Share:


Does independent director’s cash compensation matter? Evidence from corporate fraud

    Alkebsee Radwan Affiliation
    ; Gaoliang Tian Affiliation
    ; Alexandros Garefalakis Affiliation
    ; Andreas Koutoupis Affiliation
    ; Panagiotis Kyriakogkonas Affiliation

Abstract

This study empirically investigates the relationship between independent directors’ cash compensation and the likelihood of corporate fraud. Using data of 2542 Chinese firms and 17239 firm years from 2010 to 2017, the findings of logistic regression, firm-fixed effects, instrumental variable specification, and propensity score matching models show that there is a negative association between cash compensation of independent directors and corporate fraud. Our findings suggest that if independent directors are treated with higher cash compensation, it enhances the board’s independence and makes the effective monitoring over management behaviors and financial reporting process. On contrary to non-SOEs, the findings also document that the negative association between independent directors’ compensation and corporate fraud is pronounced in SOEs. The study not only shows the impact of independent director’s compensation on firm fraud beyond agency and contract theories but also creates policy implications regarding independent director’s compensation in particular scenario of emerging economies.

Keyword : independent directors’ cash compensation, corporate fraud, financial reporting quality, non-equity incentives, state ownership, China

How to Cite
Radwan, A., Tian, G., Garefalakis, A., Koutoupis, A., & Kyriakogkonas, P. (2022). Does independent director’s cash compensation matter? Evidence from corporate fraud. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(4), 977–996. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2022.16217
Published in Issue
Sep 7, 2022
Abstract Views
644
PDF Downloads
592
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Agrawal, A., & Chadha, S. (2005). Corporate governance and accounting scandals. The Journal of Law and Economics, 48(2), 371–406. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.595138

Aharony, J., Lee, C.-W. J., & Wong, T. J. (2000). Financial packaging of IPO firms in China. Journal of Accounting Research, 38(1), 103–126. https://doi.org/10.2307/2672924

Alkebsee, R., Alhebry, A., Tian, G., & Garefalakis, A. (2021). Audit committee’s cash compensation and earnings management: The moderating effects of institutional factors. Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting/Revista Española de Financiación y Contabilidad. https://doi.org/10.1080/02102412.2021.1977558

Antonakis, J., Bendahan, S., Jacquart, P., & Lalive, R. (2010). On making causal claims: A review and recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6), 1086–1120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.10.010

Armstrong, C. S., Core, J. E., & Guay, W. R. (2014). Do independent directors cause improvements in firm transparency? Journal of Financial Economics, 113(3), 383–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2014.05.009

Bar-Hava, K., Huang, S. Z., Segal, B., & Segal, D. (2021). Do outside directors tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when they resign? Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 36(1), 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148558X18780801

Beasley, M. S. (1996). An empirical analysis of the relation between the board of director composition and financial statement fraud. Accounting Review, 71(4), 443–465. https://www.jstor.org/stable/248566

Brooks, A., Oliver, J., & Veljanovski, A. (2009). The role of the independent director: Evidence from a survey of independent directors in Australia. Australian Accounting Review, 19(3), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-2561.2009.00055.x

Bruner, D., McKee, M., & Santore, R. (2008). Hand in the cookie jar: An experimental investigation of equity-based compensation and managerial fraud. Southern Economic Journal, 15(1), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2325-8012.2008.tb00903.x

Chen, G., Firth, M., Gao, D. N., & Rui, O. M. (2006). Ownership structure, corporate governance, and fraud: Evidence from China. Journal of Corporate Finance, 12(3), 424–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2005.09.002

Chen, J., Cumming, D., Hou, W., & Lee, E. (2016). Does the external monitoring effect of financial analysts deter corporate fraud in China? Journal of Business Ethics, 134(4), 727–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2393-3

Chen, J. Z., Cussatt, M., & Gunny, K. A. (2017). When are outside directors more effective monitors? Evidence from real activities manipulation. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 35(1), 26–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148558X17692691

Chen, K. C., & Yuan, H. (2004). Earnings management and capital resource allocation: Evidence from China’s accounting-based regulation of rights issues. The Accounting Review, 79(3), 645–665. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2004.79.3.645

Chen, Z., & Keefe, M. O. C. (2018). Board of director compensation in China: To pay or not to pay? How much to pay? Emerging Markets Review, 37, 66–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2018.05.003

Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission. (2001a). The code of corporate governance for listed firms in China. CSRC. Beijing.

Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission. (2001b). The guidelines on introduction of the independent directors system in listed companies. CSRC. Beijing.

Conyon, M. J., & He, L. (2016). Executive compensation and corporate fraud in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 134(4), 669–691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2390-6

Crutchley, C. E., & Minnick, K. (2012). Cash versus incentive compensation: Lawsuits and director pay. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 907–913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.05.008

Denis, D. J., Hanouna, P., & Sarin, A. (2006). Is there a dark side to incentive compensation? Journal of Corporate Finance, 12(3), 467–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2005.08.006

Ding, S., Jia, C., Li, Y., & Wu, Z. (2012). Reactivity and passivity after enforcement actions: Better late than never. In R. Cressy, D. Cumming, & C. Mallin (Eds.), Entrepreneurship, governance and ethics (pp. 337–359). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2926-1_10

Erickson, M., Hanlon, M., & Maydew, E. L. (2006). Is there a link between executive equity incentives and accounting fraud? Journal of Accounting Research, 44(1), 113–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-679X.2006.00194.x

Faccio, M., Masulis, R. W., & McConnell, J. J. (2006). Political connections and corporate bailouts. The Journal of Finance, 61(6), 2597–2635. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2006.01000.x

Fich, E. M., & Shivdasani, A. (2007). Financial fraud, director reputation, and shareholder wealth. Journal of Financial Economics, 86(2), 306–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2006.05.012

Firth, M., Fung, P. M., & Rui, O. M. (2007). How ownership and corporate governance influence chief executive pay in China’s listed firms. Journal of Business Research, 60(7), 776–785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.01.014

Galyfianakis, G., Garefalakis, A., & Mantalis, G. (2017). The effects of commodities and financial markets on crude oil. Oil & Gas Science and Technology, 72(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.2516/ogst/2016024

Garefalakis, A., & Dimitras, A. (2016). The Contribution of Management Commentary Index (Ma.Co.I) in Annual Banking Reports (ABR) and the Chronicle of the Great Greek Crisis. Theoretical Economics Letters, 6(5), 1060–1087. https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2016.65103

Garefalakis, A., Dimitras, A., & Lemonakis, C. (2017). The effect of Corporate Governance Information (CGI) on Banks’ reporting performance. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 14(2), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.21511/imfi.14(2).2017.06

Garefalakis, A., Dimitras, A., Floros, C., & Lemonakis, C. (2016). How narrative reporting changed the business world: Providing a new measurement tool. Corporate Ownership and Control, 13(4), 317–334. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv13i4c2p5

Garefalakis, A., Lappa, E., Mantalis, G., Xanthos, G., & Alexopoulos, G. (2015). ‘Is the adoption of IFRS, an essential element concerning the Mediterranean European Union’s Banks? European Journal of Scientific Research, 136(2), 169–177.

Giannarakis, G., Sariannidis, N., & Garefalakis, A. (2011). The content of Corporate Social Responsibility information: The case of Greek telecommunication sector. International Business Research, 4(3), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v4n3p33

Haß, L. H., Müller, M. A., & Vergauwe, S. (2015). Tournament incentives and corporate fraud. Journal of Corporate Finance, 34, 251–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.07.008

Haß, L. H., Vergauwe, S., & Zhang, Z. (2019). State-ownership and bank loan contracting: Evidence from corporate fraud. The European Journal of Finance, 25(6), 550–567. https://doi.org/10.1080/1351847X.2017.1328454

He, L. R., & Fang, J. X. (2016). Subnational institutional contingencies and executive pay dispersion. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33(2), 371–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-015-9429-9

Hope, O.-K., Lu, H., & Saiy, S. (2019). Director compensation and related party transactions. Review of Accounting Studies, 24(4), 1392–1426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-019-09497-w

Huang, C. (2008). Worldwide corporate convergence within a pluralistic business legal order: Company law and the independent director system in contemporary China. Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, 31(1), 361–436.

Huang, W., & Boateng, A. (2017). Executive shareholding, compensation, and analyst forecast of Chinese firms. Applied Economics, 49(15), 1459–1472. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2016.1218432

Huang, Z., Lou, Y., & Taitel, M. (2013). A case application of propensity score matching in the outcomes evaluation of medication therapy management at retail pharmacy. Presented at the SAS Global Forum. http://support.sas.com/resources/papers/proceedings13/215P-2013.pdf

Jensen, M. C. (2001). Foundations of organizational strategy. Harvard University Press.

Jensen, M. C. (2005). Agency costs of overvalued equity. Financial Management, 34(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2005.tb00090.x

Jia, C., Ding, S., Li, Y., & Wu, Z. (2009). Fraud, enforcement action, and the role of corporate governance: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(4), 561–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0061-9

Jiang, L., Kling, G., & Bo, H. (2021). Does executive compensation affect firms’ acquisition decisions? Evidence from China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 27(5), 731–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2020.1834736

Johnson, S. A., Ryan, H. E., & Tian, Y. S. (2003). Executive compensation and corporate fraud [Unpublished paper]. Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

Johnson, S. A., Ryan, H. E., & Tian, Y. S. (2009). Managerial incentives and corporate fraud: The sources of incentives matter. Review of Finance, 13(1), 115–145. https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfn014

Karpoff, J. M., Lee, D. S., & Martin, G. S. (2014). The consequences to managers for financial misrepresentation. In R. Di Pietra, S. McLeay, & J. Ronen (Eds.), Accounting and regulation (pp. 339–375). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2007.06.003

Kim, J. Y., Roden, D. M., & Cox, S. R. (2013). The composition and compensation of the board of directors as predictors of corporate fraud. Accounting and Finance Research, 2(3), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.5430/afr.v2n3p142

Kong, D., Xiang, J., Zhang, J., & Lu, Y. (2019). Politically connected independent directors and corporate fraud in China. Accounting & Finance, 58(5), 1347–1383. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12449

Lanis, R., & Richardson, G. (2018). Outside directors, corporate social responsibility performance, and corporate tax aggressiveness: An empirical analysis. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 33(2), 228–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148558X16654834

Larcker, D. F., & Rusticus, T. O. (2010). On the use of instrumental variables in accounting research. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 49(3), 186–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2009.11.004

Lemonakis, C., Sariannidis, N., Garefalakis, A., & Adamou, A. (2018). Visualizing operational effects of ERP systems through graphical representations: Current trends and perspectives. Annals of Operations Research, 294, 401–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2851-x

Lemonakis, C., Vassakis, K., Garefalakis, A., & Papa, P. (2016). SMEs performance and subsidies in it investments: A vis-à-vis approach. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 87(2), 266–275.

Liao, J., Smith, D., & Liu, X. (2019). Female CFOs and accounting fraud: Evidence from China. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 53, 449–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2019.01.003

Luo, J.-h., Peng, C., & Zhang, X. (2020). The impact of CFO gender on corporate fraud: Evidence from China. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 63, 101404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2020.101404

Murphy, K. J. (1999). Executive compensation. In Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 3, Part B, pp. 2485–2563). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1573-4463(99)30024-9

Ozcan, A. (2016). Firm characteristics and accounting fraud: A multivariate approach. Journal of Accounting, Finance and Auditing Studies, 2(2), 128–144. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/26090

Pepper, A., & Gore, J. (2015). Behavioral agency theory: New foundations for theorizing about executive compensation. Journal of Management, 41(4), 1045–1068. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312461054

Persons, O. S. (2005). The relation between the new corporate governance rules and the likelihood of financial statement fraud. Review of Accounting and Finance, 4(2), 125–148. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb043426

Persons, O. S. (2012). Stock option and cash compensation of independent directors and likelihood of fraudulent financial reporting. The Journal of Business and Economic Studies, 18(1), 54.

Qiu, S., He, H.-Q., & Luo, Y.-s. (2019). The value of restatement to fraud prediction. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 20(6), 1210–1237. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2019.10489

Rahman, J. M., & Ying, Y. (2020). The effects of corporate governance and managerial compensation on financial fraud: Evidence from China. Accountancy Business and the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3739800

Sariannidis, N., Garefalakis, A., & Lemonakis, C. (2018). Operational elements of Narrative Disclosure Information (NDI) in a geographical context. Annals of Operations Research, 294, 123–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-3075-9

Schuchter, A., & Levi, M. (2016). The fraud triangle revisited. Security Journal, 29(2), 107–121. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2013.1

Shipman, J. E., Swanquist, Q. T., & Whited, R. L. (2017). Propensity score matching in accounting research. The Accounting Review, 92(1), 213–244. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51449

Spatt, C. S. (2006). Executive compensation and contracting. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.891179

Stout, L. A. (2003). On the proper motives of corporate directors (or, why you don’t want to invite homo economicus to join your board). Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, 28, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.389407

Tang, X., Gu, Y., Weng, R., & Ho, K. (2021). Confucianism and corporate fraud. International Journal of Emerging Markets. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-12-2019-1004

Vafeas, N. (2000). Operating performance around the adoption of director incentive plans. Economics Letters, 68(2), 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1765(00)00251-2

Wang, Z., Chen, M.-H., Chin, C. L., & Zheng, Q. (2017). Managerial ability, political connections, and fraudulent financial reporting in China. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 36(2), 141–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2017.02.004

Zhang, H., Huang, H. J., & Habib, A. (2018). The effect of tournament incentives on financial restatements: Evidence from China. The International Journal of Accounting, 53(2), 118–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intacc.2018.05.002