IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v82y2023ics0929119923000986.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influential independent directors' reputation incentives: Impacts on CEO compensation contracts and financial reporting

Author

Listed:
  • Masulis, Ronald W.
  • Mobbs, Shawn

Abstract

We study how reputation incentives of influential independent directors (those holding multiple directorships) affect CEO compensation and firm financial reporting decisions. We find that CEO equity-based incentives, measured by CEO delta, vega and the number of equity grants are positively related to these directors' reputation incentives. These director reputation incentives also mitigate the perverse CEO incentives to inflate earnings, which arise from such high-powered compensation structures, by motivating increased board monitoring to limit discretionary accruals and real activity-based earnings management. These findings are invariant to endogeneity adjustments under multiple approaches, including exogenous changes in reputation incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Masulis, Ronald W. & Mobbs, Shawn, 2023. "Influential independent directors' reputation incentives: Impacts on CEO compensation contracts and financial reporting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0929119923000986
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102449
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119923000986
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102449?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lixiong Guo & Ronald W. Masulis, 2015. "Board Structure and Monitoring: New Evidence from CEO Turnovers," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(10), pages 2770-2811.
    2. Ryan, Harley Jr. & Wiggins, Roy III, 2004. "Who is in whose pocket? Director compensation, board independence, and barriers to effective monitoring," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 497-524, September.
    3. Badolato, Patrick G. & Donelson, Dain C. & Ege, Matthew, 2014. "Audit committee financial expertise and earnings management: The role of status," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 208-230.
    4. Eliezer M. Fich, 2005. "Are Some Outside Directors Better than Others? Evidence from Director Appointments by Fortune 1000 Firms," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(5), pages 1943-1972, September.
    5. Carr Bettis & John Bizjak & Jeffrey Coles & Swaminathan Kalpathy, 2010. "Stock and Option Grants with Performance-based Vesting Provisions," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(10), pages 3849-3888, October.
    6. Saunders, Anthony & Song, Keke, 2018. "Bank monitoring and CEO risk-taking incentives," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 225-240.
    7. Jonathan M. Karpoff & D. Scott Lee & Gerald S. Martin, 2014. "The Consequences to Managers for Financial Misrepresentation," Springer Books, in: Roberto Pietra & Stuart McLeay & Joshua Ronen (ed.), Accounting and Regulation, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 339-375, Springer.
    8. Camelia M. Kuhnen & Alexandra Niessen, 2012. "Public Opinion and Executive Compensation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1249-1272, July.
    9. Wendy Beekes & Peter Pope & Steven Young, 2004. "The Link Between Earnings Timeliness, Earnings Conservatism and Board Composition: evidence from the UK," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 47-59, January.
    10. Core, John & Guay, Wayne, 1999. "The use of equity grants to manage optimal equity incentive levels," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-184, December.
    11. Steven Petra, 2007. "The Effects of Corporate Governance on the Informativeness of Earnings," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 129-152, February.
    12. Aggarwal, Reena & Dahiya, Sandeep & Prabhala, Nagpurnanand R., 2019. "The power of shareholder votes: Evidence from uncontested director elections," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 134-153.
    13. Bergstresser, Daniel & Philippon, Thomas, 2006. "CEO incentives and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 511-529, June.
    14. Burns, Natasha & Kedia, Simi, 2006. "The impact of performance-based compensation on misreporting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 35-67, January.
    15. Ferri, Fabrizio & Zheng, Ronghuo & Zou, Yuan, 2018. "Uncertainty about managers’ reporting objectives and investors’ response to earnings reports: Evidence from the 2006 executive compensation disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 339-365.
    16. Hazarika, Sonali & Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Nahata, Rajarishi, 2012. "Internal corporate governance, CEO turnover, and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 44-69.
    17. Shivdasani, Anil, 1993. "Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 167-198, April.
    18. Fich, Eliezer M. & Shivdasani, Anil, 2007. "Financial fraud, director reputation, and shareholder wealth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 306-336, November.
    19. Mehran, Hamid, 1995. "Executive compensation structure, ownership, and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 163-184, June.
    20. Bizjak, John M. & Brickley, James A. & Coles, Jeffrey L., 1993. "Stock-based incentive compensation and investment behavior," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 349-372, April.
    21. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    22. Gormley, Todd A. & Matsa, David A. & Milbourn, Todd, 2013. "CEO compensation and corporate risk: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 79-101.
    23. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Duellman, Scott, 2007. "Accounting conservatism and board of director characteristics: An empirical analysis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2-3), pages 411-437, July.
    24. Wei Jiang & Hualin Wan & Shan Zhao, 2016. "Reputation Concerns of Independent Directors: Evidence from Individual Director Voting," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 655-696.
    25. Zinat S. Alam & Mark A. Chen & Conrad S. Ciccotello & Harley E. Ryan, 2018. "Board Structure Mandates: Consequences for Director Location and Financial Reporting," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(10), pages 4735-4754, October.
    26. Palmrose, Zoe-Vonna & Richardson, Vernon J. & Scholz, Susan, 2004. "Determinants of market reactions to restatement announcements," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 59-89, February.
    27. Hauser, Roie, 2018. "Busy directors and firm performance: Evidence from mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(1), pages 16-37.
    28. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Managerial incentives and risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 431-468, February.
    29. Shue, Kelly & Townsend, Richard R., 2017. "Growth through rigidity: An explanation for the rise in CEO pay," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 1-21.
    30. Kaplan, Steven N. & Reishus, David, 1990. "Outside directorships and corporate performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 389-410, October.
    31. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2008. "Do directors perform for pay?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 154-171, September.
    32. Field, Laura & Lowry, Michelle & Mkrtchyan, Anahit, 2013. "Are busy boards detrimental?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 63-82.
    33. Healy, Paul M., 1985. "The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 85-107, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chan, Ann Ling-Ching & Hsieh, Yi-Ting & Lee, Edward & Yueh, Meng-Lan, 2024. "Information environment and participation of foreign banks in U.S. syndicated loan market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    2. Bugeja, Martin & Ghannam, Samir & Jeganathan, Davina & Shan, Yaowen, 2024. "Acquisition experience over performance: Directorship prestige following M&As," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    2. Masulis, Ronald W. & Mobbs, Shawn, 2014. "Independent director incentives: Where do talented directors spend their limited time and energy?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 406-429.
    3. Sander De Groote & Liesbeth Bruynseels & Ann Gaeremynck, 2023. "Are All Directors Treated Equally? Evidence from Director Turnover Following Opportunistic Insider Selling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 185-207, June.
    4. Eunice S. Khoo & Youngdeok Lim & Louise Y. Lu & Gary S. Monroe, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility performance and the reputational incentives of independent directors," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 841-881, May.
    5. Carola Frydman & Dirk Jenter, 2010. "CEO Compensation," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 75-102, December.
    6. von Meyerinck, Felix & Romer, Jonas & Schmid, Markus, 2025. "CEO turnover and director reputation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    7. Dan Amiram & Zahn Bozanic & James D. Cox & Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff & Richard Sloan, 2018. "Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 732-783, June.
    8. David B. Bryan & Terry W. Mason, 2020. "Independent director reputation incentives, accruals quality and audit fees," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 982-1011, July.
    9. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    10. Ferreira, Daniel & Athanasakou, Vasiliki & Goh, Lisa, 2017. "Changes in CEO Stock Option Grants: A Look at the Numbers," CEPR Discussion Papers 12318, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Lel, Ugur & Miller, Darius, 2019. "The labor market for directors and externalities in corporate governance: Evidence from the international labor market," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).
    12. Athanasakou, Vasiliki & Ferreira, Daniel & Goh, Lisa, 2022. "Changes in CEO stock option grants: a look at the numbers," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115609, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Jenny Stewart & Fang Hu, 2018. "Executive stock option vesting conditions, corporate governance and CEO attributes: evidence from Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(2), pages 503-533, June.
    14. Athanasakou, Vasiliki & Ferreira, Daniel & Goh, Lisa, 2022. "Changes in CEO stock option grants: A look at the numbers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Corinna Ewelt‐Knauer & Hannes Gerstel & Mohamed A. Khaled & Arnt Wöhrmann, 2024. "What motivates independent directors to join or leave boards? The interplay between director incentives, director decisions, and firm outcomes," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(4), pages 2282-2303, June.
    16. Kim, Jeong-Bon & Li, Yinghua & Zhang, Liandong, 2011. "CFOs versus CEOs: Equity incentives and crashes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 713-730, September.
    17. Balachandran, Balasingham & Williams, Barry, 2018. "Effective governance, financial markets, financial institutions & crises," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-15.
    18. Liu, Julia Junxia & Liu, Yu, 2023. "Multiple directorships and firm performance: Evidence from independent director effort allocation in Hong Kong," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    19. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    20. James, Hui Liang & Ngo, Thanh & Wang, Hongxia, 2021. "Independent director tenure and corporate transparency," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Independent directors; Reputation incentives; CEO compensation; Earnings management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0929119923000986. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.