The determinants of web-based investor relations activities by companies operating in emerging economies : the case of Jordan

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Web-Based Investor Relations Activities: an Empirical Examination on Companies Listed in Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange

This study seeks to examine the relationship between Corporate Governance mechanisms and corporate web-based investor relations reporting practices of companies listed in Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). The study draws a sample of 56 companies listed in ADX and conducted a content analysis on their websites to assess the level to which investor relations information are disclosed. Results of the content analysis showed that all companies included in the sample have a corporate websites and more than 50% disclose information related to investor relations. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to find the relationship between 4 independent variables reflecting corporate governance mechanisms (Government ownership, Institutional ownership, Board independence, and Audit committee financial expertise) and Web-based investor relations disclosures. The results showed a significant positive relationship between Ownership structure (Government and Institutional) and Audit committee financial expertise and the degree to which companies disclose IR information on their websites. This indicates that strong corporate governance mechanisms are influencing and motivating companies to enhance and improve their disclosure activities by using a new medium (i.e. the internet) and therefore increasing the transparency and information availability to the stock market participants in emerging economies such as the UAE. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Investor Relations, Internet Financial Reporting, Voluntary Disclosure

Is Internet Reporting Useful?:Evidence from Egypt

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of 18 users and preparers regarding the corporate internet reporting (CIR) practices of companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Design/methodology/approach: A decision-usefulness theoretical framework is used as a lens for the study, in order to shed light on: internet infrastructure and its use for disclosure purposes in Egypt; the benefits of and trends in practices relating to CIR in Egypt; how the information presented accords with the qualitative characteristics of �usefulness� set out in the IASB�s conceptual framework of 2010; and the potential economic consequences of CIR. Findings: The results indicate reasonable satisfaction with internet infrastructure in Egypt. The interviewees are intensive users of the internet, including accessing electronic sources of corporate information, but the perception remains of hard copy financial reports as the most important source of disclosure. With the exception of verifiability, the majority of respondents viewed CIR as having a (potentially) positive impact on the qualitative characteristics of accounting information as set out in the IASB framework. Research limitations/implications: The use of the interview method is subject to some limitations. These include: the perceived lack of anonymity, which may restrict the extent to which participants speak honestly or openly about the topic being investigated; the non-standardisation of responses � which can result in the inability to make systematic generalisations; and interviewees� perceptions being influenced by events which have taken place prior to the discussion. Practical implications: This research provides substantive insights for policy makers about the current attitudes of interested parties concerning CIR in Egypt. Originality/value: This study contributes to our knowledge in a number of ways, as it provides up-to-date evidence of interested parties� views concerning CIR practices and it indicates how CIR has affected the quality of financial information disclosure practices. Moreover, this study extends prior research on the use of the internet as a disclosure channel by considering a different empirical site, namely Egypt, and also by adopting a different theoretical framework. � 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Silicon Valley Meets Norwalk

The article discusses financial reporting issues raised by the U. S. corporations in the increasing use of the Internet. The Internet is affecting traditional statements and audits as companies explore online options. Financial information is now easily available online, creating a new readership. CPAs must consider how to help make this information useful to the expanded public. Companies need to identify who will use their sites and provide appropriate features. Search engines help users connect information from all over a given Web site. Analysts may want to download financials into spreadsheets

Explanations, economic consequences and perceptions of internet financial reporting by Chinese listed companies - an empirical study of Chinese stock exchanges

The aim of this study is to examine Internet financial reporting (IFR) in an emerging capital market. It has three main objectives: first, to examine the provision of financial information on the websites of Chinese listed companies and identify the factors determining the financial information on such websites; second, to examine the economic consequences of IFR on a company’s value in China; and, third, to investigate the perceptions of Chinese participants regarding IFR. Fifteen research questions were designed and twelve hypotheses formulated to accomplish the above aims and objectives. This study applies an empirical approach to investigating IFR practices of Chinese listed companies. The study combines quantitative and qualitative research methods, with an emphasis on quantitative research methods. To answer the research questions and test the twelve hypotheses, data collection comprised an IFR index review and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive analyses showed relative improvement in the disclosures of financial information, corporate governance information, social responsibility, timeliness of disclosure, presentation and usability on the sampled websites. The results of a univariate analysis and a multivariate analysis indicated that company size, industry type, big-4 auditor type, state share ownership, foreign share ownership, CEO duality, and the proportion of independent directors are significant explanatory variables associated with disclosures on corporate websites. Conversely, leverage, profitability, legal person ownership, and board size have no predictive value for determining Internet financial reporting practices among listed companies. Sensitivity analyses were performed and the results were consistent. This finding meets the expectations of agency theory, signalling theory, institutional theory, the cost and benefit approach, and stewardship theory. The finding from the interviews with company participants suggested that factors determining whether companies adopt IFR include: communication tools with investors and other stakeholders, provision of timely information to investors, the extent to which having a website improves a company’s image and reputation, management decisions and likelihood of winning awards. Factors influencing companies not to disclose financial information on their websites included the presence of financial information in other media. Additionally, some companies had no website because there is no legal requirement to do so and so a website is not a management priority. Participants from companies also provided some ideas for IFR improvement from China’s perspective. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to discover whether IFR and its components affect a firm’s value. Models for both 2010 and 2011 revealed that IFR total score has a significant negative impact on firm value. Additional regression tests were therefore performed to examine firm value and IFR components, IFR content, timeliness, corporate governance, social factors, presentation and usability all have a negative effect on firm value. A significant negative association between IFR information and firm value suggests proprietary costs are particularly relevant for IFR disclosure. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical and theoretical evidence about IFR practices of China listed companies. Results from statistical analysis, together with perceptions of participants, as expressed in interviews, provided a better understanding of IFR practices. In light of the research results, regulators and policy makers are expected to benefit from a clearer understanding of the needs of the market, thereby creating a new challenge for regulators when developing future schemes regarding the financial reporting regulatory framework, in order to achieve a higher level of compliance and transparency. These empirical results provide a significant benefit to professional bodies; in particular, furthering understanding of IFR practices and their characteristics, helping to standardise IFR content, to define codes of conduct, and to dictate rules and recommendations for the future. The findings will benefit companies seeking to learn about how to exhibit best practice. The results will be interesting to academics and future researchers in the area of emerging markets, as the Chinese stock market is developing rapidly and offers a unique institutional environment. This research also provides useful insights into the relationship between agency issues, the cost and benefit approach, unique institutional frameworks and IFR

Internet financial reporting quality and corporate characteristics : the case of construction companies listed in Greek and Cypriot stock exchange

This study examines the role of the Internet in the financial reporting practices of publicly traded Greek and Cypriot construction companies. Its key contribution is the development of a relevant index that is assessed against key business characteristics: profitability, leverage, audit firm size, firm size, ownership dispersion, time length of operations, and market to book value. The association between the proposed index and firm characteristics was examined with the use of multiple regression analysis. Our findings indicate, among others, that Internet-related financial disclosure is significantly associated with profitability, leverage, firm age and ownership dispersion.peer-reviewe

Internet Financial Reporting: the Case of Philippine Banks

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the extent of internet financial reporting (IFR) of Philippine banks. Used as samples were top commercial banks and thrift banks operating in the country considering their total assets as of March, 2012 as published by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in its website. Financial information in the websites of the sampled banks were evaluated during the third quarter of 2012. The study revealed that the quality and extent of IFR of Philippine commercial banks is “average” based on their IFR index score of 44.50 while thrift banks posted a below average IFR index score of 21.56 resulting to a highly significant difference between bank types. Among the four evaluation criteria used, the subject-banks\u27 content disclosure provides the highest percentage contribution to their IFR index scores as this is the main focus of their financial reporting. Among the components of content disclosure, corporate information, chairman\u27s report and the auditor\u27s report emerged as the top three often included in the financial disclosure of the subject-banks while vision statement and press release are the components often updated by both bank types in their websites with the commercial banks notably updating more frequently compared to thrift banks. Relative to technology, online feedback is the most common component in the banks\u27 website while link to homepage is the most usual user support feature relative to the bank\u27s financial reporting practice. Lastly, asset size and bank type were found to have a high significant relationship with the extent of IFR

Factors Influencing Companies to Engage in Voluntary Internet Financial Reporting: A Review

This paper aimed to survey the accounting literature for the supporting factors of voluntary internet financial reporting by corporations. It is generally and widely believed that the Internet may encourage companies to disclose more information and to develop websites for that purpose. However, these tendencies are limited by many concerns on the part of companies and users of companies’ financial information.     Thus, this study surveys the literature for the studies that may fall under any of the two categories. However, Studies that come under the first category have identified various factors that support voluntary internet financial disclosure. These include timeliness and updatability, cost savings, presentation flexibility and feedback, widening information provision among many others. The other category of those studies identified discouraging factors of internet financial reporting that include boarder problem, information overload, reliability, integrity, confidentiality of disclosed data, lack of regulations, access problems among other hampering factors. &nbsp

Key determinants of the voluntary adoption of corporate internet reporting and its consequence on firm value : evidence from Egypt

Corporate Internet reporting represents one of the voluntary types which helps to achieve transparency by disseminating various types of timely information by using different presentation types and easily accessible tools. Corporate governance has become one of the most crucial issues in recent years due to the consequent scandals that have happened either in developed or developing countries. Therefore, most stakeholders demand greater transparency within the disclosed information provided by various companies. Consequently, the current study aims to contribute to the disclosure literature by examining the association between corporate Internet reporting and its main components, and corporate governance and ownership structure variables in one of the developing countries, namely Egypt, based on a comprehensive theoretical framework and explore the economic consequences of corporate Internet reporting and its main components. By using a self-construct disclosure index, the study measures corporate Internet reporting based on an un-weighted checklist that includes 100 items. Of the Egyptian listed companies, 343 are surveyed to explore the extent of corporate Internet reporting. The findings reveal that about half of the Egyptian listed companies have a website. However, the level of corporate Internet reporting is slightly low relatively to the developed countries. The results of the empirical findings demonstrate that corporate Internet reporting by Egyptian listed companies is influenced by various variables such as company size, leverage, legal form, asset in place, financial type, foreign listing, audit type, shares volatility, shares activity, shares issuance, block holder ownership, managerial ownership, governmental ownership, institutional ownership, board size and family members on the board. In addition, the study indicates that these determinants vary among the various components of corporate Internet reporting: content, presentation, timeliness and usability. Finally, the study provides empirical evidence that corporate Internet reporting has a positive impact on firm value. Such a finding demonstrates the importance of corporate Internet reporting in the Egyptian context and reveals the motivation for applying such a disclosure medium.Egyptian Governmen