IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jocaae/v10y2014i1p32-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate ownership, corporate governance reform and timeliness of earnings: Malaysian evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Lim, Mable
  • How, Janice
  • Verhoeven, Peter

Abstract

This paper provides the first evidence showing that ownership concentration and the identity of the largest shareholder matter to the timeliness of corporate earnings, measured by a stock price-based timeliness metric and the reporting lag. Using panel data of 1276 Malaysian firms from 1996 to 2009, we find a non-linear relationship between concentrated ownership, measured by the largest shareholding in a firm, and the reporting lag but not the timeliness of price discovery. Although firms with government as the largest shareholder and political connections have a significantly shorter reporting lag, only the former are timelier in price discovery. Firms with family and foreigners as the largest shareholder however are less timely in price discovery. While the reporting lag is shorter in the period after the integration of the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) into Bursa listing rules, its impact on the timeliness of price discovery is mostly immaterial.

Suggested Citation

  • Lim, Mable & How, Janice & Verhoeven, Peter, 2014. "Corporate ownership, corporate governance reform and timeliness of earnings: Malaysian evidence," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 32-45.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:10:y:2014:i:1:p:32-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2013.11.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815566913000313
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcae.2013.11.001?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. Norman Mohd Saleh & Mara Ridhuan Che Abdul Rahman & Mohamat Sabri Hassan, 2009. "Ownership Structure and Intellectual Capital Performance in Malaysia," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 5(1), pages 1-29.
    2. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    3. Wendy Beekes & Philip Brown, 2006. "Do Better-Governed Australian Firms Make More Informative Disclosures?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3-4), pages 422-450.
    4. Kang, Jun-Koo & Stulz, Rene M., 1997. "Why is there a home bias? An analysis of foreign portfolio equity ownership in Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 3-28, October.
    5. Choy, HiuLam & Gul, Ferdinand A. & Yao, Jun, 2011. "Does political economy reduce agency costs? Some evidence from dividend policies around the world," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 16-35, January.
    6. Frye, Timothy & Shleifer, Andrei, 1997. "The Invisible Hand and the Grabbing Hand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 354-358, May.
    7. Laura T. Starks, 2000. "Corporate Governance And Institutional Investors: Implications For Latin America," Abante, Escuela de Administracion. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 2(2), pages 161-181.
    8. Liu, Qiao & Lu, Zhou (Joe), 2007. "Corporate governance and earnings management in the Chinese listed companies: A tunneling perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 881-906, December.
    9. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and cost of debt: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1520-1527.
    10. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    11. Chung, Richard & Firth, Michael & Kim, Jeong-Bon, 2002. "Institutional monitoring and opportunistic earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 29-48, January.
    12. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    13. Grier, Paul & Zychowicz, Edward J., 1994. "Institutional investors, corporate discipline, and the role of debt," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-11, February.
    14. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    15. Roszaini Haniffa & Mohammad Hudaib, 2006. "Corporate Governance Structure and Performance of Malaysian Listed Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1034-1062, September.
    16. Ball, R & Brown, P, 1968. "Empirical Evaluation Of Accounting Income Numbers," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 159-178.
    17. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and leverage: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2344-2350.
    18. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2000. "Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 867-891, April.
    19. Gillian H.H. Yeo & Patricia M.S. Tan & Kim Wai Ho & Sheng–Syan Chen, 2002. "Corporate Ownership Structure and the Informativeness of Earnings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7‐8), pages 1023-1046.
    20. Dyer, Jc & Mchugh, Aj, 1975. "Timeliness Of Australian Annual-Report," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 204-219.
    21. Jeong†Bon Kim & Cheong H. Yi, 2006. "Ownership Structure, Business Group Affiliation, Listing Status, and Earnings Management: Evidence from Korea," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 427-464, June.
    22. Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Cronyism and capital controls: evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 351-382, February.
    23. Conover, C. Mitchell & Miller, Robert E. & Szakmary, Andrew, 2008. "The timeliness of accounting disclosures in international security markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 849-869, December.
    24. Gillian H.H. Yeo & Patricia M.S. Tan & Kim Wai Ho & Sheng-Syan Chen, 2002. "Corporate Ownership Structure and the Informativeness of Earnings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7&8), pages 1023-1046.
    25. Cheng, Eugene C.M. & Courtenay, Stephen M., 2006. "Response to discussion of "board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 293-294.
    26. Del Guercio, Diane & Seery, Laura & Woidtke, Tracie, 2008. "Do boards pay attention when institutional investor activists "just vote no"?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 84-103, October.
    27. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    28. Wu, YiLin, 2004. "The impact of public opinion on board structure changes, director career progression, and CEO turnover: evidence from CalPERS' corporate governance program," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 199-227, January.
    29. Bushman, Robert & Chen, Qi & Engel, Ellen & Smith, Abbie, 2004. "Financial accounting information, organizational complexity and corporate governance systems," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 167-201, June.
    30. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Cheng, Eugene C.M. & Courtenay, Stephen M., 2006. "Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 262-289.
    32. Fan, Joseph P. H. & Wong, T. J., 2002. "Corporate ownership structure and the informativeness of accounting earnings in East Asia," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 401-425, August.
    33. Ferdinand A. Gul, 2006. "Auditors' Response to Political Connections and Cronyism in Malaysia," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 931-963, December.
    34. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Kim, Jeong-Bon & Qiu, Annie A., 2010. "Ownership concentration, foreign shareholding, audit quality, and stock price synchronicity: Evidence from China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 425-442, March.
    35. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    36. Wan-Hussin, Wan Nordin, 2009. "The impact of family-firm structure and board composition on corporate transparency: Evidence based on segment disclosures in Malaysia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 313-333, December.
    37. Dechun Wang, 2006. "Founding Family Ownership and Earnings Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 619-656, June.
    38. R.M. Haniffa & T. E. Cooke, 2002. "Culture, Corporate Governance and Disclosure in Malaysian Corporations," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 38(3), pages 317-349, October.
    39. Larry H. P. Lang & Mara Faccio & Leslie Young, 2001. "Dividends and Expropriation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 54-78, March.
    40. Stergios Leventis & Pauline Weetman, 2004. "Timeliness of financial reporting: applicability of disclosure theories in an emerging capital market," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 43-56.
    41. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    42. Ali, Ashiq & Chen, Tai-Yuan & Radhakrishnan, Suresh, 2007. "Corporate disclosures by family firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1-2), pages 238-286, September.
    43. James Hawley & Andrew Williams, 1997. "The Emergence of Fiduciary Capitalism," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(4), pages 206-213, October.
    44. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    45. Hagelin, Niclas & Holmen, Martin & Pramborg, Bengt, 2006. "Family ownership, dual-class shares, and risk management," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 283-301, March.
    46. Philip Brown & Glen W. Dobbie & Andrew B. Jackson, 2011. "Measures of the Timeliness of Earnings," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 21(3), pages 222-234, September.
    47. Roszaini Haniffa & Mohammad Hudaib, 2006. "Corporate Governance Structure and Performance of Malaysian Listed Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7-8), pages 1034-1062.
    48. Wendy Beekes & Philip Brown, 2006. "Do Better‐Governed Australian Firms Make More Informative Disclosures?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3‐4), pages 422-450, April.
    49. Belén Villalonga & Raphael Amit, 2010. "Family Control of Firms and Industries," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 863-904, September.
    50. Koh, Ping-Sheng, 2003. "On the association between institutional ownership and aggressive corporate earnings management in Australia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 105-128.
    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. Alhababsah, Salem, 2019. "Ownership structure and audit quality: An empirical analysis considering ownership types in Jordan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 71-84.
    2. Oliver Lukason & María-del-Mar Camacho-Miñano, 2020. "Corporate Governance Characteristics of Private SMEs’ Annual Report Submission Violations," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Qu Deng & Hezun Li & Hong Yue, 2024. "Public–private partnership, cost of debt and accounting conservatism," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 432-482, March.
    4. Madah Marzuki, Marziana & Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi, 2016. "Institutional factors and conditional conservatism in Malaysia: Does international financial reporting standards convergence matter?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 191-209.
    5. Muhammad Shaique & Fei Guo & Ruqia Shaikh & Shahbaz Khan & Muhammad Usman, 2017. "Role of Social Relations of Outside Directors with CEO in Earnings Management," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Basu, Debarati & Sen, Kaustav, 2022. "Organizational form and access to capital: The role of regulatory interventions," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).
    7. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    8. How, Janice & Verhoeven, Peter & Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi, 2014. "Institutional investors, political connections and analyst following in Malaysia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 158-167.
    9. Maria Kontesa & Rayenda Brahmana & Ashley Hui Hui Tong, 2021. "Narcissistic CEOs and their earnings management," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 223-249, March.
    10. Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi & How, Janice & Park, Jason & Verhoeven, Peter, 2018. "Political patronage and analysts’ forecast precision," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 307-320.

    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. Wan-Hussin, Wan Nordin, 2009. "The impact of family-firm structure and board composition on corporate transparency: Evidence based on segment disclosures in Malaysia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 313-333, December.
    2. How, Janice & Verhoeven, Peter & Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi, 2014. "Institutional investors, political connections and analyst following in Malaysia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 158-167.
    3. Jesus Sáenz González & Emma García-Meca, 2014. "Does Corporate Governance Influence Earnings Management in Latin American Markets?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(3), pages 419-440, May.
    4. Khosa,Amrinder & Ahmed,Kamran & Henry,Darren, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Related Party Transactions, and Firm Valuation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108492195, September.
    5. Hsin-Yi Chi & Tzu-Ching Weng & Guang-Zheng Chen & Shu-Ping Chen, 2019. "Do Political Connections Affect the Conservative Financial Reporting of Family Firms?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi & How, Janice & Park, Jason & Verhoeven, Peter, 2018. "Political patronage and analysts’ forecast precision," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 307-320.
    7. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Andros Gregoriou, 2010. "‘Family’ Ownership, Tunnelling And Earnings Management: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 705-730, September.
    8. Abdul Wahab, Effiezal Aswadi & Gist, Willie E. & Nik Abdul Majid, Wan Zurina, 2014. "Characteristics of non-audit services and financial restatements in Malaysia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 225-247.
    9. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Abdalla Shwairef & Azlan Amran & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Noor Hazlina Ahmad, 2021. "The mediating effect of strategic posture on corporate governance and environmental reporting," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 349-378, February.
    11. Bernard Yeung & Randall Morck & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2004. "Corporate Governance, Economic Entrenchment and Growth," Working Papers 04-21, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    12. Eman F. Attia & Wafa Khémiri & Messaoud Mehafdi, 2023. "Does ownership structure reduce earnings manipulation practice of Egyptian listed firms? Evidence from a dynamic panel threshold model," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Kamran & Attaullah Shah, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure on Earnings Management Practices: Evidence from Listed Companies in Pakistan," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 27-70, July-Dec.
    14. Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Taylor, Grantley & Al-Yahyaee, Khamis Hamed, 2016. "Ruling Family Political Connections and Risk Reporting: Evidence from the GCC," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 504-524.
    15. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    16. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political connections, related party transactions, and auditor choice: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19.
    17. Zhang, Yuyang & Uchida, Konari & Bu, Hua, 2013. "How do accounting standards and insiders' incentives affect earnings management? Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 78-99.
    18. Ayman Haddad & Wasim AlShattarat & Naser AbuGhazaleh & Haitham Nobanee, 2015. "The impact of ownership structure and family board domination on voluntary disclosure for Jordanian listed companies," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 203-234, December.
    19. Irfah Najihah Basir Malan & Norhana Salamudin & Noryati Ahmad, 2013. "Ownership and Control Divergence on Firm Value," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 4(1), pages 78-85, January.
    20. Roshayani Arshad & Rohaya Md Nor & Nur Adura Ahmad Noruddin, 2011. "Ownership Structure And Interaction Effects Of Firm Performance On Management Commentary Disclosures," Journal of Global Management, Global Research Agency, vol. 2(2), pages 124-145, July.

    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:jocaae:v:10:y:2014:i:1:p:32-45. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-contemporary-accounting-and-economics .

    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.