The Effect of External Corporate Governance Mechanism on the Stock Price Crash Risk with Emphasis on Financial Reporting Quality and Auditor Expertise in the Industry

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of external corporate governance mechanism on stock price crash risk in firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, with emphasis on financial reporting quality and auditor industry expertise.

Data in the research was collected from financial reports disclosed by 110 firms in the time period of 2008 to 2017. Multivariate regression with panel data was used to test the hypotheses. For the purpose of the research, the measures of the period of stock price crash, negative skewness in stock returns, down-to-up volatility, and maximum sigma were used for stock price crash risk.

The findings obtained from the research indicate that the effect of institutional ownership on stock price crash risk (the measures of negative skewness in stock returns, down-to-up volatility and maximum sigma) is inverse and significant. Also, the moderating role of financial reporting quality in the inverse effect of institutional ownership on stock price crash risk is direct.

In recent years, the presence of institutional investors among board members has become increasingly important as one of external mechanisms affecting the corporate governance system. These stakeholders have motivation needed to control and change managers’ performance, and their active oversight can limit managers’ behavior.