Discretionary disclosure of listed non-financial firms in an emerging market: Evidence from Ghana

The main objectives of this study are to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure of listed non-financial firms in Ghana. The paper also seeks to identify the corporate governance attributes that influence voluntary disclosure, and finally, it rated the importance of voluntary items in the annual reports from the viewpoint of investors in Ghana. The paper makes use of 2013 to 2016 annual reports for 17 firms. The corporate governance attributes examined are board size, the proportion of independent non-executive directors on the board, blockholder ownership and the audit committee. Five control variables were also used to support the study. We developed a total of 66 voluntary items. Both the simple frequency distribution and Stata software were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed a mean of 32.7% as the level of voluntary disclosure. Board size, block holder ownership and audit committee had a positive association but only board size was statistically significant. The proportion of independent non-executive directors had an insignificant negative relationship. Concerning the rating of the importance of the voluntary items, items under financial information were more of concern to investors. There are benefits that the findings provide which will be useful to investors, preparers of financial statements and regulators. The study reveals the corporate governance attribute(s) that influence corporate disclosure and points out the level of transparency if the level of disclosure is used as a proxy.O

Disclosure Level and Compliance with IFRS: An Investigation of Ghanaian Firms

IFRS is a timely response to the globalization of business activities in the area of financial reporting practice. This study empirically examines the extent of compliance of Ghanaian listed firms with IFRS disclosure requirements. It secondly identifies the firm-specific factors stated as company size, profitability, leverage, auditor type, company age, and the type of industry that influence the variation in the level of compliance. The study uses a longitudinal dataset of 2008 to 2017 annual reports of 35 listed firms. The study adopts both the dichotomous approach (DA) and partial compliance approach (PA) of measuring compliance in other to make an informative outcome. The findings reveal an average compliance score of 86.4% (DA) and 85.8% (PA). On records, there is still significant non-compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure. When the corporate attributes are regressed, the study shows that larger firms and firms audited by the BIG 4 accounting firms have a significant positive association with the level of compliance. Profitability shows a significant negative association also under both compliance measures. On the flip side, there is no statistical significance identified for leverage and company age. To test the sensitivity of the regression analysis, a robustness test is conducted and the outcome rarely differs. The study is essential as investors' decisions lean on this knowledge and also, this study is the first of its kind to use both compliance methods side by side. Keywords: International Financial Reporting Standards, corporate disclosure, listed firms, Ghana. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-23-04 Publication date: December 31st 202

Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure Practices in Czech Republic

The decision to disclose enough information in annual reports is seen as an act of transparency. This study seeks to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure and to examine the relationship between corporate governance determinants and the level of voluntary disclosure. The study reports an average of 51.5% as the level of voluntary disclosure. Four corporate governance variables are used as the basis for the regression analysis. The evidence shows a positive association between the level of voluntary disclosure and the proportion of independent directors, block holder and the proportion of the audit committee with only the proportion of audit committee to the board showing statistical significance. The board size has a negative association. The category of corporate governance information items as part of the total voluntary checklist is largely disclosed among Czech firms. The study contributes to the literature on voluntary disclosure in a transition economy. The findings prove useful to investors and financial statement preparers as the knowledge informs them to question and request more information from the firms which are open to the capital market