The Dutch 'Female Board Index' 2008

The Dutch ‘Female Board Index 2008’ provides for the second year an overview of female representation on the Board of Directors and Supervisory Boards of 113 Dutch NV companies1 listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The companies were classified according to the percentage of women present on their combined Board of Directors and Supervisory Boards. The Dutch ‘Female Board Index’ also analyses the differences between male and female executive directors and supervisors ('non-executive directors') and between companies with or without female representation on their Board of Directors and/or Supervisory Boards (together the ‘Board’)

De Nederlandse 'Female Board Index' 2007

Dit rapport geeft een overzicht van de aanwezigheid van vrouwen in de Raden van Bestuur (‘RvB’) en Raden van Commissarissen (‘RvC’) van 122 Nederlandse N.V.’s genoteerd aan de Amsterdamse Euronext. De ondernemingen zijn gerangschikt naar het percentage vrouwen in de gecombineerde RvB en RvC. Vervolgens is een verschillenanalyse gemaakt op persoonsniveau (kenmerken zoals leeftijd en nationaliteit van de vrouwelijke bestuurders en commissarissen zijn afgezet tegen dezelfde kenmerken van hun mannelijke collega’s). Daarnaast is een verschillenanalyse gemaakt op ondernemingsniveau, om na te gaan wat de karakteristieken zijn van ondernemingen met vrouwen in de RvB en RvC ten opzichte van ondernemingen zonder vrouwen en of er een verband bestaat tussen bepaalde ondernemingskenmerken (zoals sector en omvang) en het aandeel vrouwen. De beschrijving van de samenstelling van RvB en RvC is vergelijkbaar met de studie van Sealy, Singh and Vinnicombe, (2007) ‘The Female FTSE Report 2007” waarin de aanwezigheid van vrouwen voor 100 ondernemingen genoteerd aan de FTSE is geanalyseerd. Dit rapport over de Nederlandse ‘Female Board Index’ gaat echter verder dan de beschrijving van de samenstelling, want ook de verschillen tussen mannelijke en vrouwelijke commissarissen en tussen ondernemingen met of zonder vrouwen in de RvB en/of RvC zijn geanalyseerd. De verschillende kenmerken worden afzonderlijk geanalyseerd zonder op eventuele onderlinge verbanden tussen de variabelen (causaliteit) te testen

An Extensive Comparison of Operating-Lease Capitalisation Approaches and Their Unavoidable Assumptions: Are Further Disclosures Desirable?

Previous research of Imhoff, Lipe and Wright (1991), Beattie, Edwards and Goodacre (1998) and others has shown that the capitalisation of operating leases on the balance sheet has a major impact on the accounting ratios. This empirical study expands previous research on two issues. First, we refine the capitalisation methods that have been developed by previous researchers. Second, we expand the focus from the relevance criteria of operating-lease information to the completeness-criterion of decision-making usefulness as defined by the Conceptual Frameworks. The results show that in our dataset of Dutch non-financial listed companies during the period 2000-2004 only a small part did not report operating leases. Of the remaining companies, a major part (minimum 36%) did not comply with the accounting standards. The information is therefore not only incomplete, but also impractical in terms of facilitating a fair comparison with other companies. For the companies reporting operating leases, the operating leases appear to be meaningful and relevant. Also the information is essential when comparing companies. Further we conclude that the information required by the accounting standards is not complete while financial statement analysis is sensitive to assumptions with regard to discount rates, total and remaining lives. Also the different capitalisation approaches lead to significantly different capitalisation results. Based on our results we advise standard setters to require further disclosures in the notes

An Extensive Comparison of Operating-Lease Capitalisation Approaches and Their Unavoidable Assumptions: Are Further Disclosures Desirable?

Previous research of Imhoff, Lipe and Wright (1991), Beattie, Edwards and Goodacre (1998) and others has shown that the capitalisation of operating leases on the balance sheet has a major impact on the accounting ratios. This empirical study expands previous research on two issues. First, we refine the capitalisation methods that have been developed by previous researchers. Second, we expand the focus from the relevance criteria of operating-lease information to the completeness-criterion of decision-making usefulness as defined by the Conceptual Frameworks. The results show that in our dataset of Dutch non-financial listed companies during the period 2000-2004 only a small part did not report operating leases. Of the remaining companies, a major part (minimum 36%) did not comply with the accounting standards. The information is therefore not only incomplete, but also impractical in terms of facilitating a fair comparison with other companies. For the companies reporting operating leases, the operating leases appear to be meaningful and relevant. Also the information is essential when comparing companies. Further we conclude that the information required by the accounting standards is not complete while financial statement analysis is sensitive to assumptions with regard to discount rates, total and remaining lives. Also the different capitalisation approaches lead to significantly different capitalisation results. Based on our results we advise standard setters to require further disclosures in the notes

Operating-Lease Disclosures: an empirical investigation

In 2008, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in cooperation with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), will issue a new proposal to change the current accounting regulation with respect to leasing to an alternative approach. This new lease-accounting approach, called the “asset and liability approach”, capitalises all leases on the balance sheet. This contrasts with the current lease-accounting approach, called the “risk and reward approach”, which discriminates between the recognition of financial leases on the balance sheet and the disclosure of operating leases off the balance sheet. As with the current risk and reward approach, also the asset and liability approach has many opponents. This study investigates: - what the impact on financial ratios might be when operating leases are capitalised on the balance sheet, - what company characteristics determines the choice for operating leases, and - whether financially-distressed companies use more operating leases than healthy companies. The results show that operating leases have become a major financing source, which is not only attributable to the accounting treatment of operating leases. However, the information on operating leases as required in the footnotes to the financial statements is not transparent, nor reliable. The current lease-accounting standards might be maintained but improved, and this could be an intermediate solution that is acceptable for the proponents of both lease-accounting approaches

Views on the Indefinable Independence - Results from a Survey Among Supervisory Directors in the Netherlands

Independence of internal supervisors is an important part of corporate governance and is seen as a necessary condition to guarantee the quality of monitoring. After the corporate scandals at the start of this century the demand for independent members in the board and in the key committees has significantly increased. However, a clear and consistent definition of independence lacks. Definitions and interpretations of independence differ between countries, corporate governance codes and board systems. This study investigates whether these interpretations of independence differ as well between different groups of internal supervisors. It questions internal supervisors on situations that are real threats for independence and on the stakeholders an internal supervisor should take care of. The inclusion of personal relationships in the lists of independence criteria is one of the focal points of the survey. The results show that internal supervisors consider personal relationships as a threat for independence, but they regard business and family relations as larger threats. A cluster analysis shows that two groups of internal supervisors can be distinguished. One group is more inclined to monitor for stakeholders other than shareholders and has more concerns about threats for independence. This group is also significantly younger, more female and gets less paid. The second group is more inclined to monitor for shareholders and is more male and better paid

Views on the Indefinable Independence - Results from a Survey Among Supervisory Directors in the Netherlands

Independence of internal supervisors is an important part of corporate governance and is seen as a necessary condition to guarantee the quality of monitoring. After the corporate scandals at the start of this century the demand for independent members in the board and in the key committees has significantly increased. However, a clear and consistent definition of independence lacks. Definitions and interpretations of independence differ between countries, corporate governance codes and board systems. This study investigates whether these interpretations of independence differ as well between different groups of internal supervisors. It questions internal supervisors on situations that are real threats for independence and on the stakeholders an internal supervisor should take care of. The inclusion of personal relationships in the lists of independence criteria is one of the focal points of the survey. The results show that internal supervisors consider personal relationships as a threat for independence, but they regard business and family relations as larger threats. A cluster analysis shows that two groups of internal supervisors can be distinguished. One group is more inclined to monitor for stakeholders other than shareholders and has more concerns about threats for independence. This group is also significantly younger, more female and gets less paid. The second group is more inclined to monitor for shareholders and is more male and better paid

What national governance codes say about corporate culture

Purpose: This study aims to provide insight into the current incorporation of corporate culture in national corporate governance codes. The authors identify three levels of incorporation for each of the following three dimensions: layers of corporate culture (the “what”), the alignment of corporate culture in the organization (the “for whom”) and the board’s roles regarding corporate culture (the “how”). Design/methodology/approach: To assess the extent to which national codes have incorporated corporate culture, the authors used a sample of 88 national corporate governance codes. The authors performed a content analysis of these codes using a computer-aided text analysis program. The first step involved the identification of dimensions of corporate culture per national code. These dimensions were then assessed based on three levels of incorporation. Finally, the authors ranked national codes with similar levels of incorporation per dimension and aggregated the dimensions. Findings: The data show that five of the 88 national corporate governance codes that the authors analysed scored the highest level in all three dimensions of corporate culture. Originality/value: This is the first study to provide an overview of what national corporate governance codes say about corporate culture. The authors address two gaps in the existing literature. First, the authors develop and use a richer conceptualization of how corporate culture can be addressed in national corporate governance codes. Second, the authors analyse these corporate governance codes worldw