The moderating effect of board diversity on the relationship between the attributes of woman CEOs and CFOs and financial reporting quality

The studies of women in accounting literature have gained momentum in Malaysia, with numerous papers examining the determinants and economic consequences of women directors. Therefore, this study extends the literature by factoring in the role
of women CEOs/CFOs and their attributes in influencing financial reporting quality. The rationale to examine women is because their risk aversion behaviour is a key to high-quality financial reporting since financial reporting quality is related to the judgement of preparers that reflected their preferences in risk. Drawing upon publiclisted firms in Malaysia from 2016 to 2018, this study finds that firms with women CEOs/CFOs produce higher financial reporting quality. For women CEOs/CFOs attributes, this study finds that although age, education level, tenure, and ethnicity of women CEOs/CFOs are associated with financial reporting quality, they are sensitive to the measurement of financial reporting quality. This study further expected that board diversity moderates the relationship between women CEOs/CFOs, their attributes, and financial reporting quality. Nevertheless, the evidence shows that
board diversity does not interact with women CEOs/CFOs in influencing financial reporting quality. Interestingly, board diversity interacts with the age, education level, financial expertise, tenure, and ethnicity of women CEOs/CFOs to influence financial reporting quality but is sensitive to the measurement. The results support
the Malaysian government policy on women's representation in senior management. The results also recommend practitioners appoint more women to be a CEO/CFO. Considerations of their appointment can also be based on their demographic attributes s ince the study re vealed that women CEOs’/CFOs’ attributes als o affect financial reporting quality.