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The Association between Firm Characteristics and Corporate Financial Disclosures: Evidence from UAE Companies

Author

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  • Khaled Aljifri
  • Abdulkareem Alzarouni
  • Chew Ng
  • Mohammad Iqbal Tahir

Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence of the impact of firm specific characteristics on corporate financial disclosures amongst UAE companies. A total of 153 public, joint-stock companies, listed and unlisted, were incorporated at the time of study. Both descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses are used to test the relationship between the characteristics of UAE firms and the extent of their financial disclosure. Eight hypotheses were established to examine the relationship between a number of explanatory variables (namely, type of industry, listing status, return on equity, liquidity, market capitalization, foreign ownership, non-executive directors, and audit committee) and the extent of disclosure in corporate annual reports. The results of this study show that listing status, industry type, and size of firm are found to be significantly associated with the level of disclosure. This finding not only provides support for previous studies, but also is of relevance to those in the UAE who want to understand corporate disclosure and should also be of interest to UAE user-groups. Conclusions drawn from this study may be of interest to policy makers and regulators who want to improve corporate financial disclosure in their countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Khaled Aljifri & Abdulkareem Alzarouni & Chew Ng & Mohammad Iqbal Tahir, 2014. "The Association between Firm Characteristics and Corporate Financial Disclosures: Evidence from UAE Companies," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 8(2), pages 101-123.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibf:ijbfre:v:8:y:2014:i:2:p:101-123
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Mishari Alfraih & Faisal Alanezi, 2015. "The Value Relevance Of Mandatory Corporate Disclosures: Evidence From Kuwait," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 9(3), pages 1-18.
    3. Emma Ik. Okoye & Segun idowu Adeniyi, 2018. "Company Age and Voluntary Corporate Social Disclosure in Nigeria: A Study of Selected Listed Manufacturing Firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 4(2), pages 138-145, June.
    4. Eissa A. Al-Homaidi & Mosab I. Tabash & Anwar Ahmad & David McMillan, 2020. "The profitability of islamic banks and voluntary disclosure: empirical insights from Yemen," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 1778406-177, January.
    5. Kirti Aggarwal, 2023. "Corporate governance and HR disclosure practices: evidence from India," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Mohamed Chakib Kolsi & Osama F Attayah, 2018. "Environmental policy disclosures and sustainable development: Determinants, measure and impact on firm value for ADX listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 807-818, September.
    7. Ghazi Zouari & Kawther Dhifi, 2021. "The impact of board characteristics on integrated reporting: case of European companies," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(1), pages 83-94, March.
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    9. Jerry Oziegbe, David & Ofe, Inua, 2020. "Audit Committee Attributes And Intellectual Capital Disclosure Of Listed Banks In Nigeria," International Journal of Contemporary Accounting Issues-IJCAI (formerly International Journal of Accounting & Finance IJAF), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), vol. 9(1), pages 90-106, March.
    10. Segun idowu Adeniyi & Helen Oluwatoyin Adebayo, 2018. "Effect of Financial Leverage on Voluntary Corporate Social Disclosure among Listed Firms on Nigerian Stock Exchange: A Study of Selected Manufacturing Firms," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 4(3), pages 18-24, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate Financial Disclosure; Firm Characteristics; UAE Firms; Corporate Annual Reports;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other

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