INTERNET FINANCIAL REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE PRACTICES OF PUBLICLY TRADED CORPORATIONS: EVIDENCE FROM SRI LANKA

Nirosh Kuruppu, Peter Oyelere and Hamdan Al Jabri

Accounting & Taxation, 2015, vol. 7, issue 1, 75-91

Abstract: Although Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) has become standard practice rather than the exception in most Western countries, empirical evidence of the phenomenon is only just emerging in developing economies. This paper examines the use of the internet as a medium for the voluntary communication of financial information by publicly traded companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka. The 244 companies listed on the CSE were analysed by its 20 industry sectors. The results indicate that IFR is still at a nascent stage in Sri Lanka and there are considerable opportunities and challenges for all stakeholder parties. While 59 percent of companies maintain websites, only 63 of these (about 43%) use their websites to communicate financial information. This indicates that companies in Sri Lanka do not fully garner the benefits of engaging in IFR. However, the online annual reports of the latter IFR companies were found to be highly accessible, with 87 percent of the websites enabling users to locate information in three mouse clicks or less. Industry affiliation is found to be an important factor in determining the intensity of IFR practices as revealed by the statistically significant Pearson Chi-square test and the Likelihood ratio. It was also found that although a variety of reporting formats are utilised for engaging in IFR, PDF is the most widespread format with 92 percent of CSE listed companies using this medium.

Keywords: Internet Financial Reporting; Voluntary Disclosure; Electronic Financial Reporting; Financial Report Accessibility; Corporate Communication; Sri Lanka (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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