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Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa

The research examines the effect between corporate governance and company-specific variables to financial performance among a sample of long-term insurance companies in South Africa from 2011 to 2016. The study employed a panel regression technique using board size, board independence, audit committ...

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Main Author: Zyambo, Kalwani
Other Authors: Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Graduate School of Business (GSB) 2019
Subjects:
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access_status_str Open Access
author Zyambo, Kalwani
author2 Alhassan, Abdul Latif
author_browse Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Zyambo, Kalwani
author_facet Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Zyambo, Kalwani
author_sort Zyambo, Kalwani
collection Thesis
description The research examines the effect between corporate governance and company-specific variables to financial performance among a sample of long-term insurance companies in South Africa from 2011 to 2016. The study employed a panel regression technique using board size, board independence, audit committee size and CEO tenure as proxies for corporate governance while controlling for firm size, reinsurance usage and leverage. The proxies used for financial performance were underwriting profits, return on assets (ROA) and returns on equity (ROE). The findings show that board size is the only corporate governance variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample of South African longterm insurance providers. The remaining corporate governance variables did not have a statistically significant relationship with financial performance because each company in the sample set them in line with the recommendations outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance. The implication of the adherence to the recommendations in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance reduced the variation in corporate governance structures between the companies in the sample. The findings also show leverage as the only control variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample. The dissertation recommends that the corporate governance guidelines outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance be made statutory in the South African longterm insurance sector, because these guidelines do not adversely affect the financial performance in a statistically significant way. Further, the dissertation recommends a board size ceiling be set in the sector to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between board size and financial performance. Finally, the dissertation recommends the use of regulation to limit the amount of leverage that companies in the sector can take on to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between leverage and financial performance.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:19.547Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher Graduate School of Business (GSB)
publisherStr Graduate School of Business (GSB)
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/30476 Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa Zyambo, Kalwani Alhassan, Abdul Latif Corporate Governance Financial Performance Panel-regression Insurance South Africa The research examines the effect between corporate governance and company-specific variables to financial performance among a sample of long-term insurance companies in South Africa from 2011 to 2016. The study employed a panel regression technique using board size, board independence, audit committee size and CEO tenure as proxies for corporate governance while controlling for firm size, reinsurance usage and leverage. The proxies used for financial performance were underwriting profits, return on assets (ROA) and returns on equity (ROE). The findings show that board size is the only corporate governance variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample of South African longterm insurance providers. The remaining corporate governance variables did not have a statistically significant relationship with financial performance because each company in the sample set them in line with the recommendations outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance. The implication of the adherence to the recommendations in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance reduced the variation in corporate governance structures between the companies in the sample. The findings also show leverage as the only control variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample. The dissertation recommends that the corporate governance guidelines outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance be made statutory in the South African longterm insurance sector, because these guidelines do not adversely affect the financial performance in a statistically significant way. Further, the dissertation recommends a board size ceiling be set in the sector to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between board size and financial performance. Finally, the dissertation recommends the use of regulation to limit the amount of leverage that companies in the sector can take on to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between leverage and financial performance. 2019-08-16T09:44:44Z 2019-08-16T09:44:44Z 2019 2019-08-16T09:34:59Z Master Thesis Masters MCom (Development Finance) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30476 eng application/pdf Graduate School of Business (GSB) Faculty of Commerce
spellingShingle Corporate Governance
Financial Performance
Panel-regression
Insurance
South Africa
Zyambo, Kalwani
Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
title_full Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
title_fullStr Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
title_short Corporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa
title_sort corporate governance and financial performance of long term insurance companies in south africa
topic Corporate Governance
Financial Performance
Panel-regression
Insurance
South Africa
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30476
work_keys_str_mv AT zyambokalwani corporategovernanceandfinancialperformanceoflongterminsurancecompaniesinsouthafrica