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Corporate governance and securities class actions

Author

Listed:
  • Larelle Chapple

    (QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia)

  • Victoria J Clout

    (School of Accounting, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia)

  • David Tan

    (School of Aviation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies, and Applied Statistics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia)

Abstract

This study investigates the governance attributes of firms that have been subject to securities class actions (SCAs). There has been a recent sizable increase in the number of firms subject to SCAs in Australia. We examine a sample of firms that have been subject to SCAs due to disclosure breaches and match the firms by industry and size to a control sample. First, we examine the compliance culture of the SCA firms via the frequency of Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) queries of the firm and find that the frequency of ASX queries is positively associated with the occurrence of a SCA. Secondly, we provide evidence that SCA firms exhibit weaker levels of corporate governance than the matched control sample. In addition, we contribute to the understanding of firms subject to SCAs and their corporate governance attributes. Our results suggest the presence of a nomination committee may be associated with higher agency costs and that the influence of CEO duality may reduce the effectiveness of a nomination committee.

Suggested Citation

  • Larelle Chapple & Victoria J Clout & David Tan, 2014. "Corporate governance and securities class actions," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 39(4), pages 525-547, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:39:y:2014:i:4:p:525-547
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896213512320
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pornsit Jiraporn & Pandej Chintrakarn & Shenghui Tong & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2018. "Does board independence substitute for external audit quality? Evidence from an exogenous regulatory shock," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(1), pages 27-41, February.
    2. Pamela Kent & Kim Kercher & James Routledge, 2018. "Remuneration committees, shareholder dissent on CEO pay and the CEO pay–performance link," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(2), pages 445-475, June.
    3. Victoria J. Clout, 2017. "Corporate boards, monitoring and securities class actions: a pitch," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(3), pages 242-248, September.
    4. Lucia Dalla Pellegrina & Margherita Saraceno, 2016. "Can Shareholder Litigation Discipline CEO Bonuses in the Financial Sector? The Role of Securities Class Actions," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 45(1), pages 3-36, February.
    5. Jinghui Sun & Pamela Kent & Baolei Qi & Jiwei Wang, 2019. "Chief financial officer demographic characteristics and fraudulent financial reporting in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(4), pages 2705-2734, December.
    6. David T. Tan & Larelle Chapple & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2017. "Corporate fraud culture: Re-examining the corporate governance and performance relation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 597-620, June.
    7. Pham, Nga & Oh, K.B. & Pech, Richard, 2015. "Mergers and acquisitions: CEO duality, operating performance and stock returns in Vietnam," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 298-316.
    8. Millicent Chang & Andrew B. Jackson & Marvin Wee, 2018. "A review of research on regulation changes in the Asia‐Pacific region," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(3), pages 635-667, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Class actions; disclosure; governance; litigation; securities exchanges;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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