The Effect of Gender Diversity of Board Directors and Accounting Conservatism on Firm Value

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the relationship between the gender diversity of board director, the accounting conservatism and firm value in Iraqi firms. The sample was represented by 30 Iraqi firms listed on the Iraqi market over the period 2017. The research was based on the main hypothesis that gender diversity has a positive relationship with conservatism and firm value, that conservatism as an intermediate variable will enhance the positive relationship between gender diversity and firm value. The study reached results that support the research hypotheses. The appointment of females to the board helps improve the provision of conservative accounting information and avoids overstate when reporting earnings. Based on these results, Therefore, we recommend the Iraqi companies appoint between 15 to 30% of females on the board.