CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STRENGTH OF AUDITING AND REPORTING STANDARDS: A CROSS-COUNTRY SURVEY

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-country empirical survey is to investigate the relationship between the strength of auditing and reporting standards and some corporate governance characteristics such as efficacy of corporate boards and ethical behaviour of firms. All three variables were captured through the indicators included in the report of World Economic Forum entitled “The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013” selected for 144 countries from all over the world. The findings validate the research hypothesis concerning the significant influence of some of the corporate governance dimensions on the strength of auditing and reporting standards, from a cross-country perspective.

Keywords

• Auditing standards, reporting standards, corporate governance, efficacy of the corporate boards, ethical behaviour of companies.