The contribution of financial entities to the sustainable development through the reporting of corporate social responsibility information

This paper aims at examining the relationship between board composition and corporate social responsibility (CSR) of a sample of listed financial entities, discussing the driving reasons of these entities to disclose CSR information. We hypothesize that there is a positive association between outside (institutional and independent directors) and female directors and CSR disclosure and a negative relationship between inside directors and CSR reporting. Our findings provide evidence that the proportions of independent directors and female directors on boards encourage CSR disclosure. Moreover, the results also show that the proportions of inside directors and institutional directors on boards do not have influence on CSR reporting. Thus, our evidence suggests that board attributes such as independent and female directors encourage financial entities to report CSR matters, showing the effectiveness of these two corporate governance mechanisms. The paper shed light on the influence of board structure of financial entities on CSR disclosure. Therefore, this study contributes to past research by providing an index to measure CSR disclosure of financial entities and the importance of the distinction between outside and inside directors

Female Institutional Directors on Boards and Firm Value

The aim of this research is to examine what impact female institutional directors on boards have on corporate performance. Previous research shows that institutional female directors cannot be considered as a homogeneous group since they represent investors who may or may not maintain business relations with the companies on whose corporate boards they sit. Thus, it is not only the effect of female institutional directors as a whole on firm value that has been analysed, but also the impact of pressure-resistant female directors, who represent institutional investors (investment, pension and mutual funds) that only invest in the company, and do not maintain a business relation with the firm. We hypothesize that there is a non-linear association, specifically quadratic, between institutional and pressure-resistant female directors on boards and corporate performance. Our results report that female institutional directors on boards enhance corporate performance, but when they reach a certain threshold on boards (11.72 %), firm value decreases. In line with female institutional directors, pressure-resistant female directors on boards also increase firm value, but only up to a certain figure (12.71 % on boards), above which they have a negative impact on firm performance. These findings are consistent with an inverted U-shaped relationship between female institutional directors and pressure-resistant female directors and firm performance

The Effects of Ownership Structure and Board Composition on the Audit Committee Meeting Frequency: Spanish evidence

This paper examines the factors that affect the activity of the audit committees in Spain. The data used in the analyses are collected from the Spanish stock market in 2003. The results show the existence of a non-linear relationship between the managerial stock ownership and the activity of the audit committee. We have also verified the existence of a lower audit committee's activity in highly leveraged firms and when the ownership structure is concentrated in the hands of large shareholders. The large firms have more active committees than small firms. Finally, we have not found any evidence of a significant influence of the composition of the board or the audit committee on the activity of the latter. Copyright (c) 2007 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Women directors and disclosure of intellectual capital information

This paper uses a resource-based perspective and balanced panel data analysis to explore whether the representation of women on the boards of directors of Spanish companies is associated with an increase in voluntary disclosure of information concerning intellectual capital [IC]. We find that gender diversity is a complementary corporate governance mechanism that has a significant positive effect on levels of disclosure of IC information. This appears due to the presence of women on boards serving to prompt stronger monitoring and oversight behaviour. Our findings should encourage support for policies that will increase current levels of representation of women on corporate boards and influence the setting of corporate governance requirements relating to disclosure bycapital market regulators.This work was supported financially by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939), through funds provided by COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI); and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The engagement of auditors in the reporting of corporate social responsibility disclosure

In this research, we aim to examine how large auditing firms and audit/non‐audit fees affect corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. We show that the big four auditing firms and the audit and non‐audit fees paid by audited firms encourage CSR reporting. Overall, our findings suggest that big auditing firms play a relevant role in CSR disclosure, which may help to mitigate informative asymmetries between managers and stakeholders. Furthermore, audit and non‐audit fees paid by audited companies promote voluntary non‐financial information disclosure. These findings should be of interest to policymakers given the relevant role that CSR disclosure may play in the decision‐making processes of all stakeholders