GOVERNANCE CODES: FACTS OR FICTIONS? A STUDY OF GOVERNANCE CODES IN COLOMBIA

Authors

  • Julián Benavides Franco Ph. D. in Business, Tulane University, United States. Chief Departamento de Contabilidad y Finanzas, Universidad Icesi, Colombia. Research Group “Inversión, Financiación y Control”, affiliated to Universidad Icesi, Colciencias B classification.
  • Samuel Mongrut Montalvan Empresariales, Universidad de Barcelona, España. Professor, Escuela de Graduados en Administración, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro, Mexico. Centro de Investigación de la Universidad del Pacifico (CIUP), Peru.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0123-5923(10)70135-2

Keywords:

Corporate governance, governance codes, agency theory, accounting performance, leverage

Abstract

This article studies the effects on accounting performance and financing decisions of Colombian firms after issuing a corporate governance code. We assemble a database of Colombian issuers and test the hypotheses of improved performance and higher leverage after issuing a code. The results show that the firms’ return on assets after the code introduction improves in excess of one percent; the effect is amplified by the code quality. Additionally, the firms’ leverage increased, in excess of five percent, when the code quality was factored into the analysis. These results suggest that controlling parties commitment to self restrain, by reducing their private benefits and/or the expropriation of non controlling parties, through the code introduction, is indeed an effective measure and that the financial markets agree, increasing the supply of funds to the firms.

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References

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Published

2010-12-31

Issue

Section

Research articles

How to Cite

GOVERNANCE CODES: FACTS OR FICTIONS? A STUDY OF GOVERNANCE CODES IN COLOMBIA. (2010). Estudios Gerenciales, 26(117), 85-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0123-5923(10)70135-2