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

Searching for Social and Environmental Accountability in Integrated Reporting: A Stewardship Approach

none2The study aims to examine the role of integrated reporting () Framework as part of the corporate reporting systems through the lenses of both the managerial and organisational approach and the social accounting approach identified by Contrafatto (2014) within the stewardship theory. The study adopts the Delphi method, based on semi-structured interviews conducted to gather insights from a pilot sample made up of experts operating in academia, institutions and corporate and investors’ networks, who are directly involved in the debate. Our findings support a potentially positive impact of Framework within corporate reporting systems thanks to its innovative characteristics. This study contributes to the need to support by examining its impact on management thinking and internal transformations (Adhariani and de Villiers 2019) and encouraging behaviours consistent with organisations’ sustainability objectives (De Villiers and Maroun 2017).restrictedCorrado, Miriam; Demartini, PaolaCorrado, Miriam; Demartini, Paol