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Evaluating Board Characteristics’ Influence on the Readability of Annual Reports: Insights from the Egyptian Banking Sector

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  • Abdelmoneim Bahyeldin Mohamed Metwally

    (College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
    Accounting Department, Faculty of Commerce, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt)

  • Mohamed Samy El-Deeb

    (Accounting Department, Faculty of Management Sciences, October University of Modern Arts and Sciences, 6th October City 12451, Egypt)

  • Eman Adel Ahmed

    (Accounting Department, Faculty of Management Sciences, October University of Modern Arts and Sciences, 6th October City 12451, Egypt)

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of board characteristics (BCs) on banks’ annual reports readability (BARR). Further, it examines whether bank size (BS) moderates the association between BC and BARR. The study employs a sample of 208 bank-year observations from both listed and non-listed banks in the Egyptian stock exchange (EGX), utilizing data spanning from 2016 to 2023. The study employs a random-effect regression model to test the hypotheses and discuss the results. The results suggest that BARR has a significant association with board meetings, gender and cultural diversity. Furthermore, BS played a moderating role in determining the association between BCs and BARR, supporting the second hypothesis. The findings show that the BCs and disclosure quality differ for banks of varying sizes. The findings have practical implications for the Egyptian banking sector, highlighting that board structure is critical to transparency and maintaining public trust. Additionally, the results focus policymakers’ attention on standardizing the contents and structure of banks’ annual reports, with the aim of reducing managers’ manipulation of disclosures and reducing the level of information asymmetry between stockholders, as suggested by the agency theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdelmoneim Bahyeldin Mohamed Metwally & Mohamed Samy El-Deeb & Eman Adel Ahmed, 2024. "Evaluating Board Characteristics’ Influence on the Readability of Annual Reports: Insights from the Egyptian Banking Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-25, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:11:p:500-:d:1516260
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    References listed on IDEAS

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