Bader Al-Shammari

Bio: Bader Al-Shammari is an academic researcher from The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. The author has contributed to research in topics: Corporate governance & Oil field. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 20 publications receiving 843 citations. Previous affiliations of Bader Al-Shammari include Kuwait Oil Company.

An Investigation of Compliance with International Accounting Standards by Listed Companies in the Gulf Co-Operation Council Member States

Abstract: This study investigates the extent of compliance with international accounting standards (IASs) by companies in the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) member states (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). Based on a sample of 137 companies (436 company-years) we find that compliance increased over time, from 68% in 1996 to 82% in 2002. Despite strong economic and cultural ties between the GCC states, there was significant between-country variation in compliance and among companies based on size, leverage, internationality, and industry. The study provides evidence of de jure but not de facto harmonization in the region. Noncompliance reflected some ineffectiveness in the functions of external auditors and enforcement bodies, which may be of interest to countries that have adopted IASs recently.

Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure in Kuwait

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and voluntary disclosure in the annual reports of 170 Kuwaiti companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2007. We first identified four major corporate governance characteristics: proportion of non-executive directors to total number of directors on the board; proportion of family members to total number of directors on the board; role duality; and a voluntary audit committee. We then used univariate and multivariate regression analyses to examine the relationship between these characteristics and voluntary disclosure in annual reports. Using a self-disclosure index to measure voluntary disclosure, the average level of voluntary disclosure by sample companies is 19 per cent, indicating some improvement over the sample companies in an earlier study by Al-Shammari (2008), who found 15 per cent voluntary disclosure. This result suggests a trend toward more transparency by Kuwaiti companies. The results indicate that only the existence of a voluntary audit committee is significantly and positively related to the extent of voluntary disclosure. The result is robust with respect to controls for company size, leverage, auditor type and industry memberships. These results indicate the need to improve Kuwaiti market transparency through additional constraints on corporate governance characteristics. It is believed that this result will prove useful to regulators, preparers of financial statements and investors. Specifically, users of accounting information like investors may consult the findings to understand Kuwaiti companies better when diversifying their investment portfolios.

Board composition and bank performance in Kuwait: an empirical study

Abstract: Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationship between board composition (i.e. non‐executive directors, family directors, role duality and board size) and bank performance, using a sample of nine listed Kuwait banks over the 2006 to 2010 period.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) and two‐stage‐least squares (2SLS) to test such a relationship and to address endogeneity in explanatory variables.Findings – The results provide some evidence that board composition of banks relates to their performance. According to the OLS regression results, only board size and proportion of non‐executive directors negatively affect bank performance. Meanwhile, the 2SLS results indicate that role duality positively affects a bank's performance while board size affects a bank's performance negatively.Research limitations/implications – Although the model has explained a significant part of the variation in performance, still unexplained is a material part that represents the “noise”...

An Investigation of Compliance With International Accounting Standards by Listed Companies in the Gulf Co-Operation Council Member States

Abstract: This study investigates the extent of compliance with international accounting standards (IASs) by companies in the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) member states (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). Based on a sample of 137 companies (436 company-years) we found that compliance increased over time, from 68% in 1996 to 82% in 2002. There was significant variation in compliance among the six countries and between companies based on size, leverage, internationality and industry. Non-compliance was greater than that observed in developed countries and reflected limited monitoring and enforcement by the bodies responsible for overseeing financial reporting and limited comprehensiveness of audits by external auditors.

Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance

Abstract: The study empirically investigates the relationship between corporate governance and the triple bottom line sustainability performance through the lens of agency theory and stakeholder theory. We claim, in fact, that no single theory fully accounts for all the hypothesised relationships. We measure sustainability performance through manual content analysis on sustainability reports of the US-based companies. The study extends the existing literature by investigating the impact of selected corporate governance mechanisms on each dimension of sustainability performance, as defined by the GRI framework. Our approach allows to identify which governance mechanisms foster triple bottom line performance, also revealing that some mechanisms fit only specific dimension(s) of sustainability. The fact-based findings provide support for a new beginning in the theorising process in which the theories must try not only to provide rationale for the impact of corporate governance on sustainability, but also to explain which dimension of sustainability might be more affected. The most important implication for practitioners is the support for sustainability practices, which may be gained through implementation of particular corporate governance mechanisms. The findings contribute also to the improvement of the ongoing standard setting process, in particular as it concerns the in-depth revision of the economic dimension of sustainability carried out under the new GRI framework.

Disclosure Practices, Enforcement of Accounting Standards, and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy: An International Study

Abstract: Using a sample from 22 countries, I investigate the relations between the accuracy of analysts’ earnings forecasts and the level of annual report disclosure, and between forecast accuracy and the degree of enforcement of accounting standards. I document that firm-level disclosures are positively related to forecast accuracy, suggesting that such disclosures provide useful information to analysts. I construct a comprehensive measure of enforcement and find that strong enforcement is associated with higher forecast accuracy. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that enforcement encourages managers to follow prescribed accounting rules, which, in turn, reduces analysts’ uncertainty about future earnings. I also find evidence consistent with disclosures being more important when analyst following is low and with enforcement being more important when more choice among accounting methods is allowed. ∗University of Toronto. I appreciate the helpful comments on various versions of this paper by Joel Amernic, Hollis Ashbaugh, Ray Ball (editor), Sudipta Basu, Jeff Callen, Bjørn Jørgensen, Peter Pope (referee), Beverly Walther, and participants at the 2001 EIASM Workshop on Accounting and Regulation, 2002 European Accounting Association Meeting, 2002 Journal of Accounting Research conference, 2002 Canadian Academic Accounting Association meeting, and 2002 American Accounting Association annual meeting. All errors are my own. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. I thank IBES International Inc. for providing earnings forecast data.