Research on the Board Structure and the Timeliness of Accounting Information Disclosure-- Empirical Research Based on the Data of GEM Listing Corporations

As an important part of market information, accounting information reveals the timeliness, which plays an extremely important role to the market supervisors and investors. This research took 852 annual financial reports, published by Chinese Growth Enterprise Market(GEM) listing corporations from 2012-2014, as the samples to do empirical research on the board structure’s influences on the accounting information disclosure. The results showed that the board structure had influences on the timeliness of accounting information disclosure in a certain extent, CEO duality in listing corporation had negative correlation with the timeliness of accounting information disclosure, and the proportion of independent directors had positive correlation with it

National Company Disclosure Regulatory Frameworks: Superficially Similar But Substantively Different, 3 J. Marshall Global Mkt. L.J. 187 (2015)

The United States has led the world for many decades with regard to company disclosure rules and standards; other national company disclosure structures are based largely on the U.S. model. In December 2013 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) indicated that it intended to review Regulation S-K, which contains many important rules governing listed company reporting in the United States. This Article calls for the SEC to maintain its comprehensive approach to corporate disclosure regulation and practice as an essential platform for the future health of global financial markets. This Article highlights the importance of the global leadership of the United States in this regulatory space and the strength of its existing structure by comparing and contrasting the periodic and continuous disclosure rules that apply to companies listed on the major exchanges in the United States, Europe, and Asia

Value Relevance of R&D Reporting: Evidence from IT Companies Listed on China Stock Market

As the result of the adoption of Accounting Standards for Business Enterprise (2006) in the beginning of 2007, the accounting treatment of Research and Development (R&D) expenditure changed dramatically. IT (Information Technology) industry, an R&D intensive industry, was expected to experience more significant change than average. Meanwhile, the financial market in China was increasing mature and investors were becoming more sophisticated. These conditions provide a meaningful ground to investigate the value relevance of R&D reporting based on data of listed IT firms. The work observed all IT firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange over the period of 2009 to 2015. In this study, I find evidence supporting the implementation of accounting reforms on R&D increases the value relevance of financial reports. In addition, I also find positive (negative) association between the market value and R&D asset (expense). This study extends the existing studies regarding the effect of R&D reporting reform by using ‘AS-IF’ method. Besides, it collaborates with existing argument that valuation effect of capitalized R&D expenditure is distinct from that of expensed capitalized R&D expenditure. The existence of difference of valuation effect between GEM and Other Boards (Main Board and SME Board) is examined as well, while the study fails to find evidences supporting such difference

Perceptions of Corporate Annual Reports' Users toward Accounting Information and Voluntary Disclosure and its Determinants: The Case of Kuwait

This study investigates four significant dimensions of the corporate annual reports (CARs) environment in one of the emerging markets in the Middle East, Kuwait: [1] the perceptions of major external users of annual reports regarding current voluntary disclosure practices, [2] the identification of voluntary items perceived as useful, [3] the assessment of voluntary disclosure levels and their evolvement over the period covered by the current study (2005-2008), [4] the impact of a comprehensive set of company characteristics and corporate governance attributes on explaining variations in the extent of disclosure. A questionnaire survey is used to test the first two dimensions, covering four user groups, while hand-collected data from a sample of 206 annual reports of non-financial companies and other complementary sources are used to test the other two. The study employs a theoretical framework (agency, signalling, legitimacy, and stakeholder theories) to explore the motivations of companies to release voluntary information. The 143 received responses are analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. The analysis brings to light the remarkable agreement among the participants on the importance of CARs, interim reports, and advice from specialists as sources of information for making judgments. Regarding the level of voluntary disclosure, respondents strongly agree that the annual reports of listed companies provide inadequate information to users. Participants also indicate their desire for more information to be required than companies currently provide, to improve decision making and the usefulness of CARs. The results suggest that most users believe that there is a necessity to develop sophisticated capital market infrastructure and comprehensive regulations to help foster confidence in the capital market and protect market participants. Although multivariate analysis reveals that the actual level of voluntary disclosure is low, the overall level is gradually improving over time. The extent of voluntary disclosure tends to be significantly higher as the percentage of government ownership increases. Disclosure practices are also positively influenced by cross-listing and company size. Conversely, voluntary disclosure practices are negatively influenced by cross-directorships, board size, role duality, and company growth, while family members, ruling family on the board, and audit committees have no bearing on disclosure. Interestingly, the determinants of disclosure vary among the categories of information. No single explanatory variable explains the variation in the overall level of voluntary disclosure and the variations in the disclosure level of all categories of information

Country comparison: Levels of investor relations information within the different countries in the OMX market

The quality of the Investor Relations information can be different from company to company and from country to country. The aim of the thesis is to examine the differences small investors face when evaluating companies in different countries within the OMX stock exchange (Finland, Sweden, Demark and Baltic countries) and the differences on the level of the Investor Relations information in certain companies within these countries on three different levels: legal, timeliness and overall applicability. Due to the fact that IR is still a fairly new area of scientific research the thesis used an exploratory method to describe the differences between the regions. The materials used in the thesis included scientific literature as a starting point for examining the IR function as well as best practice guidelines from the practical field. Empirical section included several company website examples as well as different IR surveys and rankings. The thesis found that legal frameworks and implementation of regulation varies greatly from country to country even within the countries in OMX stock exchange and that small investors are greatly dependent on companies in certain areas of the information, since no other sources exists. In summary the level of IR information is dependent on local implementation of regulations and infrastructure of the financial systems and the technologies used to present and display information towards small investors Implications of the thesis are connected to small investors evaluating companies outside their home market, governments and legal entities to push technology and financial infrastructure for improved level of Investor Relations information and people working with Investor Relations

Corporate social responsibility disclosure in Vietnam: how did companies react to scandals?

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Securities regulation in the international environment

It is undisputed that the world’s securities markets are becoming increasingly international and increasingly integrated. The internationalization of the world’s securities markets is one of the most significant developments affecting the securities markets of many nations. “How should regulators respond?” is an issue that is hotly contested. The purpose of this thesis is not to introduce a new theory but rather to offer a comprehensive analysis of past and present practice, in order to identify what is effective and what is not. There are three competing approaches to international securities regulation – harmonization, regulatory competition and cooperation. Thus the thesis analyzes these three leading current theoretical arguments in turn as paradigms for international securities regulation. On this basis, the paper will focus on these three approaches and address the fundamental questions posed by the internationalization of securities markets: which regulatory approach is the proper and best way to govern securities regulation in the new international market? Are there any areas which need to be improved? And therefore, how can international regulation be improved? The thesis will answer these questions in two ways: in theory and in practical application. With regard to theory, the thesis examines the definitions and arguments given to each approach. Harmonization is the idea that rules and regulations should be standardized across countries as much as possible. In contrast to the harmonization is the regulatory competition approach. Under this model, countries do not coordinate with one another – each country is free to enact whatever rules and regulations it chooses. Whereas, the third approach cooperation traditionally is an instrument to reduce conflicts and tensions. International cooperation is defined as conscious policy coordination among states. On a practical level, the thesis delineates the current stage of harmonization, regulatory competition and cooperation developments in the EU, US, as well as internationally. It should be recognized that each of the three securities regulatory approaches analyzed in this thesis have contributed much towards international securities regulation. However, as discussed each approach has its problems, none is perfect. As long as there are regulations, there will be abuses and room for improvements. One of major problem in the international arena is that there are no international law-making institutions vested with legal authority to address these issues. Instead of a formal international securities regulator there is a set of international institutions which include a limited number of countries which produce standards and norms that are then adopted by national authorities on a voluntary basis. Because of the diversity, complexity, and universality of issues likely to continue to arise over the next decade, a single international body should be considered to facilitate world cooperation in addressing these issues

ADB–OECD Study on Enhancing Financial Accessibility for SMEs: Lessons from Recent Crises

During the era of global financial uncertainty, stable access to appropriate funding sources has been much harder for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The global financial crisis impacted SMEs and entrepreneurs disproportionately, exacerbating their traditional financing constraints. The financial conditions of many SMEs were weakened by the drop in demand for goods and services and the credit tightening. The sovereign debt crisis that hit several European countries contributed to further deterioration in bank lending activities, which negatively affected private sector development. The global regulatory response to financial crises, such as the Basel Capital Accord, while designed to reduce systemic risks may also constrain bank lending to SMEs. In particular, Basel III requires banks to have tighter risk management as well as greater capital and liquidity. Resulting asset preference and deleveraging of banks, particularly European banks with significant presence in Asia, could limit the availability of funding for SMEs in Asia and the Pacific. Lessons from the recent financial crises have motivated many countries to consider SME access to finance beyond conventional bank credit and to diversify their national financial system. Improving SME access to finance is a policy priority at the country and global level. Poor access to finance is a critical inhibiting factor to the survival and growth potential of SMEs. Financial inclusion is thus key to the development of the SME sector, which is a driver of job creation and social cohesion and takes a pivotal role in scaling up national economies. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have recognized that it is crucial to develop a comprehensive range of policy options on SME finance, including innovative financing models. With this in mind, sharing Asian and OECD experiences on SME financing would result in insightful discussions on improving SME access to finance at a time of global financial uncertainty. Based on intensive discussions in two workshops organized by ADB in Manila on 6–7 March 2013 and by OECD in Paris on 21 October 2013, the two organizations together compiled this study report on enhancing financial accessibility for SMEs, especially focusing on lessons from the past and recent crises in Asia and OECD countries. The report takes a comparative look at ADB and OECD experiences, and aims to identify promising policy solutions for creating an SME base that is resilient to crisis, from a viewpoint of access to finance, and which can help drive growth and development

The Role of Hong Kong's Financial Regulations in Improving Corporate Governance Standards in China: Lessons from the Panama Papers for Hong Kong

Hong Kong contributes to poor corporate governance on the Mainland. Could regulatory reform in Hong Kong help improve corporate governance standards/practices (and thus firm value) on the Mainland? In this paper, we discuss ways to incentivize Mainland firms to improve their corporate governance by adopting numerous market-value increasing reforms in Hong Kong. These include the limited extra-territorial application of corporate governance provisions, changes to the Listing Rules to ‘contract’ for better corporate governance, and incentives to collect better corporate governance data. Other reforms include increasing financial transparency (particularly about corporate ownership and control), reducing financial firms’ incentives to trade in shell corporations, regulating relationships with tax havens, and encouraging the redrafting of China’s 2002 Code of Corporate Governance. We provide 31 recommendations and estimate that these recommendations can increase market values on the Mainland by 7% (or in value of roughly $330 billion), while improving the value-added of Hong Kong’s own incorporation/corporate services companies.postprin