A Study of Association between Taiwan’s Corporate Governance Appraisal and Financial Performance: Evidence from Taiwan Listed Companies

Abstract

To enable all listed companies to gradually upgrade and implement corporate governance, the appraisals are promoted to assist investors through the comparison of corporate governance appraisal (CGA) in Taiwan’s market. Using a panel data is based on the companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange during the period 2014-2016; this paper provides evidence that earnings management is affected negatively by corporate governance quality. This is expected to guide healthy competition between enterprises and strengthen corporate governance. Recent studies have pointed out that managers are more favorable to their actions due to weak corporate governance. While most studies explored the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance, few studies have included in corporate governance appraisal (CGA). This study examines how CGA in Taiwan listed companies will affect their earnings quality and this study uses earnings management (EM) as measure of financial performance. In addition, reference is made to the Big 4 accounting firms to explain the consequences of CGA and, specifically, its effect on the quality of financial statements. The empirical results show that CGA and earnings management have a significantly negative correlation. In addition, the CGA of companies audited by the Big 4 indicate that those with better earnings quality also conduct less earnings management.