Ownership concentration (OC) can affect a wide range of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms. Jordan is characterized by high OC such as family ownership and managerial ownership. The effectiveness of the audit committee (AC) as one of the major CG mechanisms is affected by OC, which in turn, affects accounting and market-based performance among Jordanian listed companies. Based on this fact, it is believed that OC can moderate the relationship between AC on accounting and market based performance in Jordan. The main purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of OC between audit committee effectiveness (ACE) and accounting and market based performance in Jordan. This study used data obtained from 828 firm-year observations of companies listed in Amman stock exchange (ASE) in industrial and service sectors from 2009 to 2017. The findings display that OC has a direct positive effect on ROE and ROA and a negative direct effect on TQ. The results revealed that OC positively moderated the relationship between ACE and ROE as well as ROA. However, OC did not moderate the effect of ACE on Tobin’s Q (TQ). Overall, the hypotheses are accepted in terms of ROA and ROE while it is rejected in terms of Tobin’s Q. OC only moderated the effect of ACE on ROA and ROE but not on TQ.

Corporate Governance (CG) has drawn significant attention in the last two decades due to the critical role it plays in stabilizing global economies. As a result of several financial scandals and collapses of giant international companies, especially in IFIs and Takaful operators, many studies have examined CG, but the findings remain inconclusive. Moreover, previous studies recommended the researchers must examine other intervening variables, which may have an effect on the behaviours of directors and influence the relationship between board effectiveness and performance This study examined the effect of the Board of Directors (BOD) effectiveness and Audit Committee (AC) effectiveness on the performance of 11 Malaysian Takaful companies licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia over the period from 2010 to 2017. In addition, the moderating effect of Shariah Committee Quality (SCQ) was investigated. The study uses a panel data approach, and multiple regression was used to test various hypotheses. This study employed relevant governance theories to investigate the relationship between CG and a Takaful company’s performance. The board effectiveness considered in this study were board size, board independence, executive membership, Muslim directors, meeting frequency, and gender diversity. AC effectiveness included AC Chairman Specialization, AC size, AC independence, and meeting frequency. Firm performance was assessed by the return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS), and an SCQ score was used to determine the quality of Shariah Committee (SC). The empirical investigation revealed mixed results. The findings showed the relationships between BODE and corporate performance ROA and ROE were significant for board independence, Muslim directors on the board, gender diversity, and board effectiveness as an aggregate. Executive membership had an insignificant effect on ROA, Board meetings frequency had an insignificant effect on ROA, ROE and EPS. AC chairman Specialization, AC size, AC independence, and AC effectiveness as composite score had a significant and positive relationship with ROE. AC size, AC independence and AC effectiveness had a significant positive effect on ROA. Meeting frequency had a negative and insignificant relationship with ROA, ROE, and EPS. In addition, AC chairman specialization had an insignificant relationship with ROA. Concerning the relationship with EPS, the findings revealed that board size, board independence, executive membership, Muslim directors in the board, gender diversity, and board director’s effectiveness as an aggregate score had a significant relationship with EPS. Moreover, the findings showed that the AC size and AC effectiveness had a significant and positive relationship with EPS. However, AC chairman specialization, AC independence had insignificant relationship with EPS. The findings indicate that SCQ positively moderated the relationship between BODE on ROA, ROE, and EPS. The results also showed ACE had a negative direct effect on EPS. The findings of this study contribute to the literature on CG and firm performance in the context of developing countries. The findings also have useful implications for policymakers, academics, and users of Malaysia's financial statements.

The Audit Committee (AC) is one of the most indispensable mechanisms of CG that impacts corporate performance. In Jordan, there exists a limited separation between the company owners and AC members, where executive managers from family owners make direct decisions and taking risks, consequently limiting the effectiveness of AC. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of ACE on financial performance (FP) of companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). It also aims to examine the moderating effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) between ACE and FP in Jordan. This study uses data from 2009 to 2017 with 92 selected firms cover a period of 9 years of companies listed in ASE in industrial and service sectors. Data was analyzed using STATA. The findings demonstrated that ACE has a significant relationship with ROA, ROE, and Tobin’s Q. Similarly, firm size has a positive relationship with ROA, ROE, and Tobin’s Q, while leverage and firm age have negative relationships with ROA, ROE, and Tobin’s Q. The tested model is statistically significant and can predict 46.7% of the variation in all performance variables. In terms of moderating effect, the findings showed that ERM positively moderated the effect of ACE on ROA and ROE in Jordan. However, it did not support the moderating role between ACE and Tobin’s Q. Decision makers have to enforce the implementation of ERM in Jordanian companies to improve the FP.

The moderating effect of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) on the relationship between Audit Committee (AC) characteristics and corporate performance under Jordanian context remains a challenge that is yet to be resolved. Jordan plays a significant role on Middle East economy, and recently attracted the attention of the investors. Audit committee characteristics have a significant effect on corporate financial and risk decision-making practices in Jordan. The fundamental AC role is to supervise the corporate’s financial reporting practice, review of financial reports, auditing practice, internal accounting controls, and risk management practices. Hence, the risk management committee (RMC) and AC can potentially moderate the relationship between risk management disclosure and firm performance. Several results of the previous literature were found fraternized, unclear, and inconsistent regarding the ERM effect on firm performance or its effect on AC characteristics in general context, while the literature on Jordan context remain very scarce inaccessible. Therefore, this paper, with regards to existing literature, conceptualized that ‘ERM’ moderates the relationship between AC size, number of AC meeting, AC independence, accounting expertise in the AC, Muslim directors in the AC, and corporate performance. Keywords: Audit Committee Characteristic, ERM, Corporate Performance, Jordan, Moderating

This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the performance of firms in Jordan. Giving particular attention to diversity in the board of directors and audit committee, this study looks into the impact of Muslim directors on the board of directors (BoD) and audit committee (AC) on performance. Overall, 76-panel data were used, which were obtained from published annual reports of industrial and service sectors from the Amman Stock Exchange from 2012 to 2018. A fixed-effect model was used to test various hypotheses of the study. Both accounting-based (ROA and ROE) and market-based (Tobin's Q) performance measures were tested. which, as yet, only a handful of studies have been conducted. The findings showed that the relationships between Muslim directors on the board have an insignificant effect on ROA and ROE. Conversely, Muslim director in AC has a positive but insignificant relationship with ROA and ROE. Concerning the relationship with Tobin’s Q, the findings showed that Muslim directors on the board have an insignificant relationship with Tobin’s Q. Moreover, the findings showed that Muslim directors in AC have an insignificant positive relationship with Tobin’s Q. This study provides useful information that is of great value to policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders. This study fills the gap and contributes significantly to the literature by proving extensive findings with regards to the impact of corporate governance on firms ’performance especially the presence of Muslim directors in BoD and AC in Jordan.