Professional Background And Communication Performance Of Board Secretaries

Board Secretary was introduced to China in 1990 s.With the development and improvement of this institution,the responsibilities of board secretaries have gradually been enriched,extending from information disclosure and equity related affairs to investor relations management.In a way,information disclosure and equity related affairs are the basis of and will finally serve investor relations management with the trend of improving investor professionalism and transformation of the capital market to registration-based system.Nowadays,board secretaries are playing irreplaceable role in improving information transparency of listed companies,and enhancing resource allocation efficiency in capital markets as well,which poses great pressure and strict requirements on these employees.However,there still exist some confusions and hesitations about the institution,while related research in this area is quite limited.Given the background and guided by “Upper Echelons Theory”,this paper tries to explore the relationship between the professional background of board secretaries and their communication performance,through empirically investigating listed companies of A-share markets in China in 2014.The results suggest that accounting background significantly improves the communication performance of board secretaries,and experiences in both accounting and technology area show incremental positive effect.It is also found that if CFO or chief accountant takes the job of board secretaries,their communication performance can be further enhanced.This paper demonstrates empirical evidence for matching responsibilities of board secretaries with their personal qualities,and thus provides useful insights for the development of the institution and career path of board secretaries as well.