IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mup/actaun/actaun_2019067030823.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Discretionary Disclosure of Listed Non-Financial Firms in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Abdul Mansulu

    (Department of Accounting and Taxation, Faculty of Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Daniel Anarfi

    (Department of Accounting and Taxation, Faculty of Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

Abstract

The main objectives of this study are to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure of listed non-financial firms in Ghana. The paper also seeks to identify the corporate governance attributes that influence voluntary disclosure, and finally, it rated the importance of voluntary items in the annual reports from the viewpoint of investors in Ghana. The paper makes use of 2013 to 2016 annual reports for 17 firms. The corporate governance attributes examined are board size, the proportion of independent non-executive directors on the board, blockholder ownership and the audit committee. Five control variables were also used to support the study. We developed a total of 66 voluntary items. Both the simple frequency distribution and Stata software were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed a mean of 32.7% as the level of voluntary disclosure. Board size, block holder ownership and audit committee had a positive association but only board size was statistically significant. The proportion of independent non-executive directors had an insignificant negative relationship. Concerning the rating of the importance of the voluntary items, items under financial information were more of concern to investors. There are benefits that the findings provide which will be useful to investors, preparers of financial statements and regulators. The study reveals the corporate governance attribute(s) that influence corporate disclosure and points out the level of transparency if the level of disclosure is used as a proxy.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdul Mansulu & Daniel Anarfi, 2019. "Discretionary Disclosure of Listed Non-Financial Firms in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Ghana," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(3), pages 823-837.
  • Handle: RePEc:mup:actaun:actaun_2019067030823
    DOI: 10.11118/actaun201967030823
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201967030823.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge

    File URL: http://acta.mendelu.cz/doi/10.11118/actaun201967030823.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.11118/actaun201967030823?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Praveen Kumar & Nisan Langberg & K. Sivaramakrishnan, 2012. "Voluntary Disclosures, Corporate Control, and Investment," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 1041-1076, September.
    2. Eng, L. L. & Mak, Y. T., 2003. "Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 325-345.
    3. Chen, Charles J. P. & Jaggi, Bikki, 2000. "Association between independent non-executive directors, family control and financial disclosures in Hong Kong," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 285-310.
    4. Lu, Xun & White, Halbert, 2014. "Robustness checks and robustness tests in applied economics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 178(P1), pages 194-206.
    5. Dulacha G. Barako & Phil Hancock & H. Y. Izan, 2006. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Corporate Disclosure by Kenyan Companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 107-125, March.
    6. Cheng, Eugene C.M. & Courtenay, Stephen M., 2006. "Response to discussion of "board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 293-294.
    7. Cheng, Eugene C.M. & Courtenay, Stephen M., 2006. "Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 262-289.
    8. Agyemang, Otuo Serebour & Aboagye, Emmanuel & Ahali, Aaron Yao Ofoe, 2013. "Prospects and Challenges of Corporate Governance in Ghana," MPRA Paper 47117, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Pamela Kent & Jenny Stewart, 2008. "Corporate governance and disclosures on the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 48(4), pages 649-671, December.
    10. Begoña Giner Inchausti, 1997. "The influence of company characteristics and accounting regulation on information disclosed by Spanish firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 45-68, May.
    11. Wallace, R. S. Olusegun & Naser, Kamal, 1995. "Firm-specific determinants of the comprehensiveness of mandatory disclosure in the corporate annual reports of firms listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 311-368.
    12. Ray Donnelly & Mark Mulcahy, 2008. "Board Structure, Ownership, and Voluntary Disclosure in Ireland," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 416-429, September.
    13. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    14. Marco Allegrini & Giulio Greco, 2013. "Corporate boards, audit committees and voluntary disclosure: evidence from Italian Listed Companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(1), pages 187-216, February.
    15. Godfred A. Bokpin & Zangina Isshaq, 2009. "Corporate governance, disclosure and foreign share ownership on the Ghana Stock Exchange," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(7), pages 688-703, July.
    16. R.M. Haniffa & T. E. Cooke, 2002. "Culture, Corporate Governance and Disclosure in Malaysian Corporations," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 38(3), pages 317-349, October.
    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. Abdul Mansulu, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure Practices in Czech Republic," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 69(1), pages 111-125.

    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. Abdul Mansulu, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure Practices in Czech Republic," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 69(1), pages 111-125.
    2. Alberto Quagli & Elisa Roncagliolo & Gabriele D’Alauro, 2021. "The preparedness to adopt new accounting standards: a study of European companies on the pre-adoption phase of IFRS 15," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 290-303, September.
    3. Hichem Khlif & Kamran Ahmed & Mohsen Souissi, 2017. "Ownership structure and voluntary disclosure: A synthesis of empirical studies," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(3), pages 376-403, August.
    4. Abdalla Shwairef & Azlan Amran & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Noor Hazlina Ahmad, 2021. "The mediating effect of strategic posture on corporate governance and environmental reporting," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 349-378, February.
    5. Jaime Guerrero-Villegas & Leticia Pérez-Calero & José Manuel Hurtado-González & Pilar Giráldez-Puig, 2018. "Board Attributes and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Samaha, Khaled & Khlif, Hichem & Hussainey, Khaled, 2015. "The impact of board and audit committee characteristics on voluntary disclosure: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 13-28.
    7. Ebrahim, Ahmed & Fattah, Tarek Abdel, 2015. "Corporate governance and initial compliance with IFRS in emerging markets: The case of income tax accounting in Egypt," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 46-60.
    8. Ayman Haddad & Wasim AlShattarat & Naser AbuGhazaleh & Haitham Nobanee, 2015. "The impact of ownership structure and family board domination on voluntary disclosure for Jordanian listed companies," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 203-234, December.
    9. Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & Frías Aceituno, José V. & García Rubio, Raquel, 2014. "El consejo de administración y las memorias de sostenibilidad," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-16.
    10. Al-Akra, Mahmoud & Eddie, Ian A. & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir, 2010. "The influence of the introduction of accounting disclosure regulation on mandatory disclosure compliance: Evidence from Jordan," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 170-186.
    11. Rupjyoti Saha & K. C. Kabra, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure: A Synthesis of Empirical Studies," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 8(2), pages 117-138, July.
    12. Kirti Aggarwal, 2023. "Corporate governance and HR disclosure practices: evidence from India," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Khandelwal, Chandni & Kumar, Satish & Madhavan, Vinodh & Pandey, Nitesh, 2020. "Do board characteristics impact corporate risk disclosures? The Indian experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 103-111.
    14. Mahmoud Al‐Akra & Ian Eddie & Muhammad Ali, 2010. "The association between privatisation and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from Jordan," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 55-74.
    15. Roshayani Arshad & Rohaya Md Nor & Nur Adura Ahmad Noruddin, 2011. "Ownership Structure And Interaction Effects Of Firm Performance On Management Commentary Disclosures," Journal of Global Management, Global Research Agency, vol. 2(2), pages 124-145, July.
    16. Luminita Enache & Antonio Parbonetti & Anup Srivastava, 2020. "Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 541-577, August.
    17. Khaleed Omair Alotaibi & Khaled Hussainey, 2016. "Determinants of CSR disclosure quantity and quality: Evidence from non-financial listed firms in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(4), pages 364-393, November.
    18. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & René P. Orij, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 411-432, May.
    19. Gisbert, Ana & Navallas, Begoña, 2013. "The association between voluntary disclosure and corporate governance in the presence of severe agency conflicts," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 286-298.
    20. Melis, Andrea & Gaia, Silvia & Carta, Silvia, 2015. "Directors' remuneration: A comparison of Italian and UK non-financial listed firms' disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 66-84.

    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:mup:actaun:actaun_2019067030823. 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: Ivo Andrle (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://mendelu.cz/en/ .

    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.