Corporate Reporting on the Internet

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollis Ashbaugh ◽  
Karla M. Johnstone ◽  
Terry D. Warfield
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Financial Data ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Internet Presence ◽  
Use Of The Internet

In this paper, we examine firms' use of the Internet to enhance the relevance of their financial reporting. We define a firm as practicing Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) when it provides in its web site either (1) a comprehensive set of financial statements (including footnotes and the auditors' report), (2) a link to its annual report elsewhere on the Internet or (3) a link to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. While 70 percent of the firms in our sample engage in IFR, we find substantial variation in the quality of firms' IFR practices. Specifically, the variations in quality pertain to the timeliness and therefore, the usefulness of firms' financial reporting on the Internet. We find that some firms provide more timely financial disclosures via the Internet (e.g., monthly sales) while other firms report outdated financial data (e.g., two-year old annual reports). We also observe that the usefulness of firms' financial reporting on the Internet depends on how easy it is to access that data, the amount of data disclosed and/or whether users can download or analyze the data. To substantiate firms' incentives for engaging in IFR, we sent surveys to firms with web sites in our sample and asked them to report their perceived costs and benefits related to establishing an Internet presence. Firms responded to our questions about why they established an Internet presence by indicating that they perceive their web sites to be an important vehicle to disseminate information to shareholders. After documenting how and why firms use the Internet to voluntarily disclose financial information, we develop the implications of such practices for consumers who demand financial information, firms that supply financial data, auditors and market regulators.

An Empirical Investigation of Selected Aspects on Internet Financial Reporting in Malaysia

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Noor Azli Ali Khan ◽  
Noor Azizi Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Corporate Annual Reports

In this study an attempt is made to provide empirical evidence on the perception of Malaysian preparers and users of corporate annual reports about selected aspects of internet financial reporting (IFR). The perception of preparers and users of corporate annual reports were solicited using a survey mailed questionnaire. The findings of this study suggested three main benefits to companies that engage in IFR are attract foreign investors, promote company wider to the public, and provide wider coverage. The findings also revealed that three main benefits to the users who collect financial information of companies via their website are increases timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information, makes investment decision process easier and faster, and provides information for company inexpensively. The outcome of the analysis revealed that three main factors that are perceived as important by responding firms to engage in IFR are enhance corporate image, company teller with the technology development, and competitors in the industry. The findings also suggested three factors that inhibit firms from engaging in IFR are need to keep information update to be of use, required expertise from the company, and concern over security of information. Another important result revealed that global reach and mass communication as the most important advantages from financial reporting on the Internet. Moreover, security problems are the disadvantages of placing financial information on the Internet. Finally, plausible implications of the findings of the study are then presented and areas for future research are also proposed. This study is one of the first empirical studies of the selected aspects of IFR in Malaysia. Taken together, these research outcomes make an incremental contribution to the existing literature by providing useful insights into our knowledge of IFR especially for emerging markets like Malaysia.

scholarly journals Financial reporting on the internet: the portuguese case

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lúcia Lima Rodrigues ◽  
Carlos Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Company Size ◽  
Paper Version ◽  
Industry Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Recent Developments

Due to recent developments in information technologies, Portuguese companies are using the Internet to disclose accounting information through their Web sites. After presenting the advantages and eventual risks of this form of financial reporting and literature review, the Web sites of Portuguese listed companies were examined throughout March 2000 to February 2001, to determine which companies present financial information and whether the information provided is summarised, identical to the paper version of the annual report or is more detailed. In addition, we tested if there is significant difference between company size, industry type, overseas listings and the extent of financial disclosure on the Internet. We concluded Portuguese companies are starting to face positively this new way of financial reporting. Concerning the hypotheses tests performed we noticed that, likewise to what is happening in other countries, there is a positive correlation between company size and the existence of Web site and company size and financial information disclosed.

scholarly journals The Comparative Analysis of Accessibility Index Value of Government Internet Financial Reporting In Indonesia

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Verawaty Verawaty
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Index Value ◽  
Government Website

The financial information through internet is called IFR (Internet Financial Reporting) which is a combination between the internet multimedia capability and capacity to communicate the financial information interactively. This study is aimed to compare the quality of financial reporting disclosures based on the accessibility of IFR on government website (e-government) by using Accessibility Index Value between two groups of samples. The study looks at Indonesia local government’s use of the internet both in provincial and municipal government. The provincial government must be more highlighted by the public so it is hypothesized it will disclose information in its e-government with better format and quality than the municipal government measured by the index which shows the ability of some citizens to access the data provided in e-government. Based on the testing results with Mann Whitney Test, the results are not significant. The majority has not emphasized the importance of increasing accountability and widening the scope of measurement and reporting systems.

EARLY AMERICAN CORPORATE REPORTING AND EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS: THE CASE OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD, 1851–1861

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale L. Flesher ◽  
Gary J. Previts ◽  
William D. Samson
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Venture Capitalists ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early American ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
New Development ◽  
Capital Intensive ◽  
General Community

This study of the annual reports of the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) from the 1850s supports a conclusion that the statements, as to form and content, were developed to serve the needs of two classes of investors and to inform the general community of the activities of the company. The need to report to the public as to the success of the company's role in its “social contract” to develop the state required details of a demographic nature, which were provided by the land commissioner. Operating results provided evidence of the ability to service the debts held by European investors and to inform British venture capitalists of the extent of the company's operations. This communication with the distant capital providers was a new development in financial reporting as the capital-intensive railroads experienced management and ownership separation on a scale not seen before. In summary, the IC provided annual reports more detailed and informative than those of other corporations of the period because of a need to provide European investors with evidence of management's activities.

scholarly journals Do audit committee characteristics of Bahraini listed companies have an effect on the level of internet financial reporting?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara AbdulHakeem Saleh AlMatrooshi ◽  
Abdalmuttaleb M. A. Musleh Al-Sartawi ◽  
Zakeya Sanad
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Regression Test ◽  
The Relationship

Corporate Governance and IFR are influential topics that need to be addressed nowadays due to its importance. Especially since companies are growing and extending globally. This research is conducted in Kingdom of Bahrain through the year 2014, where it investigates the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics as a tool of CG and IFR. Literature review has been conducted, not to mention Multi-regression test was used to evaluate the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and IFR for Bahraini listed companies. The results have showed that the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and IFR is negative, which indicates that the Audit committee characteristics have no influence over the disclosure of financial information over the internet. However, Frequency of meeting of the board and Big4 resulted in a positive relationship with internet financial reporting. The study ends with a main conclusion and recommendation that contain certain steps and advices of disclosing financial information in an appropriate way through the internet in order to improve the relationship between Audit committee characteristics and IFR.

scholarly journals Managerial reporting by food production companies in Slovakia in 2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 71-85
Author(s):  
Renáta Pakšiová ◽  
Kornélia Lovciová
Keyword(s):  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Waste Product ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
The Social ◽  
Managerial Reporting

Abstract Corporate reporting on non-financial information has been currently gaining much more interest compared to the past. Most food enterprises believe that performing responsibly and showing an interest in society and the environment will produce a profit and benefit them as well as society. Such cases, in which enterprises report on non-financial information, were the subject of this research. The study aims to discover the managerial reporting of 2017 on the social and environmental effects of food companies in Slovakia to better understand problems in this regard. 2017 was the first year when enterprises were required to draft annual reports containing non-financial information following the amendment to the Slovak law that resulted from the European Union requirements. Across the world, reporting on non-financial information is regulated by voluntary guidelines. The paper presents conclusions of a content analysis of annual food business reports in the Slovak Republic in the context of G4 (GRI) directives from social and environmental points of view as key elements in social responsibility reporting. Individual social and environmental aspects of the research are disclosed by an enterprise if the information in its annual report conforms to defined G4 activities (GRI). All the food enterprises operating in Slovakia that compiled annual reports for 2017 were included in the research. Therefore, 142 annual reports with economic activities in 26 subclasses in the food industry sector were selected. The results present a current and comprehensive (full) reporting overview of this industry in Slovakia and reveal several shortcomings in executive reporting. The analysis of the environmental information in the annual reports shows that food enterprises reporting on environmental protection mainly focus on waste, product services, wastewater, materials and energy, evidenced by information about ongoing monitoring of the environmental impacts of production. In the social category, the G4 (GRI) directive defines four main aspects: (i) labour relations and the environment, (ii) human rights, (iii) society and (iv) liability for products.

It is not always bad news

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1319-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne McNally ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Reporting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to challenge the notion that non-financial reporting is mainly about impression management or is only a superficial response to the hegemonic challenges posed by the sustainability movement. It focuses on the most recent development in sustainability reporting (integrated reporting) as an example of how accounting for financial and non-financial information has the potential to expand the scope of accounting systems, promote meaningful changes to reporting processes and provide a broader perspective on value creation. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on an African eco-tourism company which has its head office in South Africa. A case study method is used to highlight differences in the presentation of an integrated business model according to the case entity’s integrated reports and how individual preparers interpret the requirement to prepare those reports. Data are collected using detailed interviews with all staff members involved in the preparation process. These are complemented by a review of the minutes of the company’s sustainability workshops and integrated reports. Findings A decision by the case organisation to prepare an integrated report gives rise to different forms of resistance which limits the change potential of the integrated reporting initiative. Resistance does not, however, preclude reform. Even when individual preparers are critical of the changes to the corporate reporting environment, accounting for financial and non-financial information expands the scope of the conventional accounting system which facilitates broader management control and promotes a more integrated conception of “value”. Research limitations/implications Integrated reporting should not be dismissed as only an exercise in corporate reporting and disclosure; it has a transformative potential which, given time, can enable new ways of managing business processes and articulating value creation. Originality/value This study answers the calls for primary evidence on how the requirement or recommendation to prepare an integrated report is being interpreted and applied by individual preparers. The findings add to the limited body of interpretive research on the change potential of new reporting frameworks. In doing so, the research provides theoretical support for developing arguments which challenge the conventional position that integrated reporting is little more than an exercise in impression management.

Social Software (and Web 2.0)

2010 ◽  
pp. 305-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Dorn
Keyword(s):  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Social Software ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
Collaborative Software ◽  
Community Project ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Use Of The Internet

Social software is a class of information systems supporting the establishment and management of online communities for people in performing certain tasks. One of the first application types were bulletin boards. Social software may provide different services for community members such as finding members with similar interests, finding information on interesting subjects, discussing common problems, or simply the storing of private or publicly-accessible documents. Another similar term, collaborative software, applies to cooperative work systems, and is applied to software that supports working functions often restricted to private networks. Web 2.0 is a term coined only recently, and with this concept promoters try to focus on the change of use of the Internet. While Web 1.0 was a medium where few users published information in Web sites and many users read and surfed through these publications, in Web 2.0 many users also publish their opinions, information, and documents somewhere in the Internet. By motivating large communities for submissions and by structuring the content, the body of the aggregated information achieves considerable worth. A good example for such a community project is Wikipedia, where thousands of contributors deliver millions of articles, forming an encyclopaedia that is worth millions of dollars.

The Impact of Information Technology in Healthcare Privacy

2011 ◽  
pp. 186-227
Author(s):  
Maria Yin Ling Fung ◽  
John Paynter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Reducing Costs

The increased use of the Internet and latest information technologies such as wireless computing is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by improving services and reducing costs. The advances in technology help to empower individuals to understand and take charge of their healthcare needs. Patients can participate in healthcare processes, such as diagnosis and treatment, through secure electronic communication services. Patients can search healthcare information over the Internet and interact with physicians. The same advances in technology have also heightened privacy awareness. Privacy concerns include healthcare Web sites that do not practice the privacy policies they preach, computer break-ins, insider and hacker attacks, temporary and careless employees, virus attacks, human errors, system design faults, and social engineering. This chapter looks at medical privacy issues and how they are handled in the U.S. and New Zealand. A sample of 20 New Zealand health Web sites was investigated.

The Impact of Information Technology in Healthcare Privacy

2011 ◽  
pp. 1071-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Yin Ling Fung
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Reducing Costs

The increased use of the Internet and latest information technologies such as wireless computing is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by improving services and reducing costs. The advances in technology help to empower individuals to understand and take charge of their healthcare needs. Patients can participate in healthcare processes, such as diagnosis and treatment, through secure electronic communication services. Patients can search healthcare information over the Internet and interact with physicians. The same advances in technology have also heightened privacy awareness. Privacy concerns include healthcare Web sites that do not practice the privacy policies they preach, computer break-ins, insider and hacker attacks, temporary and careless employees, virus attacks, human errors, system design faults, and social engineering. This chapter looks at medical privacy issues and how they are handled in the U.S. and New Zealand. A sample of 20 New Zealand health Web sites was investigated.

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