Value Relevance of Voluntary Risk Disclosure Levels: Evidence from Saudi Banks

This study seeks to examine whether the levels of voluntary risk disclosure in Saudi listed banks are valuerelevant or not. The sample of this investigation consists of all banks listed on the Saudi Stock Market Exchange (Tadawul). All data was collected from the annual reports of the sample banks from 2009 to 2013 using manual content analysis. Other variables were collected using DataStream and Bloomberg. Ordinary least squares regressions analysis was used. The findings of the multivariate analysis demonstrated that there is no association between the levels of voluntary risk disclosure and firm value as measured by the market to book value at the end of the year (MTBV). But, the results generate from the accounting based measure (ROA) show that there is a positively significant association between the levels of voluntary risk disclosure and firm value. This study contributes to the literature on general accounting disclosure and in particular advances and contributes to the literature on risk disclosure in developing economies. It also contributes to the understanding of the role of accounting information in relation to the market valuation of a firm. The empirical findings of this study have several implications for banks’ investors, regulatory bodies and any other interested group as they report the importance of corporate risk disclosure and its economic consequences. This can be used to increase the value relevance in the banking sector. This study also informs regulators about the current level of risk disclosure in all Saudi listed banks. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no prior research has been conducted on the relationship between firm value and levels of risk disclosure in general nor especially in emerging markets, such as Saudi Arabia, the focus of this study

Corporate Governance and Risk Disclosure: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Purpose- This study aims to empirically explore corporate governance and the demographic traits of top management teams as the determinants of voluntary risk disclosure practices in listed banks. This study also aims to contribute to the existing risk disclosure literature by investigating the effect of a combination of determinants on voluntary risk disclosure practices in an emerging market. Furthermore, this study seeks to contribute to risk disclosure theories by employing the upper echelons theory to examine the determinants and their effects on voluntary risk disclosure practices. Design/Methodology/Approach- This investigation uses manual content analysis to measure the levels of risk disclosure in all Saudi listed banks from 2009 to 2013. It also uses ordinary least squares regressions analysis to examine the joint effect of corporate governance and demographic traits on risk disclosure. Results- The empirical findings show that external ownership, audit committee meetings, gender, size, profitability and board size are primary determinants of voluntary risk disclosure practices in Saudi listed banks. The remainder of the independent variables of both corporate governance mechanisms and demographic traits are insignificantly correlated with voluntary risk disclosure practices in Saudi listed banks. This study supports upper echelons theory and further encompasses demographic research into the risk disclosure field. Potential Implications- The empirical findings offer several important implications by reporting to banks’ stockholder, regulatory bodies and any other interested group on the importance of corporate governance and demographic determinants, which can be used to augment risk reporting in the banking industry. This study also backs upper echelons theory and encourages further demographic research into the risk disclosure field. Originality- To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no prior research has been conducted on the determinants of risk disclosure in Saudi Arabian listed banks. Therefore, this is the first study to investigate the determinants of risk disclosure in the context of Saudi Arabia

The Level of Risk Disclosure in Listed Banks: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

This study contributes to the existing risk disclosure literature in emerging economies, in particular Saudi Arabia (SA), by examining the levels of risk disclosure in the annual reports of both Islamic and non-Islamic listed banks. This investigation uses a manual content analysis method to examine all Saudi listed banks from 2009 to 2013. This study also develops two holistic risk disclosure indices to measure the levels of risk disclosure in both Islamic and non-Islamic banks. The empirical analysis shows that Islamic banks report less risk information than non-Islamic banks. However, the analysis also reveals that both Islamic and non-Islamic banks report relatively the same amount of risk information regarding the banks’ universal items. Furthermore, the empirical analysis shows that Islamic banks report very low risk disclosure items. The study’s findings have practical implications. They inform the regulators about the current level of risk disclosure in all Saudi listed banks (Islamic and non-Islamic). For example, the findings show that Islamic banks report less risk information than their non-Islamic counterparts. The practical implications for managers from these findings are that in order to keep investors satisfied, banks with low levels of risk disclosure should enhance their reporting practices. This will help investors when making investment decisions. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, no prior research has previously been conducted on the levels of risk disclosure in Saudi Arabian listed banks. Therefore, this is the first study to examine the levels of risk disclosure in the context of Saudi Arabia

Social Risk

The risk is defined as the possibility that events will occur and affect the achievement of strategy and business objectives. To mitigate risk, companies have to develop risk management systems. Risk management systems fundamentally aim to address uncertainty in the market place. Their primary goal is to create controls and countermeasures that minimize or eliminate the disruption, loss, or damage to business operations and shorten the recovery time from an unwanted event and, thereby, reducing its impact on business