scholarly journals Corporate disclosures and firm characteristics: A study of the emerging market listed companies

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Nidhi Sharma Sahore ◽  
Anshul Verma

The objective of this study is to understand whether firm characteristics explain the extent of corporate disclosures in the annual reports of listed Indian companies. In the field of accounting, voluntary information disclosures have been receiving a lot of attention as they bridge the gap between what is mandatory and what is sought by the stakeholders. Due to the prime focus of corporate disclosure literature on the linkage of company characteristics with the extent of disclosures, it becomes pertinent to study this aspect before studying the policy and regulatory impact. Hence, it is examined what prompts listed corporate entities in an emerging market like India to disclose more. The disclosure scores of Indian CNX 100 companies over a period of five years (2011–2015) related to firm characteristics such as age, size, and listing status were arrived at through content analysis and subsequent coding of the data. The study applied correlation, regression, and t-test to analyze respective scores and firm-specific data accessed from CMIE Prowess and Ace Equity industry databases. The study found firm characteristics such as age and listing status to be non-significant in leading corporations to enhanced disclosures. However, regression results improving with respect to the firm size and almost becoming significant in later years especially in the post-policy period (i.e., post-2013) remains an important takeaway from this study. The study stands on a formidable ground that it is the policy initiatives that are pushing firms to reveal more about their businesses keeping in mind the diverse perspectives of accounting information users

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary John Previts ◽  
William D. Samson

In 1995, a nearly complete collection of the annual reports of the earliest interstate and common carrier railroad in the U. S., the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O), was rediscovered in the archival collection at the Bruno Library of the University of Alabama. Dating from the company's inception in 1827 to its acquisition by the Chessie System in 1962, the reports present a unique opportunity for the exploration, study, and analysis of early U.S. corporate disclosure practice. This paper represents a study of the annual report information made publicly available by one of America's first railroads, and one of the first modern U.S. corporations. In this paper, early annual reports of the B&O which detail its formation, construction, and operation are catalogued as to content and evaluated. Mandated in the corporate charter, the annual “statement of affairs” presented by the management and directors to stockholders is studied as a process and as a product that instigated the institutional corporate practice recognized today as “annual reporting.” Using a single company methodology for assessment of reporting follows a pattern developed by Claire [1945] in his analysis of U.S. Steel and utilized by other researchers. This study demonstrates the use of archival information to improve understanding about the origins and contents of early annual reports and, therein, related disclosure forms.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109634802110116
Author(s):  
Jun Wen ◽  
Edmund Goh ◽  
Chung-En Yu

Suicide travel, in which potential suicide candidates visit certain destinations to perform physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is an emerging topic in tourism. Despite noted discrepancies between suicide travel and traditional definitions of tourism, PAS practices in tourism have gained the attention of scholars and practitioners. This type of travel is inherently complex, and its segmentation remains ambiguous. This study examines a sample of PAS-related videos and viewer comments to identify relevant travel segments. Based on two rounds of thematic content analysis, the resultant segmentation offers a preliminary perspective on this emerging market. Theoretically, this study is among the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the roles of PAS practices in tourism in terms of specific target groups. Practically, the findings offer novel insight for industry practitioners and policy makers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Pappu Kumar Dey ◽  
Mohammad Nakib ◽  
Probal Dutta

This study examines the nature and extent of climate change disclosures in the corporate annual reports of the listed companies in Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. For this purpose, annual reports related to the year 2014 of the sample 88 listed companies have been scrutinized. In regard to this study, content analysis approach has been conducted considering thirteen different disclosure issues regarding climate change. Our analysis provides the comprehension of below average climate change disclosure practices by the Bangladeshi companies, though 58 percent companies have reported at least one issue on climate change and global warming. ‘Energy saving & efficiency’ and ‘water management & pollution’ are mostly reported issues that are industry specific requirements in some case. From the viewpoint of industry, Banking industry and Cement industry have started to report some issues related to the climate change, where 4 industries out of selected 17 industries have not provided any climate change disclosure. Disseminating climate change disclosure within 10 sentences by most of the reported companies manifests the desideratum of in-depth disclosure practices.


Author(s):  
Ben k. Agyei-Mensah

This study investigated the influence of firm-specific characteristics which include proportion of Non-Executive Directors, ownership concentration, firm size, profitability, debt equity ratio, liquidity and leverage on the extent and quality of financial ratios disclosed by firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.The research was conducted through detailed analysis of the 2012 financial statements of  the listed firms.  Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined.  This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.  The results of the extent of financial ratio disclosure level, mean of 62.78%, indicate that most of the firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange did not overwhelmingly disclose such ratios in their annual reports.  The results of the low quality of financial ratio disclosure mean of 6.64% indicate that the disclosures failed woefully to meet the International Accounting Standards Board's qualitative characteristics of relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability.The results of the multiple regression analysis show that leverage and return on investment are associated on a statistically significant level as far as the extent of financial ratio disclosure is concerned. Board ownership concentration and proportion of (independent) non-executive directors, on the other hand were found to be statistically associated with the quality of financial ratio disclosed. There is a significant negative relationship between ownership concentration and the quality of financial ratio disclosure.  This means that under a higher level of ownership concentration less quality financial ratios are disclosed. The findings also show that there is a significant positive relationship between board composition (proportion of non-executive directors) and the quality of financial ratio disclosure.  JEL CLASSIFICATION: G3, M1, M2, M4.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dumay ◽  
Matteo La Torre ◽  
Federica Farneti

Purpose This paper examines the gap between reporting and managers’ behaviour to challenge the current theoretical underpinnings of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure practice and research. The authors explore how the key features from IC and integrated reporting can be combined to develop an extended model for companies to comply with EU Directive 2014/95/EU and increase trust in corporate disclosures and reports. Design/methodology/approach This essay relies on academic literature and examples from practice to critique the theories that explain corporate disclosure and reporting but do not change management behaviour. Based on this critique, the authors argue for a change in the fundamental theories of stewardship to frame a new concept for corporate disclosure incorporating using a multi-capitals framework. Findings We argue that, while the inconsistency between organisations’ reporting and behaviour persists, increasing, renewing or extending the information disclosed is not enough to instil trust in corporations. Stewardship over a company’s resources is necessary for increasing trust. The unanticipated consequences of dishonest behaviour by managers and shareholders compels a new application of stewardship theory that works as an overarching guide for managerial behaviour and disclosure. Emanating from this new model is a realisation that managers must abandon agency theory in practice, and specifically the bonus contract. Research limitations/implications We call for future empirical research to explore the role of stewardship theory within the dynamics of corporate disclosure using the approach. The research implications of those studies should incorporate the potential impacts on management behaviours within a stewardship framework and how those actions, and their outcomes, are disclosed for rebuilding public trust in business. Practical implications The implications for integrated reporting and reports complying with the new EU Directive are profound. Both instruments rely on agency theory to coax managers into reducing information asymmetry by disclosing more. However, agency theory only re-affirms the power managers have over corporate information. It does not change their behaviour, nor to act in the interest of all stakeholders as the stewards of an organisation’s resources. Social implications We advocate that, in business education, greater emphasis is needed on how stewardship has a more positive impact on management behaviour than agency, legitimacy and stakeholder theories. Originality/value We reflect on the current and compelling issues permeating the international landscape of corporate reporting and disclosure and explain why current theories which explain corporate disclosures do not change behaviour or engender trust in business and offer an alternative disclosure model based on stewardship theory.


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