Covid-19 and performance disclosure: does governance matter?

Mahmoud Elmarzouky, Khaldoon Albitar and Khaled Hussainey ()

International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, 2021, vol. 29, issue 5, 776-792

Abstract: Purpose - This paper aims to investigate whether Covid-19 related information is associated with a higher level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between Covid-19 and the performance disclosure by using three governance mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use quantitative content analysis. The authors applied an automated textual analysis technique to measure the level of Covid-19 information and performance disclosure for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms. Findings - The authors found a significant positive relationship between the Covid-19 disclosure and the firm performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors also find that both board independence and gender diversity moderate the relationship between the Covid-19 related information and the level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors further run a robustness analysis, which confirms the main results. Practical implications - The finding is beneficial for the regulatory setters to better understand whether firms provide generic or meaningful Covid-19 information linked to the firm’s performance. The unique findings of this paper are relevant to regulators, governments, management, shareholders and academics. Originality/value - The authors contribute to the literature in a unique and core research area not researched previously. The paper links the Covid-19 disclosure with the firm performance from the corporate narrative perspective. The paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship by considering three main mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.

Keywords: Textual analysis; Board independence; Gender diversity; Board size; Covid-19 disclosure; Performance disclosure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijaimp:ijaim-04-2021-0086

DOI: 10.1108/IJAIM-04-2021-0086

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