The association between disclosure of forward-looking information and corporate governance mechanisms: Evidence from the UK before the financial crisis period

Basil Al-Najjar*, Suzan Abed

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to witness the importance of corporate governance mechanisms and investigates the relationship between the quality of disclosure of forward-looking information in the narrative sections of annual reports and the governance mechanisms for non-financial UK companies. Design/methodology/approach – Computerized content analysis using QSR NVivo 8 is used to measure the extent of forward-looking information in the narratives of the annual reports for 238 companies listed in the London Stock Exchange. Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to examine the impact of the corporate governance mechanisms on forward-looking information. Findings – The results show that board size and the independence of the audit committee are associated with the level of voluntary disclosure of forward-looking information. Research limitations/implication – One limitation of this study is that in controls for the effect of the financial crisis period, by selecting a representative year for a five-year period, 2006. The authors argument in using this year is based on the fact that the main variables of interest do not vary significantly with time, the cross-sectional analysis of the selected period will provide a fair view of the last five year-period. Practical implications – The authors report the importance of some governance practices in the UK, such as the role of the board members as well as the importance of audit committee independence. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature by using computerized content analysis to examine the relation between corporate governance mechanism and disclosure quality of forward-looking information using sample of companies before financial crisis period. The authors also examine governance mechanisms that are under-researched in the field of forward-looking disclosure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)578-595
Number of pages18
JournalManagerial Auditing Journal
Volume29
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Audit committee
  • Board independence
  • Corporate governance
  • Disclosure quality
  • Forward-looking information
  • Governance mechanism

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