Resumen

BENAVIDES FRANCO, JULIÁN  y  MONGRUT MONTALVAN, SAMUEL. GOVERNANCE CODES: FACTS OR FICTIONS? A STUDY OF GOVERNANCE CODES IN COLOMBIA. estud.gerenc. [online]. 2010, vol.26, n.117, pp.85-102. ISSN 0123-5923.

This article studies the effects on accounting performance and financing decisions of Colombian firms after issuing a corporate governance code. We assemble a database of Colombian issuers and test the hypotheses of improved performance and higher leverage after issuing a code. The results show that the firms’ return on assets after the code introduction improves in excess of 1%; the effect is amplified by the code quality. Additionally, the firms leverage increased, in excess of 5%, when the code quality was factored into the analysis. These results suggest that controlling parties commitment to self restrain, by reducing their private benefits and/or the expropriation of non controlling parties, through the code introduction, is indeed an effective measure and that the financial markets agree, increasing the supply of funds to the firms.

Palabras clave : Corporate governance; governance codes; agency theory; accounting performance; leverage.

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