An Empirical Investigation of Selected Aspects on Internet Financial Reporting in Malaysia

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Noor Azli Ali Khan ◽  
Noor Azizi Ismail

In this study an attempt is made to provide empirical evidence on the perception of Malaysian preparers and users of corporate annual reports about selected aspects of internet financial reporting (IFR). The perception of preparers and users of corporate annual reports were solicited using a survey mailed questionnaire. The findings of this study suggested three main benefits to companies that engage in IFR are attract foreign investors, promote company wider to the public, and provide wider coverage. The findings also revealed that three main benefits to the users who collect financial information of companies via their website are increases timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information, makes investment decision process easier and faster, and provides information for company inexpensively. The outcome of the analysis revealed that three main factors that are perceived as important by responding firms to engage in IFR are enhance corporate image, company teller with the technology development, and competitors in the industry. The findings also suggested three factors that inhibit firms from engaging in IFR are need to keep information update to be of use, required expertise from the company, and concern over security of information. Another important result revealed that global reach and mass communication as the most important advantages from financial reporting on the Internet. Moreover, security problems are the disadvantages of placing financial information on the Internet. Finally, plausible implications of the findings of the study are then presented and areas for future research are also proposed. This study is one of the first empirical studies of the selected aspects of IFR in Malaysia. Taken together, these research outcomes make an incremental contribution to the existing literature by providing useful insights into our knowledge of IFR especially for emerging markets like Malaysia.

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 278-291
Author(s):  
Mohd Noor Azli

The objective of this research is to analyse the important items in the disclosure of benefit IFR to company and users, factors companies to engage or not engage IFR and some audit issues that can be used to describe the level of IFR from auditor’s perception. Questionnaires were distributed to 100 auditors. A total of 40 questionnaires were completed and returned, giving a response rate of 40 percent. Based on the literature review of the IFR from the survey towards auditors indicate three items of benefit IFR to user are helps users in the decision-making process, provides accessibility to the users, increase timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information. Meanwhile, three items on benefit IFR towards company are attract foreign investors, attract local investors, and promote company wider to the public. On the other hand, three factor influence companies to engage IFR because enhancement of corporate image, stability and improvement in share prices and competitors in the industry. Whilst, three-factor Company not to engage IFR because requires expertise from the company, concerned over disclosure of propriety information and concerned over security information. Finally, the findings of this study also cover audit issues, for example the conversion or transposition processes involved in publishing information on the internet is susceptible to error, information on the internet is exposed to access and modification by unauthorised users both external and internal to the reporting entity and that information on the internet has the potential to be very fluid. Lastly, the limitation of this study was also highlighted and there are suggestions for future research.


1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollis Ashbaugh ◽  
Karla M. Johnstone ◽  
Terry D. Warfield

In this paper, we examine firms' use of the Internet to enhance the relevance of their financial reporting. We define a firm as practicing Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) when it provides in its web site either (1) a comprehensive set of financial statements (including footnotes and the auditors' report), (2) a link to its annual report elsewhere on the Internet or (3) a link to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. While 70 percent of the firms in our sample engage in IFR, we find substantial variation in the quality of firms' IFR practices. Specifically, the variations in quality pertain to the timeliness and therefore, the usefulness of firms' financial reporting on the Internet. We find that some firms provide more timely financial disclosures via the Internet (e.g., monthly sales) while other firms report outdated financial data (e.g., two-year old annual reports). We also observe that the usefulness of firms' financial reporting on the Internet depends on how easy it is to access that data, the amount of data disclosed and/or whether users can download or analyze the data. To substantiate firms' incentives for engaging in IFR, we sent surveys to firms with web sites in our sample and asked them to report their perceived costs and benefits related to establishing an Internet presence. Firms responded to our questions about why they established an Internet presence by indicating that they perceive their web sites to be an important vehicle to disseminate information to shareholders. After documenting how and why firms use the Internet to voluntarily disclose financial information, we develop the implications of such practices for consumers who demand financial information, firms that supply financial data, auditors and market regulators.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara AbdulHakeem Saleh AlMatrooshi ◽  
Abdalmuttaleb M. A. Musleh Al-Sartawi ◽  
Zakeya Sanad

Corporate Governance and IFR are influential topics that need to be addressed nowadays due to its importance. Especially since companies are growing and extending globally. This research is conducted in Kingdom of Bahrain through the year 2014, where it investigates the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics as a tool of CG and IFR. Literature review has been conducted, not to mention Multi-regression test was used to evaluate the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and IFR for Bahraini listed companies. The results have showed that the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and IFR is negative, which indicates that the Audit committee characteristics have no influence over the disclosure of financial information over the internet. However, Frequency of meeting of the board and Big4 resulted in a positive relationship with internet financial reporting. The study ends with a main conclusion and recommendation that contain certain steps and advices of disclosing financial information in an appropriate way through the internet in order to improve the relationship between Audit committee characteristics and IFR.


Author(s):  
Kevin Wallsten ◽  
Dilyana Toteva

The expansion of the Internet and the sudden popularity of Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, raise important questions about the extent and consequences of homophilous sorting in online political discussions. In particular, there is growing concern that Internet users' ability to filter out alternative points of view will lead political discourse to become more polarized and fragmented along ideological lines. The decline of deliberative democracy and the breakdown of America's system of representative government, the story goes, will be the inevitable causalities of political discussions moving from in-person to online. Unfortunately, the empirical research in fields such as mass communication, political science, and sociology provides no hard and fast conclusions about the amount of online homophily in political discussions. This article details this conflicted body of research and points to some areas where future research may provide more insight into the intersection of online politics and homophilous sorting.


Author(s):  
David Ison

This chapter provides a general background on the problem of plagiarism, how the Internet has been implicated as a negative influence on Academic Integrity (AI), empirical study data on the influences of the Internet on plagiarism, reasons why students may conduct plagiarism, and best practices in the use of plagiarism detection. Within the first section, three empirical studies are highlighted to indicate the actual occurrence of plagiarism in graduate education and the role the Internet may play in influencing AI. In the second section, a description of both how and why students conduct plagiarism is presented. Existing literature on the topic is explored to better inform stakeholders on the ‘why' component with suggestions for potential mitigating solutions. The subsequent section describes plagiarism detection software that is commonly in use across the globe including best practices on how to interpret detection results. Lastly, recommendations and calls for future research are provided.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deon Scott ◽  
Christa Wingard ◽  
Marilene Van Biljon

Fair value accounting of biological assets in the public sector was introduced with the adoption of the public-sector-specific accounting standard: Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) 101. The public sector currently reports on various bases of accounting. Public entities and municipalities report in terms of accrual accounting, and government departments report on the modified cash basis. The lack of a uniform basis of accounting impedes the comparability of financial information. The implementation of GRAP 101 in the public sector is important in facilitating comparability of financial information regarding biological assets. This paper is based on a content analysis of the annual reports of 10 relevant public entities in South Africa and specifically details the challenges that public entities encounter with the application of GRAP 101. These challenges, and how they were addressed by a public entity that adopted and applied GRAP 101, namely the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative South Africa – Eastern Cape (AsgiSA-EC), are documented in this research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dumay ◽  
James Guthrie

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory essay evaluating whether involuntary intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) is value relevant to stakeholders. The authors define involuntary disclosure as “what external stakeholders and stakeseekers disclose about a company”. This essay is timely because it lays the foundations for future ICD research that departs from traditional analyses of corporate reports, especially annual reports. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a critical reflection on current and future developments in ICD research. The normative arguments rely on the experience and expertise along with examples from the ICD literature and contemporary business media to critique existing ICD research and practice and to offer new ways forward for future research. Findings In highlighting the limitations of the traditional ICD literature, the authors provide a foundation from which researchers should contemplate a powerful new force in ICD brought about by the rapid transformation in technologies and forces of mass communication. The authors introduce the concept of “involuntary disclosure”, and highlight several key issues that intellectual capital (IC) researchers should consider if they want their academic endeavours to contribute not only to practice, but to a wider environmental and social good. Practical implications Involuntary disclosures produced by stakeholders and stakeseekers introduce opportunities and threats to organisations, bringing new risks that impact share value and reputations. How well organisation manage these risks, and the impact inside and outside organisational boundaries, to provide economic, environmental and social value, should provide ample fuel for future transformational IC research. Originality/value The most value relevant disclosures are not what an organisation discloses or reports about itself, but rather what stakeholders and stakeseekers communicate. However, how reliable are involuntary disclosures and how can stakeholders and organisations verify IC disclosures coming from outside the organisation? If involuntary IC disclosures are value relevant, how might organisations seek to influence and manage them to serve their ends?


Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Song ◽  
Madeline Trimble

The number of countries that have adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in some form has grown each year. However, the existing literature generally ignores the varied types and the complex timing of IFRS adoption. Our paper provides a cross-reference of IFRS adoption dates and types for 195 countries and territories around the world. This definitive data, including an extensive online dataset, was developed to help researchers better identify IFRS adoption events in the samples used in their empirical studies. Additionally, we highlight potential challenges in identifying IFRS adoption types and dates as well as provide areas of future research that can benefit from our dataset, which can be accessed online https://about.illinoisstate.edu/mktrimb/song-trimble-2022-dataset/ .


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelkader Sadou ◽  
Fardous Alom ◽  
Hayatullah Laluddin

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is any improvement in the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) in Malaysia between 2011 and 2014 and to determine the factors that influence the extent and quality of CSRD in these two years. Also, this study examines the methods of disclosures and the items that largest Malaysian companies addressed. Design/methodology/approach A self-constructed CSR is utilised to measure the extent and quality of CSRD in the annual reports of the top 71 Malaysian companies listed in Bursa Malaysia for the years 2011 and 2014. Multiple regressions along with their associated toolkits for data verification and diagnostic tests are used to assess the improvement in CSRD between 2011 and 2014 and the factors that affect CSRD. Findings Results show a slight increase in the extent and quality of CSRD between 2011 and 2014. With regards to the factors influencing CSRD, only awards are found to be significant in determining the extent and quality of CSRD either in 2011 or in 2014. Board size, ownership concentration, independent non-executives and return on assets influence both the extent and quality of CSRD in 2011. Director ownership and firm size determine the extent and quality of CSRD in 2014. Government ownership only influences the extent of CSRD in 2011. Research limitations/implications Some traditional limitations are found to be considered in future research, such as the use of annual reports as the only source of CSRD information. Results support the legitimacy theory that assumes that Malaysian companies disclose CSR information as a reflection of the incidents that happen in that environment of the firm without ignoring the role of the government in pushing those companies towards being socially responsible by issuing regulations, or in motivating those companies by introducing awards and giving fiscal facilities. Practical implications The results help the policymakers to introduce more awards in some domains that were less addressed by Malaysian companies and also to examine the causes behind the non-influence of the new Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG 2012) on CSRD. Originality/value The study can be considered as one of the limited empirical studies that assess the changes in CSRD before and after the issuance of MCCG 2012 in Malaysia.


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