Board structure and financial performance: a study of Russian companies with state ownership

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the relation between board of directors’ structure and financial performance of the companies with state ownership in Russia. The results show that board size has a negative impact on such financial measures as ROA, ROE and ROS, while share of external directors and government officials in the board influence them positively. Moreover, positive relation between share of professional attorneys and ROA was found out. This study does not prove the statistically significant importance of independent directors for financial performance of the companies with state ownership in Russia.