• VAGHELA JIGARKUMAR LALJIBHAI
• Dr. CHETANA R. MARVADI

The Indian corporate governance regulatory framework has been evolving for a while. However, limited studies have been undertaken regarding corporate governance and accounting conservatism in the Indian context. This study analyzes whether board gender diversity, measured by the presence and proportion of female directors on the board, affects accounting conservatism measures using the Negative Accruals Measure (NA) developed by Givoly and Hayn (2000). The panel data set comprises BSE100 listed firms in India from 2010 to 2024, analyzed using a random effect model. The findings support our hypothesis, indicating a negatively significant relationship between Board gender diversity and accounting conservatism. The study has revealed that effective corporate governance, explicitly using the board gender diversity, leads to higher-quality financial reporting through decreased accounting conservatism. The study shows that increased gender diversity on boards leads to less reliance on conservative accounting practices. Women on boards might foster a culture that prioritizes transparency and fairness over extreme caution, which could reduce unnecessary underreporting of financial performance. The findings indicate that gender diversity on corporate boards negatively and significantly impacts firm profitability. This suggests that increasing gender diversity on boards could enhance decision-making and improve financial reporting. These insights are significant for policymakers, researchers, managers, analysts, and investors.

Corporate Governance, Accounting Conservatism, Board Gender Diversity, and Panel Data Models.

"Exploring Financial Transparency: The Influence of Board Gender Diversity on Accounting Conservatism in India.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 1, page no.224-234, January-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRGS06027.pdf

"Exploring Financial Transparency: The Influence of Board Gender Diversity on Accounting Conservatism in India.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 1, page no. pp224-234, January-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRGS06027.pdf