Corporate Voluntary Disclosure Research Articles

The value relevance of corporate voluntary carbon disclosure: Evidence from the United States and BRIC countries

Our study focuses on the value relevance of corporate voluntary carbon disclosure. Our sample includes firms from the United States (listed in the S&P 500) and firms from Brazil, Russia, India, and China that are targeted by the CDP. We examine whether the capital market rewards firms’ voluntary carbon disclosure. Voluntary carbon disclosure is measured as firms’ propensity to voluntarily disclose carbon information and the comprehensiveness and quality of their disclosure. We find that firms with greater carbon disclosure have higher firm value. Furthermore, the positive association between firm value and voluntary carbon disclosure is stronger in developing countries. We also find that large emitters with sufficient carbon disclosure experience a less negative valuation than firms with inadequate carbon disclosure. Furthermore, a subcomponent analysis suggests that the disclosure of specific types of climate risk and opportunity is rewarded by investors and can mitigate the valuation penalty of carbon emissions. These results have important implications for companies, investors, and regulators. Our analyses enhance understanding of the consequences of voluntary carbon reporting, which enriches the reporting of current financial information.

Risk Disclosure and Corporate Cash Holdings

In this paper, we extend corporate disclosure and corporate cash holdings literature by testing whether corporate voluntary risk disclosure affects corporate cash holdings for a sample of Tunisian non-financial listed companies. As a measure of risk disclosure, we use manual content analysis to count the number of risk-related sentences in the narrative sections of corporate annual reports. As a measure of corporate cash holdings, we use the ratio of cash and cash equivalent over the total assets. Using a sample of 140 firm-year observations for the period of 2008–2013, we find that corporate risk disclosure has a negative impact on corporate cash holdings. Our results are consistent with agency, legitimacy and impression management theories. Our paper adds to the existing literature by being the first empirical evidence for the impact of risk disclosure on cash holdings. Our findings offer policy implications relevant for the current debate on the reliability of narrative risk disclosure and whether managers inform or obfuscate stakeholders by disclosing more risk-related information in their annual report narratives.

Talk Less, Learn More: Strategic Disclosure in Response to Managerial Learning from the Options Market

ABSTRACTWe examine how options trading affects voluntary corporate disclosure, so that we can shed light on whether managers’ potential learning from the options market induces them to withhold disclosure. We find that options trading reduces the likelihood and frequency of management earnings forecasts, suggesting that firms that have active options trading on their stock make fewer voluntary disclosures. This finding is in accordance with the theoretical prediction that managers strategically reduce disclosure to avoid crowding out informed trading, which can give them informative feedback for their decision making. In support of the managerial learning channel, we document a real effect of reduced disclosure: When managers disclose less, options trading has a stronger positive effect on firm investment efficiency. The more pronounced effect of options trading on management earnings forecasts when the need for managerial learning is higher further supports the learning channel.

Does Governance Affect Compliance with IFRS 7?

Although there has been considerable research on the impact of corporate governance on corporate voluntary disclosure, empirical evidence on how governance affects compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements is limited. We contribute to governance and disclosure literature by examining the impact of corporate governance on compliance with IFRS 7 for the banking sector in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). We use a self-constructed disclosure index to measure compliance with IFRS 7. We use regression analyses to examine the impact of board characteristics, audit committee characteristics and ownership structure on compliance with IFRS 7. Using a sample of 335 bank-year observations for GCC listed banks over the period 2011–2017, we report evidence that corporate governance variables affect compliance with IFRS 7. However, the significance of these variables depends on the type of the regression model used. Our findings suggest that governance matters for mandatory disclosure requirements. So to improve the level of compliance, regulators, official authorities, and policymakers should intensify their efforts toward improving corporate governance codes, following up their implementation and enhancing the enforcement mechanisms.

Corporate Voluntary and Mandatory Disclosure: Evidence from Georgian Companies

Corporate Voluntary and Mandatory Disclosure: Evidence from Georgian Companies

Does Dividend Taxation Affect Voluntary Disclosure? International Evidence

This study examines how dividend taxation affects corporate voluntary disclosure. Using a sample of firms in 32 OECD countries from 2001 to 2017, our difference-in-differences regressions find that higher dividend tax rates reduce both the issuance and the frequency of management forecasts. The decreases are more pronounced when governance is weaker or agency problems are potentially more severe. Also, the effect of dividend tax rates on management forecasts is asymmetric. That is, tax cuts increase management forecasts, but tax hikes do not decrease management forecasts. In addition, the change in management forecasting behavior following dividend tax changes significantly affects firms’ cost of equity and stock market liquidity. Overall, our findings are consistent with the prediction of the agency theory framework that dividend taxation negatively affects corporate voluntary disclosure behavior.

Corporate Governance Development and Practices in an Emerging Economy: A Review of Empirical Findings and Literature in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The aim is to review the literature and present some of the academic contributions researchers have made in the study, development and practice of corporate governance (CG) in Saudi Arabia.
 
 Design/Methodology: We conducted a guided words search on electronic databases using “corporate governance in Saudi Arabia” as the search words. The scope of the study was restricted to the needed materials and information contained in refereed journals from 1965 to 2018 and held in the ABI/INFORM Global, Emerald databases and a few other internationally recognized electronic databases. The papers were first sorted into areas of possible CG application. They are finally analyzed and then synthesized.
 
 Findings: That six broad areas have been examined in relation to CG structures and development; they include: company financial performance, corporate social responsibilities, earnings management, corporate voluntary disclosures, financial structure and the role of CG in times of financial crisis. The papers are skewed in favour of, CG and company financial performance at the expense of other areas. CG has evolved, even though, the country’s institutional environment may not be too close to those of OECD nations, but the establishment of the new 2006 CG code is a positive addition to the business culture. Nevertheless, there are still other outstanding CG issues identified by scholars and practitioners that are not in conformity with international best CG practices.
 
 Research limitations/implications: The study’s analysis was restricted to between 1965 and 2018, and papers from some and not all electronic data bases were used. 
 
 Originality/value: The paper provides a comprehensive review and analysis CG development and practice in an emerging economy where greater importance is usually attached to informal relationships and other considerations than formal CG mechanisms.

To Delegate or Not To Delegate? On the Quality of Voluntary Corporate Financial Disclosure and Its Market Impact

This study investigates the impact of delegation structure of the top management team upon the quality of corporate voluntary disclosure on financial outcomes. The paper develops two competing hypotheses pertaining to the functional relationship between the degree of delegation and the management forecast accuracy. On the one hand, as indicated by the literature on internal governance, the efficacy of the top management team is optimized when neither CEO nor subordinate managers are dominant. On the other hand, literature has extensively documented the importance and centrality of the CEO as well as the relevancy of the subordinate managers to the voluntary disclosure activities. The empirical findings are in support of an inverted hump shape relationship between the degree of delegation and the quality of voluntary information provision, suggesting that an internal optimality of responsibility sharing between CEO and her immediate subordinates does not exist for internal information production and external information dissemination. Partial delegation and mixed executive duties lead to deteriorating quality of voluntary disclosure. In particular, the paper analyzes several aspects of managerial earnings forecasts (MFs), including bias, error, accuracy and optimism. The uncovered functional shapes are generally persistent across multiple quality metrics for MFs. Consistent with the literature on executive horizon and risk propensity, the inverted hump shape is more significant when the top management team is led by an older CEO. The paper employs an identification strategy of structural equations, controlling for selection bias and reverse causality. The empirical results are more significant in the analysis of structural equations. To theoretically underpin the arguments and empirical findings, a model of internal information production is developed in the framework of Baysian Nash Equilibrium. The paper further documents that when the delegation structure is clear, namely either the CEO or subordinates are in charge, the liquidity of company’s shares improves. The empirical evidence also indicates that the variation of liquidity driven by delegation structure is not actively incorporated in stock prices.

Uncertainty about Managerial Horizon and Voluntary Disclosure

I examine the relation between investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon and corporate voluntary disclosure. I argue that investors’ uncertainty about the manager’s short-term stock price concern works as a disclosure friction that allows for a partial disclosure equilibrium. When investors are uncertain about managers’ horizons, short-horizon managers can withhold bad news by pooling with long-horizon managers who are not motivated to disclose regardless of the content of the news, as they are largely indifferent to short-term stock prices. Based on this theoretical framework, I hypothesize that reducing investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon reduces this disclosure friction, thereby pressuring short-horizon managers to provide more voluntary disclosure. I use the executive compensation disclosure mandate as an empirical setting that reduced investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon. Employing a difference-in-differences research design, I find a significant increase in voluntary disclosure for treated firms relative to control firms, largely driven by firms with short-horizon managers.

Does Stock Liquidity Shape Voluntary Disclosure? Evidence from the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program

Employing the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program that increases the minimum trading unit of a set of randomly selected small-capitalization stocks, we examine whether and how an exogenous change in stock liquidity affects corporate voluntary disclosure. Using difference-in-differences analyses with firm fixed effects, we find that treatment firms respond to the liquidity decline by issuing fewer management earnings forecasts, while in contrast, control firms do not exhibit a significant change. Next, we show that the effect is more pronounced when firms experience more severe liquidity decreases during the TSPP and rule out a set of alternative explanations. Further strengthening the identification, we find a consistent reversal effect after the end of the pilot program. To generalize our findings, we use voluntary 8-K filings and conference calls as alternative voluntary disclosure proxies and find similar effects. Overall, these findings show how an exogenous change in stock liquidity shapes the corporate information environment.

Pengungkapan Risiko Pada Perusahaan Milik Negara (State Owned Enterprise)

ABSTRACT
 This study examines risk disclosure which is currently a fairly hot discussion among researchers. There are few studies have examined the relationship between mandatory disclosure and corporate voluntary disclosure. In this study, researchers will conduct a descriptive study of mandatory and voluntary disclosure conducted by BUMN in Indonesia. The result of the research shows that the level of mandatory disclosure that should be carried out by SOEs and the level of risk disclosure that is voluntary by BUMN It is hoped that from this research there will be a follow-up in the form of government policies to improve the level of disclosure of BUMN in Indonesia.
 Kata kunci : State owned enterprises disclosure ; teori institusional; Risk management disclosure; manual content analysis

Determinants of corporate voluntary disclosure in a transition economy

Corporate voluntary disclosure becomes a burning issue in the literature of accounting throughout the last two decades. The study aims to explore the most crucial determinants that influence corporate voluntary disclosure in a transition economy. A cross-sectional study based on the pharmaceutical and chemical companies listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange is conducted to reconnoiter the crucial determinants affecting the voluntary disclosure. Based on the agency theory, stakeholder theory, and previous literature, the determinants are selected. An unweighted disclosure index is used to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure; after that, a multivariate analysis is steered to reconnoiter the key determinants of voluntary disclosure. It is found that firm leverage and firm liquidity are the key determinants that significantly influence the corporate voluntary disclosure in a transition economy. In contrast, no significant positive association is found between voluntary disclosure and board size. In additon, it is also found that market category significantly influences voluntary disclosure with an inverse direction. This study has important implications for both the corporate people and the regulatory bodies of the transition economy. The study also helps various stakeholders of the transition economy – Bangladesh, in designing their strategies regarding the most significant determinants of voluntary disclosure. Acknowledgment We are very thankful to the Institute of Advanced Research (IAR), United International University, Bangladesh, to grant us the fund by mobilizing which we generate our required data for the study and complete this empirical study.

Voluntary Disclosure and Informed Trading*

ABSTRACTThis study analyzes the impact of informed trading on voluntary corporate disclosure in the presence of two factors: the cost of disclosure and the value of a manager's informedness. In the absence of both factors, informed trading has no impact on disclosure even when traders are not certain whether the manager has information. When disclosure is costly, informed trading serves as a free substitute for the disclosure of favorable information, and reduces disclosure. Surprisingly, when the manager's informedness is valuable for the firm, informed trading can also increase disclosure. Traders can discover unfavorable information about the firm, so managers with such information have less incentive to pool with uninformed managers and disclose to show that they are informed. The study also demonstrates that informed trading can have either a positive or a negative effect on firm value by crowding in or crowding out information production in the firm. These results hold for general information structures and are robust if traders can choose how much information can be acquired.

Ownership Structure and Corporate Voluntary Disclosures in Transition Economy

The study aims to investigate the impact of ownership structure on corporate voluntary disclosure in the listed companies of Bangladesh. While many studies on the impact of ownership structure on voluntary disclosure have looked at developed and developing countries, few studies have been carried out in a transition economy. Using a three-step relative voluntary disclosure index, the study applies a multivariate analysis on the cross-sectional data for the year 2018. The findings indicate that the quality of voluntary disclosure in transition economy is still below average but has improved compared to findings from the previous literature. We found a significant inverse relationship between corporate voluntary disclosure and public ownership, while no significant relationships between voluntary disclosure and institutional ownership, director ownership, and foreign ownership have been found. The empirical findings of the study will provide evidence to promote the voluntary disclosure characterized by the ownership structures. The findings have important implications for both local and foreign investors as they make their investment decisions especially related to a transition economy. Besides, the findings will assist, not only the corporate executives in rearranging their reporting paradigm, but also the regulators and governments in similar transition economy in adopting and formulating their corporate policies and strategies.

Director Industry Expertise and Voluntary Corporate Disclosure

We examine if firms with directors with related industry expertise (DRIs), or directors that are supply chain partners, exhibit a greater propensity to forecast earnings, and improve the specificity and accuracy of forecasts. Using instrumental variables to mitigate endogeneity, we find that DRIs and supply chain partners possess unique insights which improve managerial forecasts especially when there is greater earnings uncertainty (innovations along the supply chain, poor performance, operating in volatile industries). We use director deaths as exogenous shocks to board composition and confirm results. Results indicate that DRIs play an informational role in enhancing voluntary disclosures and improving corporate transparency.

Effect of Company’s Age and Audit Firm Size on Voluntary Corporate Social Disclosure among Selected Listed Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

Purpose of the article: In Nigeria, it is not compulsory for listed companies to report their corporate social responsibility in their financial report. However, some firms are reporting their social responsibility to their stakeholders, while some companies fail to do so. Some studies conducted on the influence of the company’s age and audit firm size on voluntary corporate disclosure showed inconsistent results and methodology differences indicate a research gap which this study tends to examine. Methodology/methods: This study used ex-post facto design. Out of thirty seven (37) consumer and industrial goods manufacturing companies listed in Nigeria as of December, 2018, only thirty (30) firms have their financial statements for the period 2008 to 2018 available either on their website or in the office of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. We applied the linear regression analysis with the aid of the SPSS 20.0 software for the panel data analysis. Scientific aim: This study investigates the effect of the company’s age and audit firm size on voluntary corporate social disclosure of the selected listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Findings: The company’s age does not have positive significant effect on voluntary corporate social disclosure. Contributions: The study shows that some young firms and older firms engaged in voluntary corporate social reporting, therefore regulatory authorities should make it compulsory for all listed firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange to disclose their corporate social responsibility.

Impact of Voluntary Disclosure on Valuation of Firms: Evidence from Indian Companies

This article investigates the effect of voluntary corporate disclosures on the firm value from the market value perspective. Financial reporting includes disclosures as prescribed by regulators, but few companies go beyond mandatory requirements and provide additional information voluntarily. This study empirically tests the extent of such voluntary disclosures using Corporate Voluntary Disclosure Index containing 81 items of both financial and non-financial information and panel data regression to test the hypotheses. The sample for this study is the non-financial companies in the BSE 100 Index and the period is five financial years from 2010–2011 to 2014–2015. This study finds a positive association between voluntary disclosures and firm value as measured by Tobin’s Q. Especially the market gives a higher valuation for companies disclosing optional information on social and environmental, corporate governance and financial information. This finding has a significant implication for emerging economies like India and it supports various disclosure theories such as agency, stakeholders and positive accounting theories.

The effect of exogenous information on voluntary disclosure and market quality

We analyze a model in which information may be voluntarily disclosed by a firm and/or by a third party, e.g., financial analysts. Due to its strategic nature, corporate voluntary disclosure is qualitatively different from third-party disclosure. Greater analyst coverage crowds out (crowds in) corporate voluntary disclosure when analysts mostly discover information that is available (unavailable) to the firm. Nevertheless, greater analyst coverage always improves the overall quality of public information. We base this claim on two market quality measures: price efficiency, which is statistical in nature, and liquidity, which is derived in a trading stage that follows the disclosure stage.

Does corporate investment efficiency affect corporate disclosure practices?

PurposeThe authors examine the impact of corporate investment efficiency on corporate voluntary disclosure for a sample of UK non-financial companies.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a sample of FTSE All-Share firms for the period of 2007–2014. Disclosure scores are collected from Corporate Financial Information Environment (CFIE). They follow Biddle et al. (2009) and Chen et al. (2011) in measuring corporate investment efficiency.FindingsThe authors find that high level of performance-related disclosure is associated with high level of corporate investment efficiency, while high level of good news information is associated with low level of corporate investment efficiency. They also find evidence on a bidirectional relation between disclosure and corporate investment efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ findings would be of importance to stakeholders and corporations. Stakeholders' investment decisions could be facilitated by understanding the disclosures provided by their firms and how these firms' performance is presented. Corporations become aware of the language which must be used to signal their performance.Practical implicationsCorporations become aware of the language which must be used in their disclosures. As firms may reflect their efficient investments but not in the form of good news in order to avoid revealing their competitive advantage to competitors.Originality/valueThis paper adds to disclosure studies by introducing a new variable, corporate investment efficiency, as a determinant of corporate disclosure practice.

Voluntary Disclosure and Informed Trading

I study the impact of informed trading on voluntary corporate disclosure in the presence of two frictions: cost of disclosure and value of managerial information. In the absence of both frictions, informed trading has no impact on disclosure even when traders are not certain whether the manager has information. If disclosure is costly, then informed trading reduces disclosure. Since traders can discover favorable information about the firm, additional disclosure of the information is not necessary. If managerial information is valuable for the firm, then informed trading increases disclosure. Since traders can discover unfavorable information about the firm, the manager with such information has less incentives to pool with uninformed managers and discloses to show that he is informed. I also show that informed trading can have both a positive and a negative real effect on the firm value by crowding in or crowding out information production in the firm. These results hold for general information structures and are robust if traders can choose how much information to acquire.