Users Of Annual Reports Research Articles

Does IFRS convergence affect the readability of annual reports by Indian listed companies?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of IFRS convergence on annual report readability in an emerging market context, with an emphasis on the contents of management discussion and analysis (MD&A), notes to the accounts (Notes) and the whole annual report.Design/methodology/approachThe study performs firm-fixed effect regression on a sample of 143 Indian listed companies over a period spanning from 2012 to 2021 to examine the influence of IFRS convergence on readability. This assessment primarily focuses on broader spectrums of readability dimensions, namely annual report length and complexity, wherein complexity is measured using the Gunning Fog, Flesch Reading ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade index.FindingsAs Indian firms shift to IFRS reporting, the findings suggest that annual reports have become significantly lengthier and more complex, causing deterioration in readability. The Notes section, in particular, exhibits the most significant increase in length and complexity, followed by the entire annual report and MD&A section. Furthermore, the findings also indicate that the complexity of the Notes section is instrumental in the observed complexity growth of the whole annual report in the post-IFRS period.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study employs readability indices rather than directly taking into consideration the opinions of actual users of annual reports to determine readability. As a result, the study does not provide direct evidence on how information in annual reports affects users' readability.Practical implicationsThe findings provide insightful information to managers and policymakers about the difficulties stakeholders may encounter while reading IFRS-based annual reports, which ultimately impact their investment decisions. Thus, there is an important managerial implication from this, depending upon the severity of complexity corporations participate in while complying with IFRS in the post-IFRS period.Originality/valueAnalyzing the influence of exogenous information shock, such as IFRS convergence, on readability is critical, particularly for emerging markets like India, where a lack of financial literacy and weaker enforcement already have detrimental effects on the capital market. In light of this, the current study provides a comprehensive examination of the impact of IFRS convergence on annual report readability and contributes to the growing IFRS literature in the less explored emerging market context.

Initial Evidence on the Market Impact of the iXBRL Adoption

SYNOPSISIn June 2018, the SEC adopted Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL), which embeds XBRL data into HTML-formatted annual reports to improve the accessibility and usefulness of the information disclosures to investors. This study assesses the effectiveness of iXBRL by examining its impact on informational efficiency and information asymmetry. Using a sample that includes iXBRL voluntary adopters before 2019, we find that iXBRL adoption lowers stock return drift and facilitates information being impounded into firm stock prices following the filing of annual reports. We also find that unlike XBRL, iXBRL reduces information asymmetry in the long run. These findings are consistent with the SEC’s intention of adopting iXBRL to combine human-readable and machine-readable information. Our study provides initial evidence on the effectiveness of iXBRL in communicating information to the external users of annual reports.

Preliminary study into impression management practices in chairman’s statements in South African annual reports

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a systematic difference in thetextual characteristics of information in the chairman’s statement of profitable and unprofitablecompanies on the JSE main board. The study replicated research by Clatworthy and Jones(2006) to determine the existence of impression management within chairman’s statements. Thedifference in reporting between profitable and unprofitable companies was analysed in relation tothree pre-determined textual characteristics using an attribution theory perspective.The primary conclusion drawn is that impression management does exist in the chairman’sstatements of companies listed on the JSE main board. Another finding of the study was that‘extremely unprofitable’ companies are less likely to employ impression management. Thefindings indicate that users of annual reports should be alert to the existence of reporting biasintroduced by management and its impact on the usefulness of management commentary in theirdecision-making.

International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) Adoption: An Institutional Perspective

This study seeks to examine the factors that influence the adoption of ISAs, intending to stimulate establishing a responsible and efficient auditing regime in Libyan auditing practice, shedding light on challenges in auditing practices in the North African region. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with 43 participants that represented 5 key actors from within the auditing field in Libya, including preparers and users of annual reports. Regarding ISAs adoption, the study focused on those institutional isomorphism drivers that are found to produce a greater impact on the experience of auditing practice in Libya. The identified factors are (a) foreign corporations, such as accountancy firms, (b) economic systems and the stock market, (c) international financial institutions (IFIs), and (d) the legal system. The research demonstrated that these drivers systematically and consistently predict the level of ISAs adoption commitment and associated harmonisation. Given the growing interest in harmonising auditing practice not only by scholars but also by policy and decision-makers, the relevance of this research cannot be questioned since it addresses significant concerns and contributes to the development of an under-researched topic in Africa. This paper expands the literature on the importance of harmonising auditing practices and provides fresh insights into auditing practices in a politically unstable country. Awareness is also raised about the most relevant drivers of adopting ISAs and several implications for policymakers and regulators in pursuing international harmonisation of auditing standards.

Earnings Management and Annual Report Readability: The Moderating Effect of Female Directors

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of earnings management on the readability of annual reports while also examining the moderating role of a female director. In particular, the readability of a company’s annual report will be seen from the management perspective using the FOG index on the annual reports of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2015–2018 (excluding the financial sector), with a total sample of 996. This research confirms that companies that conduct earnings management can make complex company annual reports that are difficult to read as these companies tend to hide earnings management practices. Thus, the users of annual reports will find it difficult to identify these practices. This study confirms the mathematical theory of communication that annual reports are a communication tool for companies and, therefore, must be free from financial manipulation such as earnings management because this action will give a bad signal. Moreover, the moderating effect of female directors was not proven. This implies that female directors in Indonesia had not been able to moderate the readability of annual reports; one possibility might be due to the composition of female directors, which was relatively small.

The effect of annual reports tone complexity on firms' dividend policy: evidence from the United States

PurposeThis paper investigates the impact of annual reports complexity (associated with tone complexity) on dividend policy and value of dividend policy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the variable complexity provided by the textual analytics software (Diction 7.0) as the proxy for annual reports' tone complexity. The data covered non-financial American firms from years 2011–2019. The pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and the instrumental variable regression are used to test the study’s arguments.FindingsThe findings suggest that the signaling theory of dividends holds in the United States. Firms with more complex annual reports tend to distribute more dividends, mainly in environment of high information. When information asymmetry is high, managers would use dividends as a tool to mitigate information asymmetry. Furthermore, the findings suggest that dividend policy has a stronger impact on firm value, especially when the tones of annual reports are highly complex. These findings support the previous results, namely, that managers would opt for dividend policy as a signaling tool for its positive impact on firm value. The results are robust to potential endogeneity issues and alternative proxies for both dividend policy and information asymmetry.Practical implicationsThe results demonstrate that the dividends' signaling theory holds in the United States, where the findings cannot be generalized to all markets; However, the findings of this research can be of use to potential and current investors, users of annual reports and decision makers as well.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the effect of the tone complexity of annual reports (using 10K text analytics) on the value of dividend policy and dividend policy itself in a developed economy. Understanding this relation will enable stakeholders to forecast future dividends, choose more appropriate valuation methods and hence restore investors' faith.

The Impact of the Quality of Integrated Reporting Disclosure on Corporate Reputation

In 2013, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) issued the Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework to improve corporate reporting. The purpose of IR is to integrate financial and non-financial information to explain how the organisation creates value and improves firm performance over time. Since the introduction of IR, a company weighs the benefits over the costs of changing to IR. Recent trends in IR have heightened the need to examine the actual contents of IR. The objective of this study was to find the relationship between preparing a high-quality IR and corporate reputation. Corporate reputation is one of the main objectives for the preparation of IR, and preparing a high-quality IR can positively impact corporate reputation. Data was collected from a sample of 120 companies from the IIRC websites for three years (360 firm-year observations) to examine the quality of following the 2013 Framework. An index was developed, and the corporate reputation score was collected from the RepTrak websites. The finding showed that companies preparing high-quality IR reports had a significant positive relationship with corporate reputation. Preparing a high-quality IR sends a signal to users of annual reports as a connotation of the company (good product or services, ethical management reporting), which will help build trust towards the company and improve its reputation. This study contributes by providing empirical evidence for a company, which is uncertain about the benefits of IR. The IR disclosure score can be used as a reference by IIRC and policymakers to prepare the IR. Keywords: integrated reporting, disclosure quality, corporate reputation

Propensity for and Quality of Intellectual Capital Divulgence Across the BRICS Banking Sector: A Knowledge-Based Perspective from Emerging Economies

The study seeks to identify patterns of the propensity for (frequency) and quality of (mean score) intellectual capital (IC) divulgence components (internal capital, external capital and human capital) of banks from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (“BRICS”). The research typology constructs a 5-year (2015–2019) IC disclosure index utilizing the content analysis of the annual reports and Web sites of the ten largest BRICS banks. The study selected banks according to their asset portfolios. It applies content analysis for the codification of qualitative information into quantitative patterns and principles. The findings reveal that the IC disclosure practices of BRICS banks fall into modest to satisfactory positions in all three selected categories of IC classifications. Also, the propensity for and quality of IC disclosure alters due to the non-occurrence of IC frameworks and reporting mechanisms in BRICS banks. Disparity emerges between voluntary IC disclosure and the nominal role of institutional forces in banks. Although BRICS banks had better commitments to revealing valuable information about intangibles, IC managers developed the appropriate mechanisms to capture and report the hidden values of intangibles while demonstrating “licensing agreements,” “entrepreneurial abilities,” “financial relations,” and “job-associated knowledge.” Cross-sectional data in prior studies on IC disclosure are country- and firm-specific. Thus, this is among rare studies on longitudinal analysis that investigates the propensity for and quality of IC disclosure practices in the banking sector. It also incorporates a quality index of IC disclosure requiring underpinnings of institutional and resource-based views. In conclusion, institutional and resource-based factors influence the IC disclosure practices of BRICS banks. This is significant for the users of annual reports and Web sites who want to pursue IC-related information.

The need to improve enterprises’ annual reporting in the context of its users’ characteristics. Evidence from Poland

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present the results of research among Polish annual report users on their information needs regarding improving the financial and non-financial information in annual reports. Methodology/approach: The study was conducted using two research techniques. The first one is an online survey addressed to respondents of an external database; the second one is individual inter-views. The 694 responses were analyzed to find a relationship between the responses and the characteris-tics of the respondents, such as gender, age, or education. The survey was conducted among people se-lected randomly who had experience in professions such as tax advisor, accountant, chartered accountant, financial analyst, financial advisor, investor, controller, management accounting specialist, internal auditor, and manager. Findings: The data analysis showed the legitimacy of the actions taken to improve the ap-proach to both the scope and structure of annual reports in the context of their users’ needs. However, like any empirical study, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. While the research is an attempt to fill the research gap in the area under study, it is also relevant to practice. Originality/value: The results can contribute to a better understanding of the needs of users of business information, and thus, the opportunity to meet them.

Telling a success story through the president’s letter

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the role of storytelling and impression management (IM) through the president’s letter in legitimizing the practices of an electricity company with regard to controversial issues during a period of change.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a qualitative case study, this paper examines annual report letters from 1995 to 2013 using a methodological interpretative approach.FindingsBy promoting a success story using IM, the presidents give sense to particular actions related with controversial issues and attempt to influence expectations on strategic changes. The findings demonstrate that organizational actors use the flexibility of the president’s letter to tell the story and emphasize its self-laudatory nature. The study highlights that storytelling in these documents can be used to alleviate the tensions created by the inherent contradictions of social structures.Practical implicationsThis research is useful for regulatory authorities, users of annual reports and academic researchers, making them attentive of the narratives companies may adopt to protect their legitimacy. The findings shed light on the need to evaluate the credibility of accountability mechanisms and can help stakeholders to develop a more critical view of the president’s letter.Originality/valueThis paper makes a contribution to research on communication issues by expanding literature on accounting and organizational storytelling. By demonstrating how presidents use sensegiving as a means of legitimacy-claiming, this study adds to the literature on legitimating accounts. In doing so, this paper bridges the gap between theories about organizational legitimacy, storytelling and IM. To sum up, the findings serve as an incremental step toward understanding the nature of accountability reporting.

Board Characteristics and Muslim Ownership Structure on Value Relevance of Accounting Information: Evidence from Malaysian Shariah Compliant Companies

Corporate reporting is considered important because it provides information to assist internal and external corporate annual report users in making informed decisions. The high quality of financial reporting information is really significant, since employing this information can also lead to an increase in investment efficiency. Owners or shareholders need all necessary financial information for decision making. Nevertheless, even though they own the companies but the management is carried out by a pool of professionals – managers and directors. Thus, the directors set the directions and policies for the management team to run the company’s daily affairs. The separation between ownership and managers in firms leads to the agency problem between them. This study looks into the relationship between corporate governance characteristics (the size of the board of directors, the number of Shariah background directors, number of Muslim female in board, Muslim ownership structure) and value relevance of accounting information. Findings show a positive association between board size and value relevance of accounting information in Malaysian Shariah-compliant firms. However, there is not enough evidence to prove Shariah background members on board can enhance the value relevance of accounting information. Regarding the relationship between the presence of Muslim female directors in the board and the value relevance of accounting information, the results reveal insignificant relationship. The findings also indicate that companies with large Muslim ownership are negatively significant for value relevance of accounting information.

Corporate governance and the level of Bahraini corporate compliance with IFRS disclosure

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between corporate governance (CG) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) disclosure one year before the issuance of the first Corporate Governance Code (CGC) in Bahrain.Design/methodology/approachThe CG is measured by board composition, audit committee characteristics, and ownership structure. Ordinary least-squares regressions are used to examine the relationships between the level of Bahraini corporate compliance with mandatory IFRS disclosure requirements as dependent variable and eight CG mechanisms as independent variables and five other firm-specific attributes, as control variables.FindingsThe results show that three of the CG mechanisms (i.e. board independence, audit committee independence, and Chief Executive Officer duality) are associated with the level of IFRS disclosure. This suggests that CG mechanisms are effective in the financial reporting practices. However, the results show that the other five CG mechanisms (i.e. board size, audit committee size, blockholder ownership, managerial ownership, and government ownership) are not associated with the level of IFRS disclosure. This result may prove the importance of the CGC as an effective enforcement mechanism to enforce Bahraini companies to fully comply with IFRS disclosure.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study can contribute to the understanding of the relationship between CG and IFRS in Bahrain, it may not be able to be generalized to other countries. Such relationships could be different from country to country due to business and legal environments. Therefore, there is a need to investigate these relationships among different countries. This study examines the relation between CG and the level of compliance with IFRS disclosure one year before the issuance of the first CGC in Bahrain. Future research might attempt to examine the relation one year after the issuance of the first CGC in Bahrain to confirm the importance of the CGCs as an effective enforcement mechanism.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study are of great concern to all users of annual reports and of particular interest to accounting regulators to improve the level of supervision and the standard of reporting in Bahrain. Also, it is of great concern to professional accounting bodies, policy makers, and governments in emerging markets in countries that share similar economic, political, and cultural environments.Originality/valueThis paper’s contribution to the literature is twofold: it examines the relation between three groups of CG mechanisms (i.e. board characteristics, audit committee characteristics and ownership structure) and the level of corporate compliance with IFRS disclosure; it examines the relation one year before implementing the first CGC in Bahrain and provides new evidence on the importance and effectiveness of the CGCs.

IFRS Adoption and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Nigerian Quoted Firms

This study examines whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption has impacted significantly on Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Nigeria. The study specifically investigates the views of the preparers and users of annual reports based on the impact of foreign investors on quoted companies that adopted IFRS in Nigeria. The primary method of data collection was adopted with 165 questionnaires administered while Regression method was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that the adoption of IFRS is positively and significantly related to FDI. The result also showed a significant impact of foreign investors on quoted firms that have adopted IFRS in Nigeria. The study recommends that the government should create an enabling environment to encourage investors, so as to attract foreign direct investments for the enhancement of economy status of Nigeria. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2p99

Motivation for voluntary disclosure of cash flow statements in non-listed medium-sized companies

In some EU member states, medium-sized companies are under the obligation to present a cash flow statement, but there are exemption rules similar to those for subgroups' exemption from presenting consolidated financial statements. In a sample consisting of 385 Danish companies, we found that 29 were actually exempted from presenting consolidated financial statements, but chose to voluntarily disclose the cash flow statement. In this study, we investigate the motivation that the companies had for voluntarily disclosing this information. Much to our surprise, for the majority tradition seemed to be the main motivating factor for presenting the cash flow statement, and not an intention of fulfilling the needs of the annual report's users. We also found that some of the companies that voluntarily disclosed information would like to discontinue doing so, but they did not dare to change the accounting practice because of a potential negative reaction.

Does Quality of Non-Financial Information Disclosure Influence Firms’ Profitability in Malaysia?

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of quality of Non-Financial Information disclosure in Malaysia. Non-Financial Information disclosure in this study refers to Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure, Intellectual Capital disclosure, Risk Management disclosure and Corporate Governance disclosure. This study also aims to examine the influence of quality of Non-Financial Information on firm’s profitability. It further identifies which Non Financial Information disclosure has the highest influence on firm’s profitability. Data was collected from 100 selected annual reports of Public Listed Companies by using random sampling technique and was analyzed by using Multiple Linear Regression. Two ratios have been used to measure the firms’ profitability. This study reveals mixed finding on the influence of Non-Financial and firms’ profitability. The results show that Corporate Governance disclosure has the highest influence on firm’s profitability. This study provides useful insight to the authorities on the level of quality of Non-Financial Information and this information enables them to focus on areas that need improvement. This study also gives a better understanding to the users of annual reports on the influence of Non-Financial Information disclosure on firm’s profitability.

The Use of Graphs in Malaysian Companies’ Corporate Reports: A Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of voluntary disclosure of graphical information in the annual reports of 54 non-financial public listed companies in Malaysia using a longitudinal approach. The results show that the disclosure of graphical information in Malaysian companies’ annual reports has increased at an ‘average level’ over the thirty-year period. The majority of Malaysian companies prefer to use the bar graphs and the most frequently graphed variables are profit, turnover, earnings per share, and shareholders’ fund. The implications of this study are that: a) companies should be aware of the usefulness and advantages of providing graphical information for the benefit of various user groups; b) it may timely for the accounting regulatory bodies to propose a minimum/adequate level of graphical information using selected items of high importance to users of annual reports; and to formulate suitable guidelines in order to standardise the presentation of graphical information in annual reports of companies.

Board structure and supplementary commentary on the primary financial statements

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the extent and focus of supplementary narrative commentary (SNC) on amounts reported in the primary financial statements and board structure variables.Design/methodology/approach– The study uses the disclosure index methodology to measure the extent of SNC in annual reports of 167 FTSE 250 companies. Ordinary least squares regression analysis is employed to examine the association between the extent and focus of SNC and board structure variables.Findings– The findings show that the extent of SNC on amounts reported in the primary financial statements is about 30 per cent, suggesting that companies provide commentary on a small number of amounts reported in the financial statements. In terms of focus of SNC, companies provide greater SNC on amounts in the income statement relative to the balance sheet. The regression results indicate that the extent of SNC is negatively associated with board size, and positively associated with audit committee (AC) independence and financial expertise. Focus of SNC is negatively related to AC independence and finance expertise.Originality/value– The research contributes to both the voluntary disclosure and impression management literature streams. The findings provide evidence of the extent and focus of SNC on amounts in the financial statements. They also demonstrate that board structure variables are related to the extent and focus of SNC on amounts in primary financial statements. These findings have implications for policy makers who have responsibilities for ensuring that users of annual reports receive adequate information to make decisions.

Making Quality Registers Supporting Improvements

Traditionally, quality registries have been initiated, developed, and used by physicians essentially for research purposes. There is an unrealized opportunity to expand and strengthen the contribution of quality registries in health care quality improvement. This article aims to characterize quality registry annual reports regarding factors deemed important to process improvement. The 2012 annual reports of the 5 most highly developed Swedish quality registries were examined. Each of the 636 charts included was coded according to an abstraction form. Results show that league tables are highly prevalent, whereas funnel plots and control charts are rare. Health care quality is monitored over time on the basis of few and highly aggregated measurements, and it is usually measured using percentages. In conclusion, quality registry annual reports lack both the level of detail and the consideration of random variation necessary to being able to be systematically used in process improvement. Users of annual reports are recommended caution when discussing differences in quality, both over time and across health care providers, as they can be due to chance and insufficient guidance is provided on the reports in this regard. To better support process improvement, annual reports should thus be more detailed and give more consideration to random variation.

"Creative Disclosure - Feature Of Creative Accounting "

The purpose of this research is to approach creative disclosure as a feature of creative accounting. Also known in the literature as impression management, this demarche can be found in corporate annual report under forms of distortion of narratives of numerical and graph manipulation. Little is known about the potential effects and consequences of this kind of manipulation in the practical side of accounting and on decisions made by annual report users. Creative accounting presented under all its forms of manifestation can directly affect the profit and loss account and also the balance sheet and it is also related to measurement or disclosure, the latter referring to the extent of to the method of presentation. Since disclosure is also related to credibility of accounting profession. After assessing the area approached we developed a theoretical framework for creative disclosure.

An examination of strategy disclosure in the annual reports of South African listed companies

This study examines the extent of strategy disclosure in the Annual Reports of South Africa’s top one hundred companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE). Disclosure of strategy is voluntary and not required by law. Investigation into the strategy disclosure was carried out by scoring the amount of disclosure companies reported in their Annual Reports. Variables included items such as mission, goals and objectives. Two additional criteria, Human Immunodefiency Virus (HIV) / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), were included specifically for the South African context.Results showed that maximum disclosure per criteria was low. Overall the scores of the variables indicate that although South African companies generally do disclose a lot more information on their strategy, only six per cent of companies made maximum disclosure on all twelve criteria. The lowest scores were obtained for HIV/AIDS and BEE. The low disclosure overall has implications for users of annual reports.