Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and intellectual capital. It also investigates the impact of intellectual capital and corporate governance mechanisms on the bankruptcy risk of Egyptian companies listed on the EGX 100 index.
Design/methodology/approach– This study depended on a sample of 355 observations of 71 companies listed on the EGX 100 index during 2017-2021. The modified Altman Z Score model was used to measure bankruptcy risk, and the value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model was used to measure intellectual capital. Corporate governance mechanisms, such as board characteristics and audit committee are presented as independent variables.
Findings – The findings suggest that board size, board meetings, and audit committee meetings have a significant positive effect on intellectual capital efficiency with its three components of human capital efficiency, structural capital efficiency, and capital employed efficiency. The results also show an insignificant influence of board independence and audit committee size on intellectual capital efficiency. Moreover, this study finds that companies with intellectual capital efficiency are less likely to go bankrupt.  Furthermore, the results indicate that board size, independence, and meetings have a significant negative effect on bankruptcy risk. Thus, good corporate governance improves a company's financial health.
Originality/value – The results of this study contribute to the literature on intellectual capital and corporate governance in emerging markets, such as Egypt. This study also contributes to the bankruptcy risk literature. According to the researcher's knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship among intellectual capital, corporate governance, and bankruptcy risk in the Egyptian stock exchange context.