1.In this paper, we analyze the factors that contributed to such derivatives mismanagement and investigate which corporate
governance mechanisms failed in providing sufficient protection and monitoring to shareholders. We identify characteristics
that distinguish mismanaged companies from a matched control group.
First, we show that the disclosure of losses from derivatives contracts by 49 non-financial companies results in negative
abnormal results, for most companies. While this itself is not sufficient evidence of hedging failure, it is evidence of a sustained
destruction of shareholder value. Then, we use a probit cross-sectional model to compare the corporate governance structure
of companies with derivatives losses (treatment group) to matched companies. We establish a binary dependent variable
which assumes the value 1 for the companies in our sample that reported losses and 0 for the control group without losses.
Since we have a clearly defined event – the losses – the probit model is suitable to analyze which corporate governance
mechanisms and characteristics fail in preventing executives from engaging in value-destroying hedging strategies. It is
important to note that there are limits to the generalizability of our results due to possible sample selection. However, case
control methodology is the only possible approximation of a randomized experiment in this particular empirical setting.
Our results indicate that 10 out of 14 companies experience negative absolute returns one year after the incident, confirming
the long-term ramifications of financial mismanagement. We hand-collect data on qualitative indicators of corporate
governance, proxies for top management hubris, and other management characteristics such as the remuneration scheme
and the ownership stake of the management in the companies. We cannot disentangle the roles and dynamics between
different positions within the top management team (i.e. CEO, CFO) which is why the interpretation of our measures and
results is limited at the top management team level. Results of two econometric models based on probit panel data show
that skewed incentives for managers coupled with lax governance structure (especially a formal hedging policy and no
monitoring) contribute to companies’ mismanagement of hedging policies.
The present paper contributes to the current literature in two ways. First, it presents hard evidence on sustained value
destruction for speculating non-financial companies during the financial crisis through an event study. Second, it relates
these losses to corporate governance mechanisms and to contextual developments within affected companies. Several
authors have theorized about the relationship between agency theory and risk management (Sheedy, 1999; Wiseman and
Gomez-Mejia, 1998) but no research, to our knowledge, has attempted to empirically model agency predictors of corporate
hedging losses.