Listed Company Disclosure and Financial Market Transparency: Is this a Battle Worth Fighting or Merely Policy and Regulatory Mantra?

Abstract

The government in the United Kingdom set up the Kay Review to examine and make recommendations relating to the equity market and its impact on the long-term competitive performance of businesses. The article considers the comments and recommendations dealing with corporate disclosure. It argues that public dissemination of listed company information is likely to be the optimal approach to enhance long-term corporate performance. Global empirical studies consistently suggest that regulation which promotes high quality disclosure standards in financial markets can greatly improve corporate, economic and community outcomes. It concludes that the Kay Review missed a valuable opportunity to focus on and prioritise measures to ensure the public disclosure and communication frameworks governing listed companies are the best they can be. While transparency in financial markets is easy to espouse, it is an ongoing endeavour that has to be robustly sought by every generation, by every nation and by entire communities.