Corporate reporting and disclosures in the emerging capital market of Kuwait:the perceptions of users and preparers

The objective of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of users and preparers regarding financial disclosure practices in annual reports of Kuwaiti listed firms. To measure participants' views, a questionnaire survey was distributed in Kuwait between October and December 2012, to preparers (financial managers) and users (financial analysts) within Kuwaiti listed companies. The study compares between the perceptions of financial managers and financial analysts regarding disclosing information in corporate annual reports as well as the main obstacles facing the disclosure process and what the problems restricting the use of companies' annual reports. The study also seeks to investigate whether there is a perceived need for improving the usefulness of Kuwaiti companies' annual reports for decision-making. The results, based on 137 responses, indicate that accounting practices in Kuwaiti firms are firmly rooted in a decision-usefulness tradition with management and the board of directors viewed as the key audience for reporting information. Indeed, the annual reports of Kuwaiti listed companies are perceived as the most important sources of information. On the whole both users and preparers shared similar concerns regarding the volume of information contained within annual reports; however, their views differed in terms of identifying potential solutions. The results of the study are likely to have implications for decision makers, the academic community and accounting standard setters. 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature

The role of financial statements in the prediction of innovative firms: empirical evidence from Greece

International audienceThis study was undertaken on the basis of reports from international research literature, which indicates that although investments in innovation have a higher return, compared to conventional investments, any relevant information concerning those investments is not distinctly (or clearly) reported on financial statements. The absence of information regarding such investments underlines the inadequacy of financial reporting. In fact, the apparent substitution of official financial statements for other unofficial documents, perhaps even derived from unsafe sources, indicates the negative effects this absence causes on market efficiency. The consequence could be more serious to those investors that are not in the position to seek and use alternative information sources, efficiently. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of the Electre Tri method in developing models for identifying innovative firms