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Empirically Investigating the Disclosure of Nonfinancial Information: A Content Study on Corporations Listed in the Saudi Capital Market

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  • Reem Fraih Alshiban

    (Department of Accounting, Hail University, Hail 55427, Saudi Arabia)

  • Khalid Rasheed Al-Adeem

    (Department of Accounting, King Saud University, Riyadh 11597, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

This study empirically assesses the disclosure of nonfinancial information in corporate reporting. In examining the contents of annual and board reports for 50 listed corporations, a coding sheet was developed by combining the two coding sheets of Boshnak and the European Directive 2014/95/EU. All corporations in three sectors—energy, utilities, and materials, which collectively represents 85.51% of the Saudi market capitalization—encompass the sample. Results reveal that employees, community, and products and services information have a moderate disclosure level. In contrast, environmental, customers, and fighting corruption have a low level. The findings also show that nonfinancial disclosure of the selected sectors on average range between 28.85% for the corporations in the material sector to 39.22% for the corporations in utilities sector. The corporations in the energy sector scored, on average, 37.65%. The mean for the entire sample of the ratios of disclosed nonfinancial items is 30.35%. However, the average disclosure level is without substantial improvement since 2012 and 2013, as previously reported The Capital Market Authority (CMA) is recommended to mandate nonfinancial information disclosure. It is a step toward realization aspects of Saudi Vision 2030 concerning with, for instance, protecting environment and other related matters.

Suggested Citation

  • Reem Fraih Alshiban & Khalid Rasheed Al-Adeem, 2022. "Empirically Investigating the Disclosure of Nonfinancial Information: A Content Study on Corporations Listed in the Saudi Capital Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:15:y:2022:i:6:p:251-:d:830683
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    References listed on IDEAS

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