Different Approaches in Business Information Disclosures in European Annual Reports

Abstract

This paper compares information disclosure in annual reports in British accounting regulatory system with information disclosure requirements for annual reports in Continental European accounting regulatory systems represented by Czech accounting. In spite of the fact that legal framework for information disclosure in annual reports, Directive 2013/34/EU, is identical for companies in both systems, in the UK and in the Continental Europe, this paper brings evidence about fundamental differences in information disclosure between systems. Moreover, results from the comparison confirm hypothesis that in countries with widespread ownership of companies by shareholders who do not have access to internal information, there is a pressure for information disclosure in annual reports.