Assessing the influence of corporate attributes on the extent of financial information disclosure in Ghana.
Date
2021-05
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Abstract
Studies have shown that the measures in place to improve the accounting systems and standards in emerging economies tend to yield little results. The accounting system is mostly affected by corporate mechanisms and this inhibits the level of information disclosure to stakeholders. According to Gray et al. (1995), financial statements are the appropriate legal instrument through which companies communicate frequently with their stakeholders. Investors and stakeholders expect companies to publish their financial statements annually to aid financial decision making. However, most companies do not follow the accepted standard and procedure in communicating their information to the stakeholders, which causes a little to no trust in them. This, therefore, makes it prudent to investigate corporate attributes and how they influence information disclosed to the public. In view of that, this study sought to determine the level at which financial information is disclosed in Ghana and, to determine if profitability, leverage, liquidity and company size have any effect on disclosure level. The quantitative research method was used to analyze data on profitability, liquidity, leverage, and company size on Ghana Stock Exchange between the periods 2015 to 2019. The study utilized contents analysis methods for data gathering and the researcher also used descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis in analyzing the data. The result of this research shows that, on average, firms on the GSE disclose 59.9% of information in the index, implying that most companies do not disclose the relevant information to the public. Firm size and profitability were reported to have a negative and significant effect on disclosure. Leverage and liquidity, on the other hand, were also found to have a positive and significant influence on the level of disclosure
Keywords: Corporate attributes, disclosures, financial information, financial statements
Description
Undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, May 2021
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corporate governance, financial information reporting, IFRS standards