Malek Alshirah and Ahmad Alshira’h
The aim of this study is to measure the risk disclosure level and to determine the relationship between ownership structure dimensions (institutional ownership, foreign ownership…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to measure the risk disclosure level and to determine the relationship between ownership structure dimensions (institutional ownership, foreign ownership and family ownership) and corporate risk disclosure in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a sample of 94 Jordanian listed firms from the Amman Stock Exchange for the period from 2014 to 2017. This study measured risk disclosure using the number of risk-related sentences in the annual report, while random effects regression was used for hypotheses testing.
Findings
The results revealed that family ownership has a negative effect on risk disclosure practices, but institutional ownership, foreign ownership, firm size and leverage have no significant effect on the risk disclosure level.
Practical implications
The finding of this study is more likely be useful for many concerned parties, researchers, authorities, investors and financial analysts alike in understanding the current practices of the risk disclosure in Jordan, thus helping them in reconsidering and reviewing the accounting standards and improving the credibility and transparency of the financial reports in the Jordanian capital market.
Originality/value
This study offers novel evidence detailing the impact of ownership structure toward corporate risk disclosure, its implementation in emerging markets following the minimal amount of scholarly efforts on the topic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first examination of the impact of ownership structure on corporate risk disclosure. Thus, this study has important implications for the decisions of executives, policymakers, shareholders and lenders, as it enables them to better understand the linkage between ownership structure on corporate risk disclosure.
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Husam Ananzeh, Malek Hamed Alshirah, Ahmad Farhan Alshira'h and Huthaifa Al-Hazaima
A key goal of this research is to examine empirically whether politically connected board members are likely to impact corporate philanthropy. A further goal of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
A key goal of this research is to examine empirically whether politically connected board members are likely to impact corporate philanthropy. A further goal of this study is to contribute to the existing literature by examining the moderating role of political connections on the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the content analysis approach, the authors determined the level of cash and in-kind donations made by a group of 94 non-financial Jordanian companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. This study examined 658 annual reports spanning over seven years from 2010 to 2016. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) is used to test the study hypotheses. In addition, this study used the probit regression to validate those results reported by the OLS regression.
Findings
Compared to unconnected companies, politically connected companies in Jordan are more likely to donate to philanthropic causes. Moreover, the results revealed that the presence of significant family ownership shareholding in a firm can weaken the firm tendency to donate. Despite this, the regression analysis results indicate that family-controlled firms with political connections are more likely to engage in charitable giving activities compared to those without political nexuses.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes to the conversation surrounding corporate giving and sheds light on the role political connections and ownership structure (particularly family-owned firms) play in affecting donations by firms.
Practical implications
Managers of Jordanian firms listed on the stock exchange can use the study's findings to make better decisions about their donations and other philanthropic activities.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the relationship between firm donations and political connections in Jordan, and how political nexuses can moderate the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations. Hence, it extends prior research significantly.
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Malek Hamed Alshirah, Ahmad Farhan Alshira’h and Abdalwali Lutfi
This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure literature by investigating the moderator effect of family ownership on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The content analysis approach was used to collect data and determine the level of risk disclosure over the non-financial Jordanian firms listed on 1Amman Stock Exchange. The sample of this study contains 376 annual reports over four years from 2014 to 2017. It used the random effect regressions to examine the hypothesis of the study.
Findings
The results show that politically connected companies disclose less risk information than the unconnected ones in Jordan. The results also refer that family ownership contributes in mitigating the negative effect of the political connection on the level of corporate risk.
Practical implications
The results have implications for regulatory institutions such as the Jordan Securities Commission to take the negative effect of political connection in their consideration and impose further regulations to monitor this board’s attribute and control politicians’ domination on the board decisions.
Originality/value
The current study also contributes to the body of literature by investigating the effects of the political connections on the level of risk disclosure in the financial reports. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to examine the effect of the political connection on the risk disclosure practices. Moreover, the study is among the first studies that examine the moderating role of family ownership on such relationship.
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Ahmad Farhan Alshira’h, Malek Hamed Alshirah and Abdalwali Lutfi
This study aims to determine the impact of forensic accounting, probability of detections, tax penalties, government spending, tax justice and tax ethics on value-added tax (VAT…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the impact of forensic accounting, probability of detections, tax penalties, government spending, tax justice and tax ethics on value-added tax (VAT) evasion.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses partial least squares-structural equation modeling to examine the connection between tax sanction, probability of detection, tax ethics, tax justice, forensic accounting and government spending on VAT evasion based on 248 responses collected from the retail industry in Jordan.
Findings
The findings also demonstrate that there is a negative correlation between tax sanctions, probability of detection, tax ethics, tax justice, forensic accounting, government spending and VAT evasion efficiency.
Practical implications
The results, considering forensic accounting and government expenditure considerations, may emphasize the importance of the tax sanction, probability of detection, tax ethics, adoption of tax justice in the public sector and tax authority. Additionally, the findings are important for regulators and decision-makers in announcing new laws and strategies for VAT evasion.
Social implications
It turns out that the tax authority and public sector can definitely improve their capacity to protect public funds and limit VAT evasion practices within SMEs by adopting increased tax sanctions, probability of detection, tax ethics, tax justice, forensic accounting and government spending.
Originality/value
Numerous studies have been conducted at the individual level in the context of income tax on the link between tax punishment, probability of detection, tax ethics, tax justice, forensic accounting and tax evasion. This study expands on the scant evidence of this connection to the retail business in the context of VAT avoidance. Additionally, it advances prior studies by integrating fresh elements, such as forensic accounting and government expenditure, that have never been considered in connection to VAT evasion in the retail sector.
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Malek Hamed Alshirah, Azhar Abdul Rahman and Ifa Rizad Mustapa
This study aims at examining the level of risk of disclosure practices and the effect of four board of directors' characteristics (board size, board meetings, CEO duality and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at examining the level of risk of disclosure practices and the effect of four board of directors' characteristics (board size, board meetings, CEO duality and board expertise) on these practices in the Jordanian context. This study also adds to the body of literature by examining the moderating effect of family ownership on the relationship between the board of directors' characteristics and the corporate risk disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample of this study contains the non-financial Jordanian firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). 376 annual reports of the sampled firms over four years from 2014 to 2017 were used. The content analysis approach was used to collect data and to determine the level of risk disclosure by computing the number of risk-related sentences in the annual reporting. To test the study's hypothesis, the random effect model was employed.
Findings
The empirical results show that the total of the risk disclosure sentences for each firm ranges from a minimum value of 2 sentences to a maximum value of 61 sentences, and the mean of CRD is 28 sentences. The results also indicate that the board expertise is positively related with the level of risk disclosure. Conversely, CEO duality has a negative impact on the risk disclosure practices. However, the results failed to support that the board size and the board meetings have a significant effect on the level of risk disclosure. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the family ownership moderates the relationship between the board of directors and the corporate risk disclosure.
Practical implications
The finding of this study is more likely be useful for many concerned parties, researchers, authorities, investors and financial analysts alike in understanding the current practices of the risk disclosure in Jordan, thus helping them in reconsidering and reviewing the accounting standards and improving the credibility and transparency of the financial reports in the Jordanian capital market.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to the literature of risk disclosure because the previous research has paid little attention to this topic in Jordan. To the best knowledge of the researcher, this study is the first Jordanian study that focuses on examining the relationship between the board of directors' characteristics and the corporate risk disclosure in the non-financial sector. Furthermore, it is the first study that examines the moderating role of family ownership on such relationships. Consequently, the results of the current study draw attention to the CRD practices and the monitoring role of board of directors in Jordan.
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Ahmad Farhan Alshira'h, Hasan Mahmoud Al-Shatnawi, Manaf Al-Okaily, Abdalwali Lutfi and Malek Hamed Alshirah
The purpose of this study is to better understand the issues on tax compliance. This study aims to examine the influence of patriotism and public governance on the sales tax…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to better understand the issues on tax compliance. This study aims to examine the influence of patriotism and public governance on the sales tax compliance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to examine the interaction between patriotism and public governance on sales tax compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was carried out by soliciting the opinions of owner-managers of SMEs in Jordan through a survey that was distributed by self-administered. This paper uses partial least squares structural equation modelling to investigate the influence of patriotism, public governance and the interaction of these two mechanisms on sales tax compliance for a sample of 385 SMEs.
Findings
This paper finds that patriotism and the public governance increase and improve the level of sales tax compliance. The findings also supported the interaction effect of patriotism on the relationship between public governance with sales tax compliance. Thus, all the hypothesised relationships were supported.
Practical implications
Tax authorities and policymakers in developing majority societies in developing countries and in other Arab countries, especially in Jordan, may use the results to focus their interest on the formulation of policies founded on the outcomes of the study to strengthen the compliance of eligible SMEs to further boost their sales collections.
Originality/value
Very few studies have examined the determinants of sales tax compliance, and there has been an absence of work that examines the influence of the patriotism and public governance on sales tax compliance. This paper, therefore, fills a gap in the literature by providing the first empirical evidence about the influence of patriotism and public governance on sales tax compliance of SMEs in developing countries. This study is the initial paper to examine the interaction between patriotism and public governance on sales tax compliance among SMEs in developing countries
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The current paper aims at exploring the audit committee characteristics’ effect on impression management.
Abstract
Purpose
The current paper aims at exploring the audit committee characteristics’ effect on impression management.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is based on the use of the content analysis of financial annual reports, as data of a 69-company sample study from 2015 to 2019 attained from “Amman Stock Exchange” has been analyzed. Moreover, multiple regression analysis on panel data was employed.
Findings
The results show that the independence of the audit committee, the financial expertise of the audit committee and female members negatively affect impression management, implying that these characteristics mitigate financial reporting manipulation and decrease the practices of impression management. However, the findings detect no significant influence for committee meetings on impression management.
Research limitations/implications
Notably, the current work is applicable and useful for understanding the audit committee’s role in enhancing the financial reporting’s quality, along with the significance of the audit committee in growing the stakeholder’s confidence in financial reporting. In light of these results, regulatory bodies’ efforts are encouraged to create additional strategies and instructions to ensure the trustiness and credibility of financial reporting.
Originality/value
This paper will be useful to companies that want to improve the quality of financial reporting and decrease the impression of management’s effect on financial reporting’s readers. Moreover, this paper contributes to the literature on impression management by exploring the effect of audit committees on impression management of annual financial reports of the users in the context of emerging markets and Middle East countries, particularly Jordan.
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Emmanuel Mensah and Joseph Mensah Onumah
This paper aims to shed light on an essential role that “female directors” on boards of companies in sub-Saharan Africa play towards corporate financial performance enhancement…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to shed light on an essential role that “female directors” on boards of companies in sub-Saharan Africa play towards corporate financial performance enhancement. The study observes how board gender diversity moderates the relationship between earnings management (EM) and financial performance of firms in sub-Saharan Africa from a dynamic perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s sample comprises 105 companies listed on the respective stock markets of nine sub-Saharan African countries. The data are collected from annual reports over the period 2007–2019, a total of 1,166 firm-year observations. Panel data models are used in the analyses.
Findings
The study finds that the performance effect of EM is contingent on board diversity and this finding persists even after controlling for dynamic endogeneity, simultaneity and unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity inherent in the EM and performance relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The findings should be understood within the context that, only available annual reports and audited financial statements that were filed with respective capital markets of the nine surveyed countries are used as source of information.
Originality/value
The current study is unique, in that, it is the first panel multi-cross-country investigation within Africa to introduce gender diversity in the study of the relationship between EM and firm performance. It therefore extends the agency theory by using gender diversity as a moderating variable in the EM–firm performance nexus.