Evidence on the incremental information content of concurrent financial and non-financial corporate disclosures

Abstract

This study examines if a firm's regulated non-financial information that is concurrently published with its annual financial disclosures, provides investors with information content beyond that contained in the financial disclosures. Employing an event-study approach for a sample of German firms that can actively choose the disclosure date of regulated non-financial information, I find higher capital market responses to concurrent financial and non-financial disclosures, indicating an incremental information content. The effect is observable if non-financial information is concurrently disclosed in a firm's management report or in a standalone non-financial report. Collectively, my findings have important implications for regulators and reporting firms.