STATISTICAL DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN NON-FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES AND EX-POST FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN THE BULGARIAN ROAD FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

Abstract

In the Republic of Bulgaria, as a member of the EU, possessing a strategic geographical position through which five of the 10 Pan-European transport corridors pass, road freight transport occupies a leading place. It has a significant role in contributing to the country’s GDP, but at the same time, it has a strong negative impact on society and the environment, given its serious climatic footprint. In the specialized literature, data on research conducted looking for the presence or rejection of dependence between non-financial disclosures and ex-post financial performance in the road freight transportation industry are highly limited or almost absent. The lack of a legal obligation for non-financial disclosure by enterprises in Bulgaria creates the necessity to research and confirm the relationship between non-financial disclosure and the ex-post financial performance of the companies in the short-term or medium-term future. In the course of the analysis carried out in this article, the two largest Bulgarian enterprises from the road freight transportation industry by default and a major environmental polluter are examined. By applying key environmental and social disclosure indicators in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative standards calculated on the basis of real empirical data, a statistical analysis is performed. A multiple regression model is built based on a value analytical approach, which is focused on the economic value added of the enterprise, and the economic value added indicator is used as an efficiency measurement of the enterprises’ activity. The results of the analysis establish a certain dependence between non-financial disclosure and financial performance.