了战略联盟的合作范围和治理类型对伙伴间关系稳定性的影响.由于稳定性是一个抽象且难以用显性指标直接测量的变量,本文把它构建为一个二阶因子结构,并用企业间信任、相互依赖和冲突解决这三个一阶因子来度量它.在此基础上,通过问卷调查获得127家德国联盟企业的数据,并对提出的假说进行了检验,分析结果表明合资企业比非股权契约联盟更有可能享有稳定的伙伴间合作关系,而联盟的范围即联盟协议中所包含的合作活动的多少对联盟稳定性没有显著的影响.     

会计师事务所合并对审计质量之影响:来自中国资本市场的经验证据

本文以中国2005-2009年间的会计师事务所合并案为对象,利用参与合并的会计师事务所及其上市公司客户的数据,同时从横向和纵向的角度考察了事务所合并对审计质量(以操控性应计的绝对值度量)的影响.结果发现,从横向来看,在控制了其他影响审计质量的因素之后,近两年内参与合并的事务所的审计质量显著低于未发生合并的事务所;而从纵向来看,参与合并的事务所的审计质量也显著低于合并之前.因此,尽管合并意味着相关事务所规模的快速提高,但这非但没有导致审计质量的提高,反而导致审计质量的下降.其原因部分可归结于我国事务所合并很大程度上是行政力量推动的结果以及合并初期不同事务所之间的内部摩擦.     

Reviewing Implications of Urban Growth Management and Spatial Governance in the Global South

ABSTRACT

Urban containment policies have been applied in the global north as a strategy towards creating compact urban development. In the south the urban growth management discourse have been part of planning practice for the past three decades. There are however several reasons, both structural and political that have contributed to its limited success. The purpose of the research is to review practices of growth management in the south in an attempt to find lessons from the implementation of different mechanisms. The study focuses on the challenges of growth management mechanisms and its associated spatial governance approaches.     

内部治理、内部控制与债务契约治理——基于A股上市公司的经验证据

本文以A股上市公司为研究样本,考察了我国债务融资契约的治理效应.实证结果表明,目前我国上市公司的债务治理效应遭到严重扭曲,债务融资不能很好地发挥激励约束作用;本文还发现,在内部治理的各因素中,最终控制人性质、股权集中度、经理人激励程度对债务治理效应的发挥有显著的影响,董事会独立性与勤勉程度、监事会监督力度对债务治理效应发挥的影响不显著;内部控制对债务治理效应发挥的作用非常有限.根据本文的实证结果,笔者提出了强化我国上市公司债务治理效应的一些建议.     

VC治理行为中介作用下的关系专用性投资与技术创新绩效

以风险投资“关系型融资”机制为视角,立足资源基础理论与交易成本理论,在“关系租”起源与“关系型融资”价值创造机制探讨的基础上,构建关系专用性投资、VC治理行为与技术创新绩效关系整合模型,研究不同关系专用性投资属性对技术创新绩效的影响以及VC治理行为的中介作用.通过264家科技型创业企业调研所得数据进行实证分析,研究显示,实物型关系专用性投资与VC监控行为正相关,与VC增值服务负相关,VC监控行为与技术创新绩效负相关;知识型关系专用性投资与VC监控行为负相关,与VC增值服务正相关,VC增值服务与技术创新绩效正相关.VC治理行为在关系专用性投资与技术创新绩效的关系中具有部分中介效应.     

Agent and Task Complexity in Multilateral Alliances: The Safeguarding Role of Equity Governance

Multilateral alliances are an inherently complex organizational form; managing these complexities is particularly difficult for alliance partners because alliances are plagued by both internal and external uncertainty. Using insights from transaction cost economics, our study identifies, articulates and tests different forms of alliance complexity and their impacts on alliance governance structure. Specifically, we investigate two forms of alliance complexity: agent and task. We decompose agent complexity into organizational and partner complexity, and decompose task complexity into geographic, transaction and technological complexity. Using a sample of 327 trilateral alliances, the most frequent form of multilateral alliances, we find that three forms of alliance complexity involving internal uncertainty (organizational, partner and technological complexity) favor equity-based governance, whereas external uncertainty in the form of geographic complexity discourages equity-based governance.     

Role of Cognitive Styles in Business and Management: Reviewing 40 Years of Research

In line with increased attention on the application of cognitive approaches to industrial, work and organizational psychology, the last 40 years have witnessed a growing interest in application of the cognitive style construct to the field of business and management. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we wish to advance understanding of cognitive styles research by elucidating trends and perspectives related to business and management. Second, we identify gaps in the literature and promising areas of research that can be further developed. This is accomplished by means of a review of papers published between 1969 and 2009. Eight themes emerged from our analysis: (a) vocational and occupational issues; (b) national culture; (c) teamwork and interpersonal relationships; (d) learning; (e) decision making; (f) creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; (g) sales and marketing; and (h) management information systems, information management and use. Third, we identify valid and reliable methods of assessment of cognitive style for use in business and management settings. Finally we draw a number of conclusions regarding the current state of cognitive styles research and promising directions for future research.     

Governance Structure,Innovation and Internationalization: Evidence From India

We examine the impact of firm-level governance structure on the innovation and internationalization strategies of emerging market firms. We propose that in the case of emerging market firms, governance is a response to the prevailing institutional environment and affects the innovation and internationalization strategies of firms. Based on a longitudinal sample of 16,337 firm-year observations of Indian listed firms over a year time period from 2002 to 2009, we find a positive effect of family ownership and group affiliation on R&D intensity and new foreign investments. Institutional ownership also positively affects new foreign investments, but has no effect on R&D intensity. Further, we find that R&D intensity interacts with family ownership, institutional ownership and group affiliation in affecting new foreign investments.     

公司治理、控制权性质与审计定价

借鉴Simunic的审计定价模型,构建关于审计定价影响因素的多元线性回归方程,并以沪深两市上市公司2007年数据为研究对象,对股权结构、公司治理与审计定价之间的关系进行实证检验.研究结果表明,总体而言,公司治理因素对中国上市公司审计定价的解释力有限,说明中国会计师事务所在决定审计收费时对被审计单位的公司治理因素考虑较少.具体而言,终极控制人为政府的上市公司审计费用较低,股权集中度、管理层持股比例与审计定价之间大体上呈U型关系,即股权适度集中和管理层适度持股最有利于降低审计定价,进一步的研究发现,管理层持股比例与审计定价的U型关系仅存在于非国有控股公司样本中.研究还发现,中国会计师事务所在确定审计费用时会结合公司控制权的性质考虑风险因素时审计定价的影响.