This paper studies an informational role of a decision to appoint a black director (BD) to a white board in a regime shaped by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. I find that the decision slashes firm valuation, perhaps because it reveals the true color of existing white directors (WDs) are gray. A director...

This study analyzes the short-term and long-term effects on director commitment and composition of board committees following the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. The first issue we address in the paper is “director commitment”, i.e., whether corporate directors were more or less...

The board of directors is expected to ensure that management has identified and developed processes to mitigate risks facing the organization, including risks arising from data theft and the loss of information. Unfortunately, recent experience suggests that companies are not doing a sufficient...

When there is high information asymmetry between directors and managers, independent directors do not have enough information to perform their functions. Only when faced with a good internal information environment can such directors acquire enough information to provide advice and monitor...

The board independence requirements enacted in conjunction with the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) provided motivation for firms that were already compliant with the regulations to alter their board structure. We consider actual board changes made by compliant firms and how such changes affect...

A comparative study of Corporate Governance structures at two organizations situated across the Atlantic Ocean has been conducted to understand the rationale for the observed differences from an international versus a nationally focused business perspective. A research based recommendation for...

We examine whether passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 did in fact have the intended effect of reducing agency conflicts or did it alter managerial incentives in ways that could be detrimental to firm value. Our findings for the full sample suggest a decrease in firm value and the...

Saudi Arabia has now opened its markets to foreign investors in line with its strategy to diversify its economy. However, investors need to feel confident that Saudi enterprises are being monitored and regulated appropriately. This study identifies the impact of improvements in Saudi corporate...

Boards of public corporations in the United States are becoming increasingly independent, due to an effort to ensure that shareholders' interests in the company are protected. Yet, little attention has been given to the way that board members obtain and digest the information necessary for their...

A long-recognized phenomenon in capital markets is the underinvestment in foreign equity securities, known as equity home bias. Our study examines the effect of board independence on the firms' ability to attract foreign equity capital. After accounting for potential endogeneity, we document...