The synergistic influence of board gender diversity and audit committee on the financial performance of Saudi Arabian banks

Abstract

This study examines the influence of audit committee characteristics on the financial performance (F_PER) of Saudi Arabian Banks and the moderating role of board gender diversity. It analyzes data from 10 Saudi Arabian banks for a period of 10 years, specifically from 2014 to 2023. It uses two metrics to assess F_PER: ROA and ROE. Additionally, two audit committee characteristics–audit committee size and audit committee activities. The observations indicate that audit committee characteristics have varying effects on F_PER, and the results suggest that the audit committee size has a significantly adverse impact, while audit committee activities have an insignificant impact on F_PER. Gender diversity did not have a moderating effect on this linkage. This finding suggests that adding more members to the audit committee could hinder, rather than improve, its F_PER. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, limited studies have explored the moderating role of board gender diversity in the relationship between audit committees and financial performance within the Saudi Arabian context.