Board Characteristics and Firm Performance: Evidence from Malaysian Public Listed Firms

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of board characteristics and firm performance. Specifically we test the effects of board meeting, board independence, board size and directors accounting expertise on firm accounting performance. The paper uses both financial and non-financial data from annual reports of the 700 public listed firms in Malaysia for the year 2009. The result shows that board independence does not affect firm performance, whilst board size and board accounting/financial expertise are positively associated with firm performance. Board diligence in terms of board meetings is found to have an adverse effect on firm performance. These findings provide some implication for future research on the effectiveness of board directors on firm performance.