Browsing by Author "Wanniarachchige, M.K."

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    Do Larger Firms Comply More with Corporate Governance Best Practices Compared to Smaller Firms? Evidence from Firms Listed in Colombo Stock Exchange
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) De Silva, L.D.; Wanniarachchige, M.K.
    Corporate governance as a monitoring mechanism has gained renewed attention following a series of corporate failures across the globe that are directly attributable to agency issues. Firms with higher corporate governance compliance have often recorded higher performance, higher stock liquidity and increased investor protection. Nevertheless, literature shows that smaller firms do not adopt corporate governance practices as often as larger firms do. This study examines whether larger firms comply more with corporate governance best practices than smaller firms using a sample of 100 firms listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The firms were selected based on the systematic sampling technique so that the sample evenly spreads across different firm sizes. The sample was split into two equal subgroups as larger and smaller based on their firm size measured using total assets. Compliance with corporate governance practices was measured using a corporate governance index constructed with equally weighted 18 board related best practices based on the data collected for the period ranging from 2018 to 2020. Three separate independent-samples t-tests were used to assess the difference in corporate governance compliance between larger and smaller firms during each year. The results suggest that corporate governance compliance in larger firms was significantly higher compared to the smaller firms. This situation can be mainly attributed to the higher cost of implementing corporate governance best practices, which is not affordable to smaller firms. Moreover, smaller firms might have considered compliance as less relevant. In contrast, larger firms are motivated to comply with corporate governance best practices even at a higher cost since they can benefit from the reduced agency cost and increased attractiveness for investors. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to identify these differences in compliance and make appropriate policies flexible enough in the application based on the firm's specific characteristics, such as the firm size. This is mainly because the literature has documented that only some corporate governance best practices are effective and relevant in each context. Keywords: Agency conflict; corporate governance; Colombo stock exchange; Firm size
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    Quality Assurance Policy Realization Framework for Higher Education: With Special Reference to Teaching and Learning Process in Sri Lankan State Universities
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Pushpakumara, H.M.C.; Jayaweera, P.M.; Wanniarachchige, M.K.
    The higher education sector has focused on assuring and improving the quality of education and research. In this context, quality assurance is a proactive and continuous process encompassing a diverse set of policies and procedures. The quality assurance monitoring process assures the quality through examining the compliance while indicating instances where changes in policies and procedures are required. Nevertheless, universities still apply traditional methods in quality assurance that rely heavily on bulky documentary evidence, mainly based on manual techniques. Thereby, quality assurance has become an additional burden for the employees. Although universities employ a variety of information systems, their focus on quality assurance is limited. These systems heavily focus on running routine and day-to-day operations instead of acting like an integrated management information system. Therefore, this paper proposes a new information system module that can act as a quality assurance policy realization module while providing a mechanism to operationalize policies and procedures in electronic form. The study followed the design science research methodology. Experts‟ interviews, physical observations of the quality assurance activities, and references of quality assurance related documentation were used as the main data sources. The system consists of three sub-modules: process monitoring and recording, quality assurance rules management and execution, and performance evaluation. Given the complexity, this study demonstrates only how quality can be assured in the teaching and learning process. In the first sub-module, the teaching and learning process was explored and respective sub-processes and activities were identified. Then, quality compliance reports were introduced to monitor the activities and record compliance with existing and recommended policies and procedures. The second sub-module specifies the quality assurance rules on activities and guides the activities in the execution stage. The third sub-module is a quality assurance knowledge repository that can deliver information for decision making. The proposed system facilitates the dynamic nature of quality assurance policies and procedures through online monitoring and establishing an evolving rule-base. Keywords: Quality assurance; Higher education; Information system