Influences of proprietary and political costs on voluntary disclosure relating to financial instruments before and after mandatory requirements

Abstract

The study examines whether the introduction of an accounting standard relating to the disclosure of financial instruments affects voluntary corporate disclosure, and the impact of proprietary and political costs on such disclosure decisions. Using the annual reports of 70 Australian listed companies over a period of 6 years giving 420 firm-year observations, this study investigates the comparative impacts of proprietary and political information costs on management’s voluntary disclosure decisions relating to financial instruments. The regulatory disclosure environment, the impact of proprietary costs (proxy by a firm’s investment growth opportunities) and political costs (proxy by a firm’s probability of financial distress, size of a company and negative media attention) relating to the voluntary disclosure of financial instruments were investigated. Results of this study provide evidence that the mandatory disclosure of non-proprietary information relating to financial instruments has resulted in an increase in the voluntary disclosure of related proprietary information. For the effects of proprietary and political costs, findings from the study suggest that a firm’s growth opportunities are significant in limiting voluntary disclosure of proprietary information in the period prior to regulation. Consistent with political cost hypothesis, legitimacy theory and media agenda-setting theory, the size of a company and high negative media attention are significantly positively related to voluntary corporate disclosure. However, financial distress has no effect on the voluntary disclosure of financial instruments-related information.