IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v47y2015i1p85-99.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A typology for exploring the quality of explanations for non-compliance with UK corporate governance regulations

Author

Listed:
  • Shrives, Philip J.
  • Brennan, Niamh M.

Abstract

Companies not complying with the UK Corporate Governance Code are required to provide explanations for non-compliance. This is the capstone of the ‘comply-or-explain’ system. There are no regulations about the content of those explanations, leaving shareholders and others to judge their appropriateness. The study develops a typology to assess the quality of corporate governance explanations for non-compliance of UK FTSE 350 companies based on seven quality characteristics. Code breaches generating the non-compliance explanations for analysis are identified for two accounting periods (2004/5 and 2011/12) relating to the 2003 and 2010 Codes (data for 2011/12 in brackets).

Suggested Citation

  • Shrives, Philip J. & Brennan, Niamh M., 2015. "A typology for exploring the quality of explanations for non-compliance with UK corporate governance regulations," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 85-99.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:47:y:2015:i:1:p:85-99
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2014.08.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838914000584
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2014.08.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yan Zhang & Margarethe F. Wiersema, 2009. "Stock market reaction to CEO certification: the signaling role of CEO background," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 693-710, July.
    2. Andres, Christian & Theissen, Erik, 2008. "Setting a fox to keep the geese -- Does the comply-or-explain principle work?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 289-301, June.
    3. Carruthers, Bruce G., 1995. "Accounting, ambiguity, and the new institutionalism," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 313-328, May.
    4. Vivien Beattie & Bill McInnes & Stella Fearnley, 2004. "A methodology for analysing and evaluating narratives in annual reports: a comprehensive descriptive profile and metrics for disclosure quality attributes," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 205-236, September.
    5. Abraham, Santhosh & Shrives, Philip J., 2014. "Improving the relevance of risk factor disclosure in corporate annual reports," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 91-107.
    6. Kim Hammond & Samantha Miles, 2004. "Assessing quality assessment of corporate social reporting: UK perspectives," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 61-79, March.
    7. Arcot, Sridhar & Bruno, Valentina & Faure-Grimaud, Antoine, 2010. "Corporate governance in the UK: Is the comply or explain approach working?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 193-201, June.
    8. David Seidl & Paul Sanderson & John Roberts, 2013. "Applying the ‘comply-or-explain’ principle: discursive legitimacy tactics with regard to codes of corporate governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 791-826, August.
    9. Gauri Bhat & Ole‐Kristian Hope & Tony Kang, 2006. "Does corporate governance transparency affect the accuracy of analyst forecasts?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 46(5), pages 715-732, December.
    10. Dirk Akkermans & Hans Van Ees & Niels Hermes & Reggy Hooghiemstra & Gerwin Van der Laan & Theo Postma & Arjen Van Witteloostuijn, 2007. "Corporate Governance in the Netherlands: an overview of the application of the Tabaksblat Code in 2004," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 1106-1118, November.
    11. Botosan, Christine A., 2004. "Discussion of a framework for the analysis of firm risk communication," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 289-295.
    12. Niamh Brennan & Encarna Guillamon-Saorin & Aileen Pierce, 2009. "Impression management : developing and illustrating a scheme of analysis for narrative disclosures – a methodological note," Open Access publications 10197/2905, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    13. Lang, M & Lundholm, R, 1993. "Cross-Sectional Determinants Of Analyst Ratings Of Corporate Disclosures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 246-271.
    14. Brian Rutherford, 2003. "Obfuscation, Textual Complexity and the Role of Regulated Narrative Accounting Disclosure in Corporate Governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 7(2), pages 187-210, June.
    15. Hirshleifer, David & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2003. "Limited attention, information disclosure, and financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 337-386, December.
    16. Beretta, Sergio & Bozzolan, Saverio, 2004. "A framework for the analysis of firm risk communication," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 265-288.
    17. R Day & T Woodward, 2004. "Disclosure of information about employees in the Directors’ report of UK published financial statements: substantive or symbolic?," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 43-59, March.
    18. Lori Holder-Webb & Jeffrey Cohen, 2012. "The Cut and Paste Society: Isomorphism in Codes of Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 485-509, June.
    19. Fogarty, Timothy J. & Rogers, Rodney K., 2005. "Financial analysts' reports: an extended institutional theory evaluation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 331-356, May.
    20. Reggy Hooghiemstra, 2012. "What determines the informativeness of firms' explanations for deviations from the Dutch corporate governance code?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 1-27, March.
    21. Beretta, Sergio & Bozzolan, Saverio, 2004. "Reply to: Discussions of "A framework for the analysis of firm risk communication"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 303-305.
    22. Niamh M. Brennan & Encarna Guillamon‐Saorin & Aileen Pierce, 2009. "Methodological Insights," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(5), pages 789-832, June.
    23. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Koładkiewicz Izabela, 2017. "The Quality of Explanations for Deviation from Principles of Corporate Governance. An Introduction," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 25(3), pages 34-54, September.
    2. Areneke, Geofry & Adegbite, Emmanuel & Tunyi, Abongeh, 2022. "Transfer of corporate governance practices into weak emerging market environments by foreign institutional investors," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    3. Leona Achtenhagen & Petra Inwinkl & Jacob Björktorp & Robert Källenius, 2018. "More than two decades after the Cadbury Report: How far has Sweden, as role model for corporate-governance practices, come?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(4), pages 235-251, November.
    4. Rose, Caspar, 2016. "Firm performance and comply or explain disclosure in corporate governance," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 202-222.
    5. Maria Aluchna & Tomasz Kuszewski, 2022. "Responses to corporate governance code: evidence from a longitudinal study," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(6), pages 1945-1978, August.
    6. Brennan, Niamh M. & Edgar, Victoria C. & Power, Sean Bradley, 2022. "COVID-19 profit warnings: Delivering bad news in a time of crisis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    7. Maria Aluchna & Tomasz Kuszewski, 2020. "Does Corporate Governance Compliance Increase Company Value? Evidence from the Best Practice of the Board," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Franklin Nakpodia & Emmanuel Adegbite & Kenneth Amaeshi & Akintola Owolabi, 2018. "Neither Principles Nor Rules: Making Corporate Governance Work in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 391-408, August.
    9. John Roberts & Paul Sanderson & David Seidl & Antonije Krivokapic, 2020. "The UK Corporate Governance Code Principle of ‘Comply or Explain’: Understanding Code Compliance as ‘Subjection’," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(4), pages 602-626, December.
    10. Daniela Venanzi, 2023. "La corporate governance delle banche italiane: e' tutto oro quello che luccica? (Corporate governance of Italian banks: not all that glitters is gold)," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 76(302), pages 113-132.
    11. Peter J Baldacchino & Claire Vella & Simon Grima, 2019. "The Corporate Governance Code and Compliance by Maltese Listed Companies," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 71-90.
    12. Shrives, Philip J. & Brennan, Niamh M., 2017. "Explanations for corporate governance non-compliance: A rhetorical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 31-56.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miihkinen, Antti, 2012. "What Drives Quality of Firm Risk Disclosure?," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 437-468.
    2. Omaima Hassan & Claire Marston, 2010. "Disclosure measurement in the empirical accounting literature - a review article," Accountancy Discussion Papers 1004, Accountancy Research Group, Heriot Watt University.
    3. Mechelli, Alessandro & Cimini, Riccardo & Mazzocchetti, Francesca, 2017. "The usefulness of the business model disclosure for investors’ judgements in financial entities. A European study," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-12.
    4. Ott, Christian, 2020. "The risks of mergers and acquisitions—Analyzing the incentives for risk reporting in Item 1A of 10-K filings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 158-181.
    5. Miihkinen, Antti, 2013. "The usefulness of firm risk disclosures under different firm riskiness, investor-interest, and market conditions: New evidence from Finland," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 312-331.
    6. Michele Gendelsky de Oliveira & Graça Azevedo & Jonas Oliveira, 2021. "The Relationship between the Company’s Value and the Tone of the Risk-Related Narratives: The Case of Portugal," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-28, May.
    7. García Osma, Beatriz & Guillamón-Saorín, Encarna, 2011. "Corporate governance and impression management in annual results press releases," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 187-208.
    8. Hina Ismail & Muhammad A. Saleem & Sadaf Zahra & Muhammad S. Tufail & Rao Akmal Ali, 2021. "Application of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Principles for Measuring Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure: Evidence from Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Leung, Sidney & Parker, Lee & Courtis, John, 2015. "Impression management through minimal narrative disclosure in annual reports," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 275-289.
    10. Mohammed Adel Elzahaby, 2023. "Corporate narrative disclosure practices in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: a systematic literature review," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(3), pages 296-315, September.
    11. Ibrahim, Awad Elsayed Awad & Hussainey, Khaled & Nawaz, Tasawar & Ntim, Collins & Elamer, Ahmed, 2022. "A systematic literature review on risk disclosure research: State-of-the-art and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Beck, A. Cornelia & Campbell, David & Shrives, Philip J., 2010. "Content analysis in environmental reporting research: Enrichment and rehearsal of the method in a British–German context," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 207-222.
    13. Mohammed Mahmud Kakanda, & Basariah Salim, & Sitraselvi Chandren,, 2017. "Do board characteristics and risk management disclosure have any effect on firm performance? Empirical evidence from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 13(4), pages 506-521, October.
    14. Silvia Ruiz-Blanco & Silvia Romero & Belen Fernandez-Feijoo, 2022. "Green, blue or black, but washing–What company characteristics determine greenwashing?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4024-4045, March.
    15. Moumen, Néjia & Ben Othman, Hakim & Hussainey, Khaled, 2015. "The value relevance of risk disclosure in annual reports: Evidence from MENA emerging markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 177-204.
    16. Gerrit Sarens & Giuseppe D’Onza, 2017. "The perception of financial analysts on risk, risk management, and internal control disclosure: Evidence from Belgium and Italy," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 14(2), pages 118-138, May.
    17. Mohammed Mahmud Kakanda, & Basariah Salim, & Sitraselvi Chandren, 2017. "Corporate governance reform and risk management disclosures: evidence from Nigeria," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 13(3), pages 357-367, July.
    18. Maryam Firoozi & Sana Mohsni, 2023. "Cybersecurity disclosure in the banking industry: a comparative study," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 451-477, December.
    19. Abraham, Santhosh & Shrives, Philip J., 2014. "Improving the relevance of risk factor disclosure in corporate annual reports," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 91-107.
    20. Emilio Passetti & Andrea Tenucci & Lino Cinquini & Marco Frey, 2008. "Communicating Intellectual Capital: Evidence from Social and Sustainability Reporting," Working Papers 200805, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, Istituto di Management.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:47:y:2015:i:1:p:85-99. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.