Date: October 8th, Thurs. 17:15-
Speaker: Mr Masanori Orihara
Affiliation: University of Tsukuba
Title: Outside Directors and the Great Uncertainties due to COVID-19
(Abstract)
We find that outside directors mitigated a loss of firm value resulting from the COVID-19 shock in Japan. Firms with more outside directors than the minimum of two required by the Japanese corporate governance code suffered less damage. Those with just two outside directors suffered the most. Cash accumulated before the shock was value enhancing among the former and value-diminishing among the latter. The former firms with high pre-shock cash holdings established and drew on credit lines. They also reduced short-term borrowing and the use of commercial paper. These findings suggest that only outside directors who are appointed above the regulated requirement contribute to firm value in uncertain times through liquidity management.
