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Corporate governance, as an important element from the economic environment is a topic of great interest. During the time, researchers tried to find the most efficient corporate governance characteristics, which have a direct impact over the company's well-being. Thus, the present study contains a sample of 66 companies, for the period 2016-2021 listed on the BSE (Bucharest Stock Exchange). For the first step, the corporate governance score was computed, by ranking the responses with 1 if they comply or 0 if they do not follow the best practices of corporate governance, so it can be seen the evolution of the quality of reporting. Then, the evolution of the corporate governance score was analyses trough dividing the results into quartiles. Going further, to conduct the research, from the" Comply-Explain" statement five elements which underlines the qualitative reporting were selected: EQUIL (Equilibrium of board members), INDEP (Independence of board members), NOM (Selection of the board members), REM (Remuneration policy) and AUDIT (Audit committee). To consolidate our study, we have also analysed the presence of females in boards and the ownership structure, by sector of activity. In the literature, several elements were the key points, which indicated whether a business adopt the best practices of corporate governance, or not. Considering the literature, the above-mentioned elements were selected and analysed. In the case of Romania, particularly taking the corporate governance score it could be seen that there is a positive evolution for the period 2016-2021. In case of the extracted elements which are part of the corporate governance reporting, it can be seen, that they vary from a year to another, but generally presenting a positive trend. This is an encouraging aspect, meaning that businesses start to acknowledge the fact that applying the corporate governance best practices, will assure the long-term benefits for the companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The act of fraud has been practiced since ancient times and manifests itself in different ways. The aim of the study is to apply the Beneish score on Romanian firms and to identify which indicators are sensitive to the state of fraud. The sample was selected from the Bucharest Stock Exchange and consists of 66 companies traded on the main market for the years 2016-2021. The collected data were analyzed year-by-year and crosssectional methods (panel data) using manually collected information extracted from financial statements downloaded from the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Based on this data, the Beneish score was calculated and then statistical tests were performed. Using the obtained results from the Beneish Score calculation, we were able to divide the companies into two groups. The obtained scores, clearly underlines the two states: fraud and non-fraud. The ones in the fraud state have a decreased score, while the companies with no likelihood of fraud risk have lower scores. To further investigate our results, we identified sensitive items in both states such as DSRI (Days Sales Receivable Index) and GMI (Gross Margin Index). In conclusion, several theories or hypotheses are offered to explain the underlying motivations for fraud appearance. Romanian companies listed on regulated markets can be classified into risk groups in terms of fraudulent financial statements by applying the Beneish score. The results of the present study are in the interests of the policy makers, management team, business analysist and as well for the general use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]