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The past 25 years we have witnessed a large increase of empirical evidence provided in financial economics supporting a great number of theories on corporate finance principles. However, in a number of applications, the evidence has not supported the theory completely. Although our understanding of financial concepts has grown more sophisticated, it is not always clear how corporations can create value through their financial decisions. This book is primarily designed as a study to survey the most important literature that describes the links between boards and corporate performance, and more specifically to provide an extensive empirical investigation. Since the discussed theories and methodologies are largely intuitive and non- technical, readers with some background in finance should be able to understand them well. The author takes us through a review of the documented links between board characteristics such as size and composition with corporate performance, and finally provides evidence for several theoretical predications using a database containing Dutch listed corporations. It is a must-read for anyone interested in finance.

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Vincent Cabenda graduated in 2009 at Tilburg University (the Netherlands) with a MSc in Financial Management after completing his BSc in Business Administration at Hogeschool Zeeland (University of Zeeland) in 2007. His research interests are in the area of corporate finance, corporate governance regulation, and mergers and acquisitions.

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