Abstract:
This article examines the various factors that influence the level of conformance with
corporate governance recommendations for companies listed on the Alternative Exchange
(AltX) in South Africa. To achieve this objective, a corporate governance disclosure index
was developed by examining the extent to which AltX companies apply the corporate
governance recommendations as set out in King II and King III. The corporate governance
disclosure index was then regressed on a number of corporate governance and firm
characteristics to determine the influence of various factors on the level of conformance with
corporate governance recommendations. It was found that larger companies, where the CEO
and chairman of the board are separate, companies with an independent audit committee and
companies with higher debt levels are more likely to conform to corporate governance
recommendations. There is no evidence that levels of corporate governance conformance are
influenced by the growth and profitability of companies, or by corporate governance
characteristics, such as the independence of the board.
