Aboge, J: Corporate Governance and Performance

The Kenyan government like many others in the world, started corporate governance reform initiatives that led to the formation of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA.) CMA has since issued extensive regulations and guidelines for publicly listed companies targeting corporate boards largely. Whether such guidelines benefit shareholders has never been tested. This study investigates the relationship between board characteristics and financial performance for the companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Financial performance was measured by Tobin‘s Q, ROE, EPS, and DPS while the Board Characteristics considered were board independence (outside dominated boards), board quality (board expertise and educational background) and the board diversity (the ethnic/racial, gender and age balance.) The study finds very interesting relationships between Board independence, Gender diversity and firms financial performance but amazingly discovers that Board quality has no significant impact on performance unless in very specific circumstances. The book offers very interesting insights on corporate governance theories and practices and is very useful for corporate leaders and regulators.