Voluntary disclosure of financial information on the internet by large companies in Slovenia

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to examine the impact of the determinants and characteristics of voluntary internet financial disclosures by large companies in Slovenia. With this research, the authors wanted to determine the factors which impact on the differences between companies that use internet financial reporting and those that do not.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted on a sample of large companies in Slovenia (n = 192), which was divided into two groups, depending on whether they use internet financial reporting. A binary logistic regression was undertaken to assess whether voluntary disclosure of financial information on the internet was related to the company’s size, profitability, age, company’s legal form, ownership dispersion and industry sector.FindingsThe research has shown that there is a statistically significant difference between the companies which use or do not use internet financial reporting. The likelihood that the companies will publish the internet financial information is greater in the case of public limited companies, companies that deal with the financial, energy or ICT sectors and companies that have a larger ownership concentration.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies in Slovenia that was used to determine the factors according to which the companies that use internet financial reporting differentiate from those that do not.