Doan Thi Thuy Anh

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Global financial crises over the past two decades have significantly increased academic attention to board diversity as an important aspect of corporate governance. This study examines the relationship between board diversity and financial reporting quality (FRQ) in listed Vietnamese commercial banks. The sample includes 27 Vietnamese banks observed over the period 2016–2024. Panel data are analyzed using a fixed effects model (FEM). Board diversity is examined along multiple dimensions, including gender diversity, educational level diversity, tenure diversity, age diversity, and a composite board diversity index that captures the overall level of board heterogeneity. FRQ is proxied by the absolute value of discretionary loan loss provisions (DLLP), where lower DLLP indicates higher reporting quality. The results show that greater overall board diversity is associated with higher FRQ. Among the individual diversity dimensions, only tenure diversity exhibits a statistically significant association with FRQ, whereas gender diversity, educational diversity, and age diversity do not show significant associations. Overall, the findings suggest that board tenure diversity and overall board heterogeneity are the primary drivers of the observed association between board diversity and FRQ in Vietnamese listed banks. The study is limited by the relatively small sample size, the focus on listed banks only, and the proxy-based measurement of FRQ.