FINANCIAL REPORTING TIMELINESS: A SCOPE REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE

Abstract

Purpose- A key factor in ensuring that stakeholders can make well-informed decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information is financial reporting timeliness. This involves the timely release of financial statements, which are essential for providing investors, creditors, and other stakeholders with an overview of a company's financial status. Timely financial reporting allows stakeholders to react quickly to changes in a company's financial situation and make informed investment decisions. It also helps to build trust and confidence in a company's management and financial reporting processes, ultimately leading to greater transparency and accountability. This study aims to provide a scope review of current literature on financial reporting timeliness by analyzing the number of publications on this topic in Web of Science. Methodology- A systematic search of academic databases and search engines was conducted using keywords such as "financial reporting timeliness," "audit report lag" and "audit report delay". Findings- We found that there are more than 150 publications on the topicality of financial reporting on the Web of Science alone from 2012-2023. Over the past few years, there has been a steady and consistent increase in the number of publications dedicated to exploring the topic of financial reporting timeliness, specifically focusing on the audit report lag. Conclusion- The review highlights key themes, including factors contributing to audit report delays, the impact of audit report delays on financial reporting timeliness, and potential solutions for improving audit report timeliness. The findings reveal that audit report delays can have significant consequences for financial reporting timeliness, and consequently, for stakeholders' decision-making processes. This scope review underscores the importance of addressing audit report delays to maintain timely financial reporting and proposes future research directions for further exploration. Keywords: Financial reporting timeliness, audit report lag, auidt report delay, scope review JEL Codes: M40, M41, M42