Abstract
This chapter presents and discusses the literature on voluntary corporate disclosure. It pays attention to the costs and benefits of voluntary disclosure. The discourse also considers the leading role that corporate governance structures play in shaping firms’ voluntary information environment. This discussion focuses on the literature on corporate board, firm characteristics, and ownership structures that have the biggest influence on corporate voluntary disclosure. Furthermore, to date it appears increasingly relevant to examine the channels that companies use to disseminate information voluntarily, such as conference calls and management forecasts, as well as certain specific types of disclosures like those related to intellectual capital. Finally, the chapter concludes with an analysis of the challenges and opportunities of voluntary disclosure, trying to track the number of paths for future research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The relevance of public interest already arises in Chambers (1966: 293) where the author highlights: “Statutes and regulations secure the rights of investors, potential investors, their advisers, their agents, and the public generally, to authenticated financial information, with the object of creating a fair and informed market in securities”.
- 2.
We use the terms “voluntary disclosure”, “voluntary communication”, and “voluntary information” interchangeably. Similarly, the terms “compulsory disclosure” and “mandatory information” assume the same meaning.
- 3.
The GRI is an international independent organization that pioneered corporate sustainability reporting since 1997. It supports organizations with understanding and disclosing their impact on critical sustainability matters, such as human rights, climate change, corruption, and others. The GRI has thousands of reporting practitioners in over 90 countries and provides the world’s most trusted and widely used standards on sustainability reporting. It is grounded in a unique multi-stakeholder principle, ensuring the participation and expertise of diverse stakeholders in order to develop agreed-upon standards (KPMG et al. 2016).
- 4.
- 5.
Elliott and Jacobson (1994: 95) offer a thorough interpretation of disclosure informativesness where “the information content of a message is defined as its capacity to reduce uncertainty (i.e. increasing informativeness of disclosure equates to decreasing investor uncertainty, which leads to a decreasing information risk premium demanded by investors). Uncertainty reduction is inversely related to the ex ante probability of receiving a particular true and relevant message: the more improbable the message ex ante, the more informative. For example, the reliable message that a particle moved faster than the speed of light has zero probability ex ante, thus infinite information value to a theoretical physicist (but not a teeny bopper). The reliable message that a building is on fire has very low ex ante probability, thus very high informativeness to an occupant. The response “fine” to the question “how are you?” has very high ex ante probability, thus very low information content. It is well known, for example that stock prices do not respond to earnings-per-share announcements that equal the expected amounts, but do respond to surprising earnings-per-share announcements”.
- 6.
Dye (1986) presents a theory for the disclosure policies adopted when managers trade-off between protecting proprietary information and making value-increasing disclosures. In the same work, Dye defines proprietary information “as information whose disclosure reduces the present value of cash flows of the firm endowed with the information”.
- 7.
In a successive work, management’s reporting credibility is defined as “investors’ beliefs about management’s trustworthiness and competence in financial disclosure” (Mercer 2005).
- 8.
This project is part of a conservation and financial markets collaboration among Ceres, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
- 9.
Although the majority of respondents who participated in a prior discussion paper (2016) promoted the development of non-authoritative guidance, but not a new assurance standard including mandatory requirements at this time, the IAASB consultation paper (2019) recognizes that the latter may be appropriate in the future.
- 10.
This IAASB consultation paper was issued during February 2019 and is entitled “Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance”.
- 11.
The concept is strictly related to the adverse selection; in fact, as seen in the market for lemon paradox, the higher quality sellers leave the market unless they can convey the superior quality of their products and, as a consequence, increase the prices of their products (Akerlof 1970).
- 12.
For a deeper analysis of the credibility perception from the eyes of the analysts and the investors, see Eccles et al. (2001), maintaining that “credibility and transparency go hand in hand. This proves especially true if management has made and delivered on past promises. Credibility, of course, ultimately depends on performance, but candour certainly enhances it. When objectives go unmet, or performance lags along some financial or nonfinancial dimension, management’s best tack always is candor. By consistently providing information in both good times and bad, management reinforces its credibility with the marketplace. The market hates surprises, especially negative ones”.
- 13.
Arrow (1984) invokes the adverse selection problem with the hidden-information problem. The Author (1984: 2) explains as follows: “In the hidden-knowledge problems, the agent has made some observation that the principal has not made. The agent uses (and should use) this observation in making decisions; however, the principal cannot check whether the agent has used his or her information in the way that best serves the principal’s interest”.
- 14.
We admit that this is the traditional tripartition of intellectual capital; nonethless, there is countless alternative categorizations of intellectual capital (Blankenburg 2018) that include components, such as innovation capital (e.g. Joia 2000), process capital (e.g. Wang and Chang 2005), renewal capital (e.g. Kianto 2008), and entrepreneurial capital (Inkinen 2016), to cite but a few of the most debated components.
- 15.
The guidelines further specifically define all three components as follows: “Human capital is defined as the knowledge that employees take with them when they leave the firm. It includes the knowledge, skills, experiences, and abilities of people. Some of this knowledge is unique to the individual, some may be generic. Examples are innovation capacity, creativity, know-how and previous experience, teamwork capacity, employee flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity, motivation, satisfaction, learning capacity, loyalty, formal training, and education. Structural capital is defined as the knowledge that stays within the firm at the end of the working day. It comprises organizational routines, procedures, systems, cultures, databases, etc. Examples are organizational flexibility, a documentation service, the existence of a knowledge centre, the general use of Information Technologies, organizational learning capacity, etc. Some of them may be legally protected and become Intellectual Property Rights, legally owned by the firm under a separate title. Relational capital is defined as all resources linked to the external relationships of the firm, with customers, suppliers, or R&D partners. It comprises that part of Human and Structural Capital involved with the company’s relations with stakeholders (investors, creditors, customers, suppliers, etc.), plus the perceptions that they hold about the company. Examples of this category are image, customers loyalty, customer satisfaction, links with suppliers, commercial power, negotiating capacity with financial entities, environmental activities, etc.” (MERITUM 2002: 10–11).
- 16.
WICI (the World Intellectual Capital/Assets Initiative) maintains the value for corporate reporting that integrates the communication of narrative and quantified information with regard to how organizations create value over the short, medium, and long term by creating, managing, combining, and utilizing intangibles. WICI was formed in October 2007, and its participants include organizations representing companies, analysts, and investors, the accounting profession, and academia who collaborate to promote better corporate reporting by recognizing the role of intangibles/intellectual capital in an organization’s sustainable value generation.
- 17.
Up ahead, we can understand the WICI’s (2016: 7) broad interpretation, mainly emphasizing intangibles, of business reporting: “A form of reporting which focuses on qualitative (narrative), quantitative, financially and non-financially expressed information about the past, present and future value creation process of an organisation and the strategy, the resources (especially of intangible nature), the governance and the organisational model which support it”.
- 18.
The CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts (for further information see: https://www.cdp.net/en).
- 19.
According to the joint paper, materiality refers to relevant information that is (capable of) making a difference to the users’ decision-making process. Completeness requires that all material matters that are identified for the relevant topic(s) should be reported upon. Accuracy means that the information reported should be free from material errors. The balance (or neutrality) principle requires unbiased information, i.e. the information is not presented such that it would increase the probability of the users receiving the information favourably or unfavourably. Clarity concerns the understandability and accessibility of information in relation to the users, including a certain degree of conciseness. The comparability principle recommends consistent information over time and across organizations. Reliability of the information processes and internal controls ensure information quality and allows for its verifiability.
- 20.
In Appendix to this chapter, the reader can find Table 3.1 that classifies the major Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and information included in the WICI XBRL Taxonomy available at: http://www.wici-global.com/framework
References
Abhayawansa S, Aleksanyan M, Cuganesan S (2018) Conceptualisation of intellectual capital in analysts’ narratives: a performative view. Account Audit Account J 31(3):950–969
Aboody D, Kasznik R (2000) CEO stock options awards and the timing of corporate voluntary disclosures. J Account Econ 29:73–100
Agapova A, Madura J (2016) Market uncertainty and earnings guidance. Q Rev Econ Fin 61:97–111
Agrawal A, Cooper T (2017) Corporate governance consequences of accounting scandals: evidence from top management, CFO and auditor turnover. Q J Financ 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010139216500142
Akerlof GA (1970) The market for “lemons”: quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. Q J Econ 84(3):488–500
Al-Akra M, Ali MJ (2012) The value relevance of corporate voluntary disclosure in the Middle-East: the case of Jordan. J Account Public Policy 31(5):533–549
Ali A, Chen TY, Radhakrishnan S (2007) Corporate disclosures by family firms. J Account Econ 44(1):238–286
Aobdia D, Cheng L (2018) Unionization, product market competition, and strategic disclosure. J Account Econ 65(2–3):331–357
Armstrong CS, Guay WR, Weber JP (2010) The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting. J Account Econ 50(2–3):179–234
Arrow KJ (1984) The economics of agency, The economics series. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Baginski SP, Hassell JM, Kimbrough MD (2002) The effect of legal environment on voluntary disclosure: evidence from management earnings forecasts issued in US and Canadian markets. Account Rev 77(1):25–50
Balakrishnan K, Billings MB, Kelly B, Ljungqvist A (2014) Shaping liquidity: on the causal effects of voluntary disclosure. J Financ 69(5):2237–2278
Bamber LS, Jiang J, Wang IY (2010) What’s my style? The influence of top managers on voluntary corporate financial disclosure. Account Rev 85(4):1131–1162
Barako DG, Hancock P, Izan HY (2006) Factors influencing voluntary corporate disclosure by Kenyan companies. Corp Gov 14(2):107–125
Barrett ME (1976) Financial reporting practices: disclosure and comprehensiveness in an international setting. J Account Res 14(1):10–26
Bassemir M, Novotny-Farkas Z, Pachta J (2013) The effect of conference calls on analysts’ forecasts – German evidence. Eur Account Rev 22(1):151–183
Belkaoui A, Karpik PG (1989) Determinants of the corporate decision to disclose social information. Account Audit Account J 2(1):36–51
Berger PG (2011) Challenges and opportunities in disclosure research—a discussion of ‘the financial reporting environment: review of the recent literature’. J Account Econ 51(1–2):204–218
Berger PG, Hann RN (2007) Segment profitability and the proprietary and agency costs of disclosure. Account Rev 82(4):869–906
Beyer A, Cohen DA, Lys TZ, Walther BR (2010) The financial reporting environment: review of the recent literature. J Account Econ 50(2–3):296–343
Billings MB, Cedergren MC (2015) Strategic silence, insider selling and litigation risk. J Account Econ 59(2–3):119–142
Blair MM, Wallman SM (2001) Unseen wealth: report of the Brookings task force on intangibles. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC
Blankenburg K (2018) Intellectual capital in German non-profit organisations, Contributions to management science. Springer, Cham
Bontis N (1998) Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models. Manag Decis 36(2):63–76
Botosan CA (1997) Disclosure level and the cost of equity capital. Account Rev 72(3):323–349
Botosan CA, Harris MS (2000) Motivations for a change in disclosure frequency and its consequences: an examination of voluntary quarterly segment disclosures. J Account Res 38(2):329–353
Bowen RM, Davis AK, Matsumoto DA (2002) Do conference calls affect analysts’ forecasts? Account Rev 77(2):285–316
Brammer S, Pavelin S (2006) Voluntary environmental disclosures by large UK companies. J Bus Financ Acc 33(7–8):1168–1188
Brown S, Hillegeist SA, Lo K (2004) Conference calls and information asymmetry. J Account Econ 37(3):343–366
Bushman R, Chen Q, Engel E, Smith A (2004) Financial accounting information, organisational complexity and corporate governance systems. J Account Econ 37(2):167–201
CDP, Climate Disclosure Standards Board, Global Reporting Initiative, International Accounting Standards Board, International Integrated Reporting Council, International Organization for Standardization, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (2019) Understanding the value of transparency and accountability
Chambers RJ (1966) Accounting evaluation and economic behaviour. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Chau GK, Gray SJ (2002) Ownership structure and corporate voluntary disclosure in Hong Kong and Singapore. Int J Account 37(2):247–265
Chau G, Gray SJ (2010) Family ownership, board independence and voluntary disclosure: evidence from Hong Kong. J Int Account Audit Tax 19(2):93–109
Chen S, DeFond ML, Park CW (2002) Voluntary disclosure of balance sheet information in quarterly earnings announcements. J Account Econ 33(2):229–251
Chen S, Chen XIA, Cheng Q (2008) Do family firms provide more or less voluntary disclosure? J Account Res 46(3):499–536
Chen S, Matsumoto D, Rajgopal S (2011) Is silence golden? An empirical analysis of firms that stop giving quarterly earnings guidance. J Account Econ 51(1–2):134–150
Cheng EC, Courtenay SM (2006) Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure. Int J Account 41:262–289
Cheynel E (2013) A theory of voluntary disclosure and cost of capital. Rev Acc Stud 18(4):987–1020
Core JE (2001) A review of the empirical disclosure literature: discussion. J Account Econ 31(1):441–456
Cotter J, Tuna I, Wysocki PD (2006) Expectations management and beatable targets: how do analysts react to explicit earnings guidance? Contemp Account Res 23(3):593–624
Cotter J, Lokman N, Najah MM (2011) Voluntary disclosure research: which theory is relevant. J Theor Account Res 6(2):77–95
Craswell AT, Taylor SL (1992) Discretionary disclosure of reserves by oil and gas companies: an economic analysis. J Bus Financ Acc 19(2):295–308
Darrough MN, Stoughton NM (1990) Financial disclosure policy in an entry game. J Account Econ 12(1):219–243
de Frutos-Belizón J, Martín-Alcázar F, Sánchez-Gardey G (2019) Conceptualizing academic intellectual capital: definition and proposal of a measurement scale. J Intellect Cap 20(3):306–334
de Klerk M, de Villiers C (2012) The value relevance of corporate responsibility reporting: South African evidence. Meditari Account Res 20(1):21–38
Dedman E, Lennox C (2009) Perceived competition, profitability and the withholding of information about sales and the cost of sales. J Account Econ 48(2–3):210–230
Deegan C, Hallam A (1991) The voluntary presentation of value added statements in Australia: a political cost perspective. Account Finance 31(1):1–21
Deegan C, Rankin M, Tobin J (2002) An examination of the corporate social and environmental disclosures of BHP from 1983–1997. Account Audit Account J 15(3):312–343
Demartini C, Trucco S (2017) Integrated reporting and audit quality. An empirical analysis in the European setting, Contributions to management science. Springer, Cham
Depoers F (2000) A cost benefit study of voluntary disclosure: some empirical evidence from French listed companies. Eur Account Rev 9(2):245–263
Dhaliwal DS, Li OZ, Tsang A, Yang YG (2011) Voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the cost of equity capital: the initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting. Account Rev 86(1):59–100
Diamond DW, Verrecchia RE (1991) Disclosure, liquidity, and the cost of capital. J Financ 46(4):1325–1359
Donelson DC, McInnis JM, Mergenthaler RD, Yu Y (2012) The timeliness of bad earnings news and litigation risk. Account Rev 87(6):1967–1991
Donnelly R, Mulcahy M (2008) Board structure, ownership, and voluntary disclosure in Ireland. Corp Gov 16(5):416–429
Dye RA (1985) Disclosure of nonproprietary information. J Account Res 23(1):123–145
Dye RA (1986) Proprietary and nonproprietary disclosures. J Bus 59(2):331–366
Eccles RG, Hertz RH, Keegan M, Phillips DMH (2001) The value reporting revolution. Moving beyond the earnings game. Wiley, Boca Raton, FL
Edvinsson L (1997) Developing intellectual capital at Skandia. Long Range Plan 30(3):320–373
Edwards P, Smith RA (1996) Competitive disadvantage and voluntary disclosures: the case of segmental reporting. Br Account Rev 28(2):155–172
EFFAS Commission on Intellectual Capital (2008) Principles for effective communication of intellectual capital. In: EFFAS, The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies
Elliott RK, Jacobson PD (1994) Costs and benefits of business information disclosure. Account Horiz 8(4):80–96
Ellis JA, Fee CE, Thomas SE (2012) Proprietary costs and the disclosure of information about customers. J Account Res 50(3):685–727
Elzahar H, Hussainey K (2012) Determinants of narrative risk disclosures in UK interim reports. J Risk Financ 13(2):133–147
Enache L, Hussainey K (2019) The substitutive relation between voluntary disclosure and corporate governance in their effects on firm performance. Rev Quant Finan Acc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11156-019-00794-8
Eng LL, Mak YT (2003) Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure. J Account Public Policy 22(4):325–345
Ernstberger J, Grüning M (2013) How do firm- and country-level governance mechanisms affect firms’ disclosure? J Account Public Policy 32(3):50–67
European Union (2014) Final report from the expert group on intellectual property valuation. European Union, Brussels
Fama EF (1980) Agency problems and the theory of the firm. J Polit Econ 88(2):288–307
Fama EF, Jensen MC (1983) Separation of ownership and control. J Law Econ 26(2):301–325
Ferramosca S, Ghio A (2018a) Accounting choices in family firms. An analysis of influences and implications. In: Contributions to management science, 1st edn. Springer, Cham
Ferramosca S, Ghio A (2018b) Leveraging intellectual capital in developing countries: evidence from Kenya. J Intellect Cap 19(3):562–580
Ferramosca S, Verona R (2019) Framing the evolution of corporate social responsibility as a discipline (1973–2018): a large-scale scientometric analysis. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1792
Field L, Lowry M, Shu S (2005) Does disclosure deter or trigger litigation? J Account Econ 39(3):487–507
Filatotchev I, Jackson G, Nakajima C (2013) Corporate governance and national institutions: a review and emerging research agenda. Asia Pac J Manag 30(4):965–986
Francis J, Philbrick D, Schipper K (1994) Shareholder litigation and corporate disclosures. J Account Res 32(2):137–164
Francis JR, Khurana IK, Pereira R (2005) Disclosure incentives and effects on cost of capital around the world. Account Rev 80(4):1125–1162
Frankel R, Johnson M, Skinner DJ (1999) An empirical examination of conference calls as a voluntary disclosure medium. J Account Res 37(1):133–150
Frost CA, Pownall G (1994) Accounting disclosure practices in the United States and the United Kingdom. J Account Res 32(1):75–102
Gallego Álvarez I, María García Sánchez I, Rodríguez Domínguez L (2008) Voluntary and compulsory information disclosed online. Online Inf Rev 32(5):596–622
Glosten LR, Milgrom PR (1985) Bid, ask and transaction prices in a specialist market with heterogeneously informed traders. J Financ Econ 14(1):71–100
Goebel V (2019) Drivers for voluntary intellectual capital reporting based on agency theory. J Intellect Cap 20(2):264–281
Graham JR, Harvey CR, Rajgopal S (2005) The economic implications of corporate financial reporting. J Account Econ 40(1–3):3–73
Gul FA, Leung S (2004) Board leadership, outside directors’ expertise and voluntary corporate disclosures. J Account Public Policy 23(5):351–379
Guthrie J, Parker LD (1989) Corporate social reporting: a rebuttal of legitimacy theory. Account Bus Res 19(76):343–352
Healy PM, Palepu KG (1993) The effect of firms’ financial disclosure strategies on stock prices. Account Horiz 7(1):1–11
Healy PM, Palepu KG (2001) Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: a review of the empirical disclosure literature. J Account Econ 31(1):405–440
Healy PM, Hutton A, Palepu KG (1999) Stock performance and intermediation changes surrounding sustained increases in disclosure. Contemp Account Res 16(3):485–520
Ho SS, Wong KS (2001) A study of the relationship between corporate governance structures and the extent of voluntary disclosure. J Int Account Audit Tax 10(2):139–156
Hodge F, Hopkins PE, Pratt J (2006) Management reporting incentives and classification credibility: the effects of reporting discretion and reputation. Acc Organ Soc 31(7):623–634
Hollander S, Pronk M, Roelofsen E (2010) Does silence speak? An empirical analysis of disclosure choices during conference calls. J Account Res 48(3):531–563
Houston JF, Lev B, Tucker JW (2010) To guide or not to guide? Causes and consequences of stopping quarterly earnings guidance. Contemp Account Res 27(1):143–185
Huafang X, Jianguo Y (2007) Ownership structure, board composition and corporate voluntary disclosure. Manag Audit J 22(6):604–619
Huang C-L, Kung F-H (2010) Drivers of environmental disclosure and stakeholder expectation: evidence from Taiwan. J Bus Ethics 96(3):435–451
Hutton AP, Miller GS, Skinner DJ (2003) The role of supplementary statements with management earnings forecasts. J Account Res 41(5):867–890
IAASB (2019) Extended external reporting (EER) assurance. In: IAASB Consultation Paper
Inkinen H (2016) Intellectual capital, knowledge management practices and firm performance. Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland
International Integrated Reporting Council (2013) The International Framework. London, PP 1–36
Integrated Reporting Working Group (2016) Supporting credibility and trust in emerging forms of external reporting: ten key challenges for assurance engagements. In: IAASB
Jennings R (1987) Unsystematic security price movements, management earnings forecasts, and revisions in consensus analyst earnings forecasts. J Account Res 25(1):90–110
Jensen MC, Meckling WH (1976) Theory of the firm: managerial behaviour, agency costs and ownership structure. J Financ Econ 3(4):305–360
Johnson MF, Kasznik R, Nelson KK (2001) The impact of securities litigation reform on the disclosure of forward-looking information by high technology firms. J Account Res 39(2):297–327
Joia LA (2000) Measuring intangible corporate assets. J Intellect Cap 1(1):68–84
Kasznik R, Lev B (1995) To warn or not to warn: management disclosures in the face of an earnings surprise. Account Rev 70(1):113–134
Kelly GJ (1994) Unregulated segment reporting: Australian evidence. Br Account Rev 26(3):217–234
Kianto A (2008) Assessing organisational renewal capability. Int J Innov Reg Dev 1(2):115–129
Kimbrough MD (2005) The effect of conference calls on analyst and market underreaction to earnings announcements. Account Rev 80(1):189–219
KPMG (2019) Insights on corporate reporting
KPMG, GRI, United Nations Environment Programme, Centre for Corporate Governance in Africa (2016) Carrots & Sticks. Global trends in sustainability reporting regulation and policy
Kristandl G, Bontis N (2007) Constructing a definition for intangibles using the resource based view of the firm. Manag Decis 45(9):1510–1524
Kyle AS (1985) Continuous auctions and insider trading. Econometrica 53(6):1315–1335
Lajili K, Zéghal D (2005) Labour cost voluntary disclosures and firm equity values: is human capital information value-relevant? J Int Account Audit Tax 14(2):121–138
Laksmana I (2008) Corporate board governance and voluntary disclosure of executive compensation practices. Contemp Account Res 25(4):1147–1182
Lambert R, Leuz C, Verrecchia RE (2007) Accounting information, disclosure, and the cost of capital. J Account Res 45(2):385–420
Leftwich RW, Watts RL, Zimmerman JL (1981) Voluntary corporate disclosure: the case of interim reporting. J Account Res 19:50–77
Leung S, Horwitz B (2004) Director ownership and voluntary segment disclosure: Hong Kong evidence. J Int Financ Manag Acc 15(3):235–260
Leuz C (2004) Proprietary versus non-proprietary disclosures: evidence from Germany. Econ Politics Account 13(4):164–199
Lev B, Penman SH (1990) Voluntary forecast disclosure, nondisclosure, and stock prices. J Account Res 28(1):49–76
Li X (2010) The impacts of product market competition on the quantity and quality of voluntary disclosures. Rev Acc Stud 15(3):663–711
Lim S, Matolcsy Z, Chow D (2007) The association between board composition and different types of voluntary disclosure. Eur Account Rev 16(3):555–583
Marr B (2005) Perspectives on intellectual capital. Elsevier, Burlington
Martín-de-Castro G, Delgado-Verde M, López-Sáez P, Navas-López JE (2010) Towards ‘an intellectual capital-based view of the firm’: origins and nature. J Bus Ethics 98(4):649–662
Matsumoto D, Pronk M, Roelofsen E (2011) What makes conference calls useful? The information content of Managers’ presentations and Analysts' discussion sessions. Account Rev 86(4):1383–1414
Matsumura EM, Prakash R, Vera-Muñoz SC (2014) Firm-value effects of carbon emissions and carbon disclosures. Account Rev 89(2):695–724
Mercer M (2004) How do investors assess the credibility of management disclosures? Account Horiz 18(3):185–196
Mercer M (2005) The fleeting effects of disclosure forthcomingness on management’s reporting credibility. Account Rev 80(2):723–744
Meritum (2002) Guidelines for managing and reporting on intangibles (Intellectual capital report)
Miller GS, Skinner DJ (2015) The evolving disclosure landscape: how changes in technology, the media, and capital markets are affecting disclosure. J Account Res 53(2):221–239
Milne MJ (2002) Positive accounting theory, political costs and social disclosure analyses: a critical look. Crit Perspect Account 13(3):369–395
Morris RD (1987) Signalling, agency theory and accounting policy choice. Account Bus Res 18(69):47–56
Mouritsen J (2003) Overview: intellectual capital and the capital market: the circulability of intellectual capital. Account Audit Account J 16(1):18–30
Mouritsen J, Larsen HT, Bukh PN (2001) Valuing the future: intellectual capital supplements at Skandia. Account Audit Account J 14(4):399–422
Mouritsen J, Bukh PN, Larsen HT, Johansen MR (2002) Developing and managing knowledge through intellectual capital statements. J Intellect Cap 3(1):10–29
Mouritsen J, Bukh PN, Marr B (2005) A reporting perspective on intellectual capital. In: Marr B (ed) Perspectives on intellectual capital. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 69–81
Myers SC, Majluf NS (1984) Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have. J Financ Econ 13(2):187–221
Nagar V, Nanda D, Wysocki P (2003) Discretionary disclosure and stock-based incentives. J Account Econ 34(1–3):283–309
Nielsen C, Madsen MT (2009) Discourses of transparency in the intellectual capital reporting debate: moving from generic reporting models to management defined information. Crit Perspect Account 20(7):847–854
Orens R, Aerts W, Lybaert N (2009) Intellectual capital disclosure, cost of finance and firm value. Manag Decis 47(10):1536–1554
Pantzalis C, Park JC (2009) Equity market valuation of human capital and stock returns. J Bank Financ 33(9):1610–1623
Patelli L, Prencipe A (2007) The relationship between voluntary disclosure and independent directors in the presence of a dominant shareholder. Eur Account Rev 16(1):5–33
Patten DM (2002) The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note. Acc Organ Soc 27(8):763–764
Penman SH (1980) An empirical investigation of the voluntary disclosure of corporate earnings forecasts. J Account Res 18(1):132–160
Petty R, Guthrie J (2000) Intellectual capital literature review. J Intellect Cap 1(2):155–176
Piotroski JD, Wong TJ, Zhang T (2015) Political incentives to suppress negative information: evidence from Chinese listed firms. J Account Res 53(2):405–459
Plumlee M, Brown D, Hayes RM, Marshall RS (2015) Voluntary environmental disclosure quality and firm value: further evidence. J Account Public Policy 34(4):336–361
Prencipe A (2004) Proprietary costs and determinants of voluntary segment disclosure: evidence from Italian listed companies. Eur Account Rev 13(2):319–340
PricewaterhouseCoopers (2019) Mind the gap: the continued divide between investors and corporates on ESG
Raffournier B (2006) The determinants of voluntary financial disclosure by Swiss listed companies. Eur Account Rev 4(2):261–280
Rahman S (2012) Impression management motivations, strategies and disclosure credibility of corporate narratives. J Manag Res 4(3). https://doi.org/10.5296/jmr.v4i3.1576
Ricardis (2006) Reporting intellectual caital to augment research, development and innovation in SMEs. European Commission, Brussels
Rogers J, Stocken P (2005) Credibility of management forecasts. Account Rev 80(4):1233–1260
Rogers JL, Van Buskirk A (2009) Shareholder litigation and changes in disclosure behaviour. J Account Econ 47(1–2):136–156
Roos G, Roos J (1997) Measuring your company’s intellectual performance. Long Range Plan 30(3):413–426
Saint-Onge H (1996) Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Plan Rev 24(2):10–16
Samaha K, Khlif H, Hussainey K (2015) The impact of board and audit committee characteristics on voluntary disclosure: a meta-analysis. J Int Account Audit Tax 24:13–28
Schipper K (1981) Discussion of voluntary corporate disclosure: the case of interim reporting. J Account Res 19:85–88
Schoenfeld J (2017) The effect of voluntary disclosure on stock liquidity: new evidence from index funds. J Account Econ 63(1):51–74
Shleifer A, Vishny RW (1989) Management entrenchment: the case of manager-specific investments. J Financ Econ 25(1):123–139
Skinner DJ (1994) Why firms voluntarily disclose bad news. J Account Res 32(1):38–60
Skinner DJ (1997) Earnings disclosures and stockholder lawsuits. J Account Econ 23(3):249–282
Spence M (1974) Competitive and optimal responses to signals: an analysis of efficiency and distribution. J Econ Theory 7(3):296–332
Spence M (1976) Competition in salaries, credentials, and signaling prerequisites for jobs. Q J Econ 90(1):51–74
Spence M (1978) Job market signaling. In: Uncertainty in economics. Academic Press, New York, pp 281–306
Striukova L, Unerman J, Guthrie J (2008) Corporate reporting of intellectual capital: evidence from UK companies. Br Account Rev 40(4):297–313
Sun N, Salama A, Hussainey K, Habbash M (2010) Corporate environmental disclosure, corporate governance and earnings management. Manag Audit J 25(7):679–700
Tasker SC (1998) Bridging the information gap: quarterly conference calls as a medium for voluntary disclosure. Rev Acc Stud 3(1–2):137–167
Toms JS (2002) Firm resources, quality signals and the determinants of corporate environmental reputation: some UK evidence. Br Account Rev 34(3):257–282
Trueman B (1986) Why do managers voluntarily release earnings forecasts? J Account Econ 8(1):53–71
Trueman B (1997) Managerial disclosures and shareholder litigation. Rev Acc Stud 2(2):181–199
Vergauwen PGMC, van Alem FJC (2005) Annual report IC disclosures in The Netherlands, France and Germany. J Intellect Cap 6(1):89–104
Verrecchia RE (1983) Discretionary disclosure. J Account Econ 5:179–194
Verrecchia RE (1990a) Information quality and discretionary disclosure. J Account Econ 12(4):365–380
Verrecchia RE (1990b) Endogenous proprietary costs through firm interdependence. J Account Econ 12(1–3):245–250
Verrecchia RE (2001) Essays on disclosure. J Account Econ 32(1–3):97–180
Wagenhofer A (1990) Voluntary disclosure with a strategic opponent. J Account Econ 12(4):341–363
Wang WY, Chang C (2005) Intellectual capital and performance in causal models. J Intellect Cap 6(2):222–236
Wang M, Hussainey K (2013) Voluntary forward-looking statements driven by corporate governance and their value relevance. J Account Public Policy 32(3):26–49
Wang K, Sewon O, Claiborne MC (2008) Determinants and consequences of voluntary disclosure in an emerging market: evidence from China. J Int Account Audit Tax 17(1):14–30
Watson A, Shrives P, Marston C (2002) Voluntary disclosure of accounting ratios in the UK. Br Account Rev 34(4):289–313
Watts RL (1977) Corporate financial statements, a product of the market and political processes. Aust J Manag 2(1):53–75
Watts RL, Zimmerman JL (1978) Towards a positive theory of the determination of accounting standards. Account Rev 53(1):112–134
Watts RL, Zimmerman JL (1986) Positive accounting theory. Contemporary topics in accounting series. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River
Waymire G (1985) Earnings volatility and voluntary management forecast disclosure. J Account Res 23(1):268–295
Welker M (1995) Disclosure policy, information asymmetry, and liquidity in equity markets. Contemp Account Res 11(2):801–827
Whiting RH, Miller JC (2008) Voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital in New Zealand annual reports and the “hidden value”. J Hum Resour Cost Account 12(1):26–50
Wong J (1988) Economic incentives for the voluntary disclosure of current cost financial statements. J Account Econ 10(2):151–167
World Intellectual Capital/Assets Initiative (2016) WICI intangibles reporting framework
Xiao JZ, Yang H, Chow CW (2004) The determinants and characteristics of voluntary internet-based disclosures by listed Chinese companies. J Account Public Policy 23(3):191–225
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ghio, A., Verona, R. (2020). Voluntary Corporate Disclosure. In: The Evolution of Corporate Disclosure. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42299-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42299-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42298-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42299-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)