Level Of Financial Disclosure Research Articles

Assessment of financial and social disclosure level of Ethiopian commercial banks

Disclosures given by corporations are an important tool used as a communication mechanism between insiders and outsiders either investors or regulators who are seeking information for their decision-making. The study’s objective was to assess the level of financial and social disclosure by Ethiopian commercial banks. To achieve the objective 6 years of secondary data was collected from seventeen banks, mainly from the annual reports of banks. To measure the disclosure level of banks unweighted disclosure index measurement approach was used. To evaluate and analyse the level of financial and social disclosure descriptive statistics (such as mean, standard deviations, and independent t-test) were used. The analysis revealed that the average financial disclosure level of Ethiopian commercial banks during the study was 64.1%, whereas social disclosure was 50.8%. During the study period, both financial and social disclosure showed an increasing trend from year to year. However, the increasing trend of financial disclosure level is higher than the social disclosure level. Further, the independent t-test result showed that there is a statistically insignificant difference between the mean value of public and private banks’ disclosure levels. The study concludes that commercial banks in Ethiopia have a moderate level of financial and social disclosure. From the result, it is recommended that Ethiopian commercial banks should disclose more financial and social information to improve their disclosure level.

IT governance matter: A structured literature review

The aim of this paper is to critically explore information technology governance (ITG) context, its consequences, its various aspects, its determinants, disclosure, maturity, and challenges. There are some motivations that urge the researchers to carry out this study. First, the review of prior relevant literature reveals a limited number of studies addressing the IT governance context, its consequences, its various aspects, its determinants, and challenges. Second, very little is known about the potential implications of IT governance within the business and how it is significant to the decision-makers (e.g., shareholders, board of directors, executives, etc.). Finally, little research employs the structured literature review (SLR) approach to critically discuss and analyze the IT governance context with its various aspects. The systematic and structured literature review has been employed for a critical analysis of the previous studies on IT governance. It is found that effective ITG has a positive impact on the firm performance in consistent with Altemimi and Zakaria (2017), Hulme (2012). Additionally, it is concluded that there is a positive association between ITG, the trustworthiness and the level of financial disclosure agreeing with (Raghupathi, 2007; Ali & Green, 2007). It is also concluded that the level of ITG disclosure is higher within firms in Europe (67%) than in the US (49%) complementing with Joshi et al. (2013). The adoption of the SLR methodology enables this paper to derive unbiased empirical insights and critique into the current ITG research and to identify possible directions for future ITG research, which may possibly be of interest to the academics, regulators, and professional bodies (e.g., shareholders, board of directors, executives, etc.).

Electronic Financial Disclosure level on the Commercial Bank Sector of Bahrain Bourse

This paper investigates electronic financial disclosure in the banking industry of all commercial banks listed on the Bahrain bourse. A checklist was developed to assess the amount of electronic financial disclosure in Bahraini commercial banks. The sample size comprised of 8 commercial banks listed on the Bahrain bourse’s financial sector from 2016 to 2021. According to the statistical analysis, the total amount of electronic financial disclosure varies from bank to bank. According to this survey, commercial banks listed on the Bahrain Bourse achieve a level of financial electronic disclosure of 76 percent. This paper should be especially relevant to bank managements in order to improve their electronic financial disclosure level by considering strategical policies, to provide good opportunities for banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain to improve their competitions, and to serve as a guide for academics in the banking sector in Bahrain. Keywords: Electronic Financial Disclosure, Commercial Bank.

The effects of the political environment on transparency: evidence from Spanish local governments

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the evolution of economic and financial transparency in Spanish local governments (LGs) and their determining factors. The main results show that the level of financial disclosure seems to be the result of pressure from, on the one hand, opposition groups when there is rivalry and political competition, and, on the other hand, the increased demands of citizens involved in public affairs, who want to know how the government is spending their money and how public services are financed. Political parties are therefore key to increasing municipal transparency since greater pressure from opposition parties enhances transparency. Pressure from the parties as well as from citizens positively affects transparency; in other words, the more active people are in terms of voter turnout, and the greater the pressure from and debate among citizens, the higher the level of transparency. One way to increase transparency could therefore be to raise awareness about the importance that citizen pressure can have on governments.

ONLINE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE AS AN ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM: EVIDENCE FROM THE WORLD´S TOP 100 NGOS

The expansion of the Third Sector in terms of size, scope, and its role in society has brought on a greater need for accountability and legitimacy. The disclosure of reports on financial and operating performance is a powerful tool for NGOs, allowing for a dialogue with their stakeholders as well as a resource in and of itself, given the vital part it plays in the acquisition of financial support. Parallel to this, the evolution and ever-expanding use of information technology facilitates the disclosure and diffusion of information to stakeholders around the world. The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of financial disclosure carried out by the world´s top 100 NGOs as per the Global Journal´s 2013 Ranking, employing a checklist based on related literature and collecting data from the reports made available online that concern the 2013 year. Correspondence and Homogeneity analysis showed that the total of contributions is associated with higher online financial disclosure, which suggests that organization size is associated with the capacity to respond to stakeholder demands for financial disclosure. Finally, the checklist created in this study stands to assist NGOs faced with the need for increased disclosure levels but limited by financial and human resource considerations.

Country- specific characteristics influencing Websites based information disclosure practices

This paper aims to examine and explain the Websites- based financial disclosure practices differences between developed European countries. The development of Internet financial reporting (IFR), as a new corporate reporting practice, was rapidly exploited by large listed companies in the world. A number of accounting research was analyzed the development of online reporting in various countries and they showed that firm specific incentives are the most important factors explaining the IFR practices, however, there was ignored the importance from the politico-socio conditions, as others factors influencing the IFR practices differences (as a accounting practices). As a refinement of Gray (1988)’ framework and an extension of Debrency et al. (2002) model, this study explore an empirical investigation validating the influence of culture, institutional factors on the financial disclosure level through corporate Websites in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK. It reveals the importance of technological and media presentation format as Web- based communication index component. The findings showed that environmental factors were significantly related to Websites technology index and economic development is an important factor determining the Websites financial disclosure practices differences.

Determinan Praktik Manajemen Laba Riil

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the level financial statement disclosure on earnings management and audit quality in moderating this study. The sample of this study was from LQ45 companies, especially in manufacturing as many as 9 companies with an observation period of 5 years (2012-2016). This study provided empirical evidence that a negative influence between the level of disclosure of financial statements and real earnings management used production costs. But with the proxies of operational cash flow and discretionary costs produce provided a positive relationship. The results of the moderation regression test with production costs as proxy of earnings management provided that audit quality can strengthen the negative effect of the financial disclosure level on earnings management. Other results indicate that audit quality can strengthen the positive influence of the financial disclosure level on earnings management with a proxy for operational cash flows and discretionary costs. The Managerial implications of research was that auditors can examine other factors besides operational cash flow and discretionary costs in carrying out judgment on earnings management practices in the company.

Cash holdings and earnings quality: evidence from the Main and Alternative UK markets

In this paper we investigate the importance of earnings quality as a determinant of cash holdings by companies, exploring among other factors the nature of earnings (positive or negative) and the level of financial disclosure, proxied by the market where firms are listed (Main or AIM-Alternative Investment Markets in the United Kingdom). Based on a sample covering the period of 1998–2015, we provide evidence that as earnings quality decreases, firms tend to hold more cash except when firms are facing losses in both Main and AIM markets. In addition, we document that information conveyed by earnings quality is a more important determinant of cash reserve levels for Main Market than for AIM firms (where the level of financial disclosure and oversight is lower). Overall, our evidence suggests that cash balances are positively influenced by the presence of greater information asymmetries arising from poor earnings quality but also from the existence of lower levels of regulatory oversight and the occurrence of losses, both of which reduce the importance of earnings quality as a determinant of cash levels. Our results also imply that companies with higher levels of earnings opaqueness seem to benefit from having higher cash holdings so as to avoid dependence from costly external funding.

Financial Disclosure Information, Board of Directors, and Firm Characteristics among French CAC 40 Listed Firms

In the context of economic globalization, the need for high-quality financial disclosure has become desiderative. The aim of our study is to analyze the effect of a set of financial attributes, firm characteristics, and board of director features on financial disclosure level among companies listed at CAC 40. The sample used in this study consists of the 40 largest companies operating in French (index CAC 40). The findings of our study show that a high level of financial disclosure will show the effectiveness of corporate governance represented by the percentage of outside directors and would tend to face fewer difficulties in accessing capital markets. Equally, financial disclosure level is positively associated with financial attributes, such as firm size and profitability. We find that firms with little stock price volatility and small board size disclose more financial information than other firms.

The impact of financial safety act and corporate governance on the level of financial disclosure

Purpose This research paper aims to identify and measure the contribution of the financial safety act (FSA) regulation in improving the level of financial disclosure of listed Tunisian firms. To answer the problems of the subject, the authors tried to hold accountable several determinants of the level of financial disclosure relating to the particular characteristics of the firm, and the adoption of the recommendations envisaged by the FSA, as likely to have an impact on the level of financial disclosure of Tunisian firms. Design/methodology/approach With a sample composed by 20 companies during the period from 2003 to 2010 (160 observations), the contribution of the FSA regulation in improving the level of financial disclosure of listed Tunisian firms was identified and measured. After that, the levels of financial disclosure before and after the FSA were compared. Findings The study results confirm the positive and significant effect of the FSA on the level of financial disclosure. This impact seems to appear through the improvement of the disclosure level during the years which follow the adoption of the new regulation. The results of this study also show that firms with a high level of financial disclosure are those which have an independent board of directors, auditor BIG and joint audit. Originality/value This paper is devoted to evaluate the impact of the FSA n°2005-96 and corporate governance on the level of financial disclosure. The empirical study relates to a sample of 20 firms listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange observed over the period 2003-2010.

IFRS and accounting quality: legal origin, regional, and disclosure impacts

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether the quality of financial reporting has improved after the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Europe and across the world. The study investigates the impact of IFRS on income smoothing and earnings management in different geographic regions under different legal origins and disclosure environments. Design/methodology/approach To measure income smoothing in the pre- and post-IFRS periods, the authors use the coefficient of variation and the panel unit root model proposed by Im et al. (2003) for testing whether net income is stationary throughout the sample period. The study uses a dynamic panel estimation framework, as it captures the dynamics of IFRS on discretionary accruals efficiently. Discretionary accruals are used to measure earnings management. Findings The results suggest that the adoption of high quality standards, such as IFRS, reduces income smoothing and earnings management. In addition, the study finds that earnings management has decreased in the post-IFRS period, in particular, for French and Scandinavian civil law countries, but not for German civil law countries and common law countries. The latter can be explained by the fact that common law countries have strong investor protection laws, strict law enforcement and high disclosure levels of financial information. The study also finds empirical evidence that the adoption of IFRS reduces earnings management in countries with high levels of financial disclosure. Overall, the study shows that the adoption of IFRS improved the quality of financial reporting. Originality/value This study is useful for accounting standard setters across the world, including those countries that have not yet decided to adopt IFRS. The study contributes to the literature by examining the adoption of IFRS in income smoothing and earnings management under different legal regimes and disclosure environments by using advanced empirical methodologies.

Online Financial Disclosure as an Accountability Mechanism for NGOs Across the Globe

The expansion of the Third Sector in terms of size, scope, and importance has brought on a greater need for accountability and legitimacy. The disclosure of reports on financial and operating performance is a powerful tool for NGOs, allowing for a dialogue with their stakeholders, as well as a resource in and of itself, given the vital part it plays in the acquisition of financial support. Parallel to this, the evolution and ever-expanding use of information technology facilitates the disclosure and diffusion of information to stakeholders around the world. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the level of financial disclosure shown by world´s top 100 NGOs as per the Global Journal´s 2013 Ranking, employing a checklist based on related literature and collecting data from the reports concerning the 2013 year that they make available online. Correspondence analysis showed that the level of financial disclosure is associated with the size of the organization, which suggests that along with a larger size, NGOs show a higher level of finance-based disclosure. Finally, the lack of information made available online by the Top 100 NGOs, along with the absence of financial-accounting standards in this realm hinder analysis of these organizations. Towards these ends, the checklist created in this study stands to assist NGOs that need increased disclosure levels but are limited by financial and human resource considerations.

The Impact of Financial Disclosure on Attendee Assessment of Objectivity in Continuing Medical Education Programs in Psychiatry: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

The purpose of financial conflict of interest disclosures by speakers at continuing medical education (CME) programs is to assist attendees in their assessment of the objectivity of the information presented. This empirical study was undertaken to determine what level of disclosure is optimal to achieve this goal. Attendees at five CME programs were randomly assigned to receive either a standard financial disclosure, an intermediate level that included whether speakers received more or less than 5% of their income from each company they disclosed, or a high level of disclosure that included the percent of their income derived from each company. A total of 169 attendees (85.4% response rate) completed a questionnaire regarding the objectivity of the CME presentation they attended. Attendees receiving the highest level of disclosure came significantly closer to the ratings of speaker bias made by peer reviewers than did attendees receiving medium or low levels of disclosure (p = 0.03; effect size 0.31). Among the minority of attendees who received the highest level of disclosure but whose assessment of bias differed from that of peer reviewers, however, there was a tendency to underestimate bias (5.9 vs 31.4%; p < 0.0001). The major limitation of this study was an overall low level of bias in the presentations, making it difficult to generalize these findings to less objective programs. The study did not address whether the process of disclosure had an impact on speakers' behavior. This study provides mixed support for higher levels of financial disclosure than are currently required for CME programs.

An assessment of firm characteristics on financial disclosure: insurance industry in Bangladesh

Insurance industry has got some certain characteristics that are uncommon in other types of industries. Thus, the financial disclosure pattern is also different for insurance companies. Again, accounting standards, rules, laws and other prescriptions are very much divergent in this area. Regulators are slow to enact sufficient prescriptions in time and the reason of such reluctance is not known. Under such circumstances, disclosure made by insurance companies is characterised by high level of divergence, incomplete, incomparable, inconsistent information in financial statements. This paper addresses the issue of financial disclosures made by insurance companies in Bangladesh through the development of a disclosure index on the basis on current disclosure practises. Some firm specific characteristics explaining size and profitability are identified and the possible impact of those on the level of disclosure is tested. Size and profitability sometimes improve the level of financial disclosure and thus the paper targets to look into it. The research is based on secondary sources only. A disclosure index is proposed based on the published financial statements of insurance companies and then size and profitability measures were regressed with disclosure index value. The analysis results a worrying picture with the conclusion that neither size nor profitability measures have any impact on financial disclosure.

Cost of Equity Capital, Information Asymmetry, and Segment Disclosure

Theory predicts a negative association between the cost of equity capital and the level of financial disclosure of the firm. However, empirical evidence supporting a negative association between the cost of equity capital and the level of disclosure has been mixed (Botosan 1997; Botosan and Plumlee, 2002). Prior literature has not specifically examined the relation between the cost of equity capital and the level of segment disclosure (i.e., operating and geographic segment information). Segment reporting is considered by financial analysts worldwide, to be one of the most important, if not the most important, disclosure in financial reporting. Based on the average of four proxies commonly used to measure the cost of equity capital and a hand-collected index measuring the level of segment disclosures, this study initially finds an insignificant negative association between the cost of equity capital and the level of segment disclosure. However, the model does not consider the effects of information asymmetry between investors measured by the probability of information-based trading. Including the direct and interactive effects of the probability of information-based trading in the model we find: 1) a significant negative association between the cost of equity capital and level of segment disclosure, 2) a significant positive association between the cost of equity capital and the probability of information-based trading, and 3) a significant negative association between the cost of equity capital and the interaction term on the level of segment disclosure and probability of information-based trading. In summary, when the probability of information based trading is high (higher information asymmetry among different types of investors), we find the negative association between the cost of equity capital and the level of segment disclosures is stronger. Consistent results are obtained using two separate measures of the level of segment disclosures; a hand-collected index measuring the level of operating and geographic segment disclosures and a count of the number of words used in reporting overall segment information by the firm.

Interest in Conflicts

Orthopaedics in general, and highly-compensated orthopaedists in particular, have come into the spotlight related to potential conflicts of interest. Studies have indicated that there has been inconsistent reporting of many potential conflicts, both by speakers at annual society meetings and by authors in orthopaedic journals. An article in the Archives of Internal Medicine in September 2010 reported a 46% nondisclosure rate of potential conflicts of interest among thirty-two orthopaedic surgeons whose work had been published in twenty-six orthopaedic-related journals and who were known to have been paid over $1 million in the year prior to the article’s publication1. A 2009 report that noted a 29% rate of nondisclosure among presenters and board and committee members at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AAOS2 led to a mandatory disclosure policy for presenters and board and committee members before AAOS participation is allowed3. One part of the recent health-care reform bill requires industry, beginning in 2013, to publicly report all payments to physicians over $10 or over $100 in a year. Receiving disclosure information from authors has been hampered by the multitude of forms currently used to collect this information. Commonly, an author is required to fill out a different form for each journal, each presentation, and each society’s program participation. In 2009, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) prepared and piloted a Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest in an attempt to inject some uniformity into these disclosures. After an initial review, feedback from the medical journal community was used to modify this form to become the final ICMJE form for disclosure (www.icmje.org). This form covers three primary areas: (1) potential conflicts of interest with the research work and manuscript under consideration for publication, (2) relevant financial activities outside the submitted research and manuscript for the prior thirty-six months, and (3) other relationships that may have had an influence on the manuscript. Filled out and updated online, the ICMJE form is designed to be a standardized form that precludes the need to fill out a separate form for each journal. Recently, issues related to the adequacy of the current disclosure of potential conflict of interest policy at JBJS were addressed by our Board of Trustees and editorial team. The Board, the Deputy Editors, and I support the adoption of the ICMJE disclosure form for use by the authors of manuscripts submitted to JBJS. As of January 1, 2011, all authors must include a completed ICMJE form at the time of initial manuscript submission. As of July 1, 2011, all manuscripts published in JBJS will require an up-to-date completed ICMJE form prior to actual article publication. We plan to publish disclosure forms online for each author. The JBJS editorial office will manage these completed ICMJE disclosure forms. As is currently the case, disclosure of potential conflicts of interest will not affect the decision to accept or reject a submitted manuscript. Any request for additional levels of financial disclosure, other than that currently required, will not be implemented at this time. There is no doubt that orthopaedics and our patients have benefited greatly from the interaction that we have had with industry in developing new technology for improving patient care and outcomes. With the publication of research studies, whether sponsored by industry funding or other sources, our readers are entitled to know what relationships our authors have. As orthopaedic surgeons rely on orthopaedic journals more than any other source of orthopaedic information, our journals must insist on full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Improving our ability to obtain relevant disclosure of potential conflicts of interest will ensure that our readers understand the potential conflicts involved with every manuscript that we publish as JBJS continues our tradition of providing trusted orthopaedic information.

Disclosure and Financial Performance: A Crosssectional Study of Microfinance Institutions of India

For a country like India, poverty remains to be one of biggest policy concerns. Amongst various measures to eradicate it, Microfinance, of late, has provided a ray of hope. The Task Force on Supportive Policy and Regulatory Framework for Microfinance constituted by NABARD defined microfinance as the provision of thrift, saving, credit, and financial services and products of very small amount to poor in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas for enabling them to raise their income levels and improve their standard of living. In numerous studies done across world, it is generally believed that various microfinance initiatives have been able to make a difference in target population's lives. However, increasingly, doubts have been raised over financial sustainability of microfinance institutions. MFIs need to be economically viable and sustainable in long run but economic implications of long term sustainability are not being considered. At least in India, there does not seem to be any working model of analyzing financial performance and thereby sustainability of microfinance institutions. This problem is compounded by absence of a dedicated legislation on working and management of microfinance institutions. The lack of a regulatory mechanism for financial disclosures by microfinance institutions also abets problem. The present study is an attempt to analyze financial performance of various microfinance institutions operating in India. Since currently level of financial disclosure made by these firms is not guided by any dedicated legislation and therefore is mostly voluntary, study seeks to study difference in financial performance between institutions practicing differing levels of disclosure policy.

Financial Disclosure and Speculative Bubbles: An International Comparison

The paper examines if a country's financial disclosure system affects the likelihood of speculative bubbles. We compare stock returns of eight countries that differ in the quality of their disclosure systems as ranked by Saudagaran and Biddle (1992). We examine the hypothesis that stock prices of firms in countries with a low level of financial disclosure are more prone to speculative bubbles. We employ the duration dependence model developed by McQueen and Thorley (1994) to test for the presence of bubbles. We found that returns in Japan, a country with a relatively low level of disclosure, shows evidence of a bubble.

Financial Disclosure and Bond Insurance

Regulators typically assume that public financial disclosure is necessary for the efficient functioning of capital markets. Economists recognize that other mechanisms, such as insurance, can mitigate problems that occur when buyers have less information than sellers. We examine whether public financial disclosures and bond insurance are substitutes. Our data are from municipal issuers in Michigan, where financial disclosure is required by the state, and Pennsylvania, where disclosure is unregulated. We study municipal issuers because they are not covered by federal securities laws and state laws often allow issuers to choose the level of financial disclosure. Overall, we find that when disclosure is unregulated, issuers substitute between disclosure and insurance. When disclosure is required by state law, issuers use less insurance. Our results imply that required accounting disclosure is not necessarily optimal since rational issuers will trade off public disclosure and insurance when free to do so.

Financial Disclosure and Bond Insurance

Regulators typically assume that public financial disclosure is necessary for the efficient functioning of capital markets. Economists recognize that other mechanisms, such as insurance, can mitigate problems occurring when buyers have less information than sellers. We examine whether public financial disclosures and bond insurance are substitutes or complements. Our data are from municipal issuers in Michigan, where financial disclosure is required by the state, and Pennsylvania, where disclosure is unregulated. We study municipal issuers because they are not covered by federal securities laws and state laws often allow issuers to choose the level of financial disclosure. Overall, we find that when disclosure is unregulated, issuers substitute between disclosure and insurance. When disclosure is required by state law, issuers use less insurance. Our results imply that required accounting disclosure is not necessarily optimal since rational issuers will trade off public disclosure and insurance when free to do so.