Abstract

This article extends the project-engineering management/post-audit literature into the field of business ethics and board gender diversity. As a result, it fills an important gap in the literature. Board gender diversity is an important issue with ramifications on corporate decision-making. Based on a sample of 163 UK small-medium enterprises (SMEs), our research shows differences between gender diverse (GD) boards and male-only boards in post-audit (P-A) practices. GD boards conduct more post-audits and adopt a more formal approach to post-audit procedures. There are significant differences between the two board types concerning the reasons for undertaking post-audits and the non-adoption of post-audits (P-As). An interesting observation is in the area of risk aversion, as we find an inconsistency between those SMEs that conduct P-As and those that do not. This inconsistency may reflect the earlier literature, which is inconclusive in its findings concerning females’ attitudes to risk. A further interesting observation from the data analysis shows that GD Boards appear to be more focused, while male boards are more diverse in their responses. This article is of relevance and general interest to engineering economists in an investment appraisal, P-A, project management, and governance environment, fostering diversity and equality in regulating corporate activities, assisting practitioners and policy-makers in understanding the importance of monitoring capital projects, and the role played by gender-diverse boards.

摘要

本文将项目工程管理/审计后文献扩展到商业道德和董事会性别多元化领域。因此，它填补了文献中的一个重要空白。董事会性别多元化是一个对公司决策产生影响的重要问题。基于 163 家英国中小型企业 (SME) 的样本，我们的研究显示了性别多元化 (GD) 董事会和仅男性董事会在审计后 (PA) 实践中的差异。GD 董事会进行更多的事后审计，并采用更正式的审计后程序方法。两种董事会类型在进行事后审计和不采用事后审计 (P-A) 的原因方面存在显着差异。一个有趣的观察是在风险规避领域，因为我们发现那些进行 P-A 的 SME 与不进行 P-A 的 SME 之间存在不一致。这种不一致可能反映了早期的文献，该文献在其关于女性对风险态度的研究结果中没有定论。数据分析的另一个有趣观察表明，GD 董事会似乎更加专注，而男性董事会的回应则更加多样化。本文与投资评估、PA、项目管理和治理环境中的工程经济学家具有相关性和普遍兴趣，在监管公司活动方面促进多样性和平等，帮助从业者和政策制定者了解监控资本项目的重要性，以及性别多元化委员会所扮演的角色。这在其关于女性对风险态度的调查结果中尚无定论。数据分析的另一个有趣观察表明，GD 董事会似乎更加专注，而男性董事会的回应则更加多样化。本文与投资评估、PA、项目管理和治理环境中的工程经济学家具有相关性和普遍兴趣，在监管公司活动方面促进多样性和平等，帮助从业者和政策制定者了解监控资本项目的重要性，以及性别多元化委员会所扮演的角色。这在其关于女性对风险态度的调查结果中尚无定论。数据分析的另一个有趣观察表明，GD 董事会似乎更加专注，而男性董事会的回应则更加多样化。本文与投资评估、PA、项目管理和治理环境中的工程经济学家具有相关性和普遍兴趣，在监管公司活动方面促进多样性和平等，帮助从业者和政策制定者了解监控资本项目的重要性，以及性别多元化委员会所扮演的角色。