Does The Compensation Difference Of Independent Directors Affect The Independence?

In November 2021,the false statement in the annual report of Kangmei pharmaceutical triggered the first "sky high" ticket incident of independent directors in China,which pushed independent directors to the forefront of the storm and also triggered a "wave of resignation" of a number of independent directors to a certain extent.In January 2022,China’s Securities Regulatory Commission published the rules on independent directors of listed companies,which amended a series of relevant requirements on the independent director system in China and clearly defined the obligations and responsibilities of independent directors.This is also the latest rules and regulations on independent directors published in China.Independent directors have always been crowned with the titles of "signature independent director" and "vase independent director",and the gradually improved rules and regulations have not improved this situation.How to make independent directors give full play to their independence to perform their duties has become a problem studied by many scholars at home and abroad.Many scholars put forward the research that salary incentive and the proportion of independent directors affect their independence.However,the author of this thesis finds that there are great differences in the remuneration of independent directors in Listed Companies in China.Based on the above background,this thesis will explore the impact of independent directors’ salary difference on their independence from the two data levels of "company year" and "independent directors year",combined with empirical testing and case analysis.Through empirical research,this thesis uses the salary and voting of independent directors of Listed Companies in China from 2011 to 2020 to find that:(1)the salary difference of independent directors affects the independence of independent directors.(2)The greater the difference in the remuneration of independent directors,the stronger the independence of independent directors,which is reflected in the more opinions of independent directors who vote No.(3)High paid independent directors are more independent and tend to vote in disapproval.Through case analysis,this thesis discusses the relationship between the remuneration of independent directors of luco technology and their voting,and draws a conclusion consistent with the empirical test.Based on the above research,this thesis puts forward some suggestions: first,China must establish and improve the rules and regulations of independent directors,and strengthen the restraint on independent directors.Secondly,the board of Directors Association should be established.In order to give full play to the functions of independent directors,third,we must take the issue of independent directors’ remuneration seriously.Fourth,continuously improve the training system of independent directors and improve the comprehensiveness of the assessment content.