Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / This mini-dissertation discusses the application of the principles of corporate governance in the Musina Local Municipality. It further discusses the legislative framework and the institutions of government which are responsible for the effective implementation of corporate governance in the local government sphere. It further discusses the challenges faced by Musina Local Municipality which are ranging from fraud and corruption and poor financial management and this result in poor service delivery.

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Thesis (LLM (Mercantile Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The collapse of Enron, WorldCom and other companies and the worldwide adoption of codes of good corporate governance have highlighted the poor standard of corporate governance systems and brought about big changes in this field. Corporate scandals in Britain and South Africa have contributed to greater local awareness of the failings of traditional company governance. In the Anglo-Saxon system non-executive directors are important watchdogs over powerful executive directors and other managers who are in a position to abuse their powers to the disadvantage of the shareholders. As independent supervisors non-executive directors are in a position to protect the interests of shareholders and prevent the manipulation of power relationships by executive managers. Independent supervision is of the outmost importance to ensure effective corporate governance. It contributes to the objectivity of the decision-making process and also to the appointment of other efficient non-executive directors. Independence of non-executive directors is influenced by the limited candidates in the pool from which they are appointed. This leads to a limited number of non-executive directors serving on multiple boards of directors, which in turn compromises their independent supervision function. The promotion of diversity on company boards, can expand the “limited gene pool” of non-executive directors. The question arises whether black economic empowerment, as a mechanism to promote greater diversity, has in South Africa contributed to a wider gene pool from which non-executive directors are appointed? In this study it is concluded that, instead of widening the gene pool of non-executive directors, black economic empowerment is creating a second “gene pool” of black directors who serve on multiple boards and with potential implications for their independence.

LL.M. (Commercial Law) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act made audit committees directly responsible for the appointment, compensation, and supervision of companies' auditors. Limited research in the auditor selection process and PCAOB inspections suggest that managers, not audit committees, may still be selecting the auditors, and that inspection reports are not useful. This study addresses both of these areas. This paper considers two theories of governance, Agency Theory and Institution Theory, to analyze the audit committee members' auditor selection process. The study examines whether Audit Committee Members use two specific types of audit quality indicators, other than managers' recommendation, in evaluating auditors. In a setting where the manager recommends the auditor, the auditors' inspection results (favorable/unfavorable) and a prior manager/auditor affiliation (absent/present) are manipulated in a between-subject research design, using financially literate professionals as a proxy for audit committee members. The study finds that audit quality perception and auditor selection are jointly determined. Inspection results are positively associated with audit quality perception and auditor selection. The nature of a manager-auditor affiliation is directly associated with audit quality perception and inversely related to auditor selection. Further, controlling for perception, audit committee members are more likely to recommend auditors with unfavorable inspection results, if a prior affiliation with management is present than if an affiliation is absent. Overall, the results indicate that audit committee members are diligent in evaluating auditors, and PCAOB inspection results are useful. The results of this study contribute to the audit committee effectiveness and PCAOB literature. / by Veena Looknanan-Brown. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of U.S. firms’ geographic location, whether urban or rural, on their corporate disclosure and governance practices. An “urban” firm is one that is headquartered in a large metropolitan area; whereas, a “rural” firm is one that is headquartered some distance from any metropolitan area. Specifically, the study examines whether there are different stock market reactions to urban and rural firms around key event dates relative to the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on July 30, 2002. Also, the readability and linguistic style in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of public company’s annual reports (Form 10-K) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are investigated to determine whether urban and rural firms communicate information differently to investors.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

The degree to which a country’s public entities observe basic principles of good corporate governance is an increasingly important factor for attracting investment capital, maintaining economic stability and encouraging growth. Zimbabwe is faced with the challenge of restructuring for greater efficiency and creating an investment-friendly environment, therefore practicing good corporate governance in public entities is crucial for success and economic growth. As business entities, public entities need to be managed effectively by a competent board, which is able to construct and implement strategies that are in the best interests of the entity and all stakeholders. This study focuses on the corporate governance initiatives, laws and regulations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of boards of public entities in Zimbabwe. The key question addressed is whether or not the corporate governance initiatives and legal and regulatory reforms in Zimbabwe are sufficient to enable boards of public entities to effectively discharge their duties and meet internationally accepted corporate governance standards. A comparative analysis of Zimbabwe’s public entities corporate governance framework to that of South Africa (a developing country like Zimbabwe) and Australia (a developed country with similar common law heritage) is also conducted. Recommendations are made on how best to enhance the effectiveness of boards of public entities in order to promote good corporate governance practices in Zimbabwean public entities. The research established that the existing corporate governance framework has not been effective in improving the effectiveness of Zimbabwe public entity boards due to lack of commitment and consistency, political interference, weak enforcement mechanisms, corruption and general disregard for the rule of law. The research found that South Africa and Australia have performed better than Zimbabwe in terms of creating conducive environments for boards of public entities to effectively discharge their duties. To improve the effectiveness of public entity boards, it was found that boards should be properly empowered, government intervention should be minimised, board appointment processes should be transparent and merit-based, boards should be properly composed, board remuneration should be fair and performance related, the performance of the board should be regularly evaluated and effective enforcement mechanisms should be put in place. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.

This dissertation is composed of three essays related to Financial Architecture. <p><p>The first essay, analysed in the first chapter of the thesis, contributes to the literature on Efficient Market Hypothesis and in particular in understanding several issues associated with how prices are determined for individual stocks. The chapter, in particular, provides further evidence of price and volume effects associated with index compositional changes by analysing the inclusions (exclusions) from the French CAC40 and SBF120 indices, as well as the FTSE100. I find evidence supporting the price pressure hypothesis associated with index fund rebalancing, but weak or no evidence for the imperfect substitution, liquidity and information hypotheses. The results improve on recent evidence from the S&P500 index. The evidence for the FTSE100 additions shows, in particular, that markets learn about an imminent inclusion and incorporate this information into prices, even before the announcement date.<p><p>The other two essays of this thesis relate to Corporate Governance issues. Chapters 2 and 3, in particular, analyze some aspects of two corporate governance mechanisms: ownership concentration and managerial labour market. <p>Chapter 2 provides an overview of the evolution of control in listed Slovenian corporations and evaluates the impact of the current changes in ownership on firm performance. Ownership and control has been concentrating in most transition countries. This consolidation of control introduces changes in the power distribution within privatised firms and, most importantly, redirects the corporate governance problem to a conflict between large and small shareholders. The chapter evaluate the ownership changes in Slovenian privatised firms through an analysis of stock price reactions to the entrance of a new blockholder (the shared benefits of control) and through an estimation of the premiums paid for large blocks (the private benefits of control). It provides evidence and discuss the reasons for the failures of the privatization investment funds in implementing control over firm managers and in promoting the restructuring of firms in the first post-privatization years.<p><p>Chapter 3 concentrates on one specific aspect of the managerial labour market: monetary remuneration schemes. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the interconnection between pay and corporate governance approaches with respect to the different rules found across European legal systems. The research data on reported pay practices for 2001 among FTSE Eurotop300 companies reveal a reliance on performance-based pay generally and a somewhat variable adoption of share options programs and other equity-based incentive contracts, which generate difficulties in dispersed ownership systems. Furthermore, on the basis of the regulation on executive remuneration disclosure discussed in this chapter and on the basis of the disclosure practices resulting from the data collected for the FTSE Eurotop300 constituents, I construct some disclosure indicators and analyse empirically how country and firm characteristics affect remuneration disclosure.<p> / Doctorat en sciences économiques, Orientation économie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished