Three Essays on Corporate Governance, Accounting Conservatism and Corporate Financial Decisions

Abstract

This thesis consists of three essays on corporate governance, accounting conservatism and corporate financial decisions in the GCC region. It is found that Saudi firms with ruling-family directors practise less accounting conservatism, but that this effect is negated following regulatory changes in 2010 when corporate governance regulations became mandatory. Family-controlled firms in GCC have lower cash holdings than their non-family-controlled counterparts and tend to reduce cash in the growth, mature and shakeout stages of a firm's life cycle. Firms with busyness of directors in GCC increase cash holdings and SG&A expenses; decrease capital expenditure and performance.