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Incentives and disincentives for voluntary disclosure by pension funds: international evidence

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  • Paul Klumpes

Abstract

This paper examines competing proprietary and political cost arguments for incentives facing managers of different types of Australian and UK pension fund, to voluntarily disclose pension liability information in annual reports sent to their participants. For Australian defined benefit pension funds, the disclosure reveals the fund's actuarial surplus or deficit, which conveys information to participants about the pension fund's ability to generate future cash flows. Tests are conducted on the voluntary reporting practices of a sample of 119 Australian and 100 UK pension funds, using variables which prior research suggests affects their financial valuation and performance. The empirical results support predictions that managerial discretionary disclosure carries proprietary cost implications for Australian defined benefit pension funds, as proxied by their investment risk and funding ratio, and political cost implications for Australian defined contribution and UK defined benefit pension funds, as proxied by their size.

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  • Paul Klumpes, 2000. "Incentives and disincentives for voluntary disclosure by pension funds: international evidence," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 287-298.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:30:y:2000:i:4:p:287-298
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2000.9728946
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    Cited by:

    1. Khadija S. Almaghrabi & Kwaku Opong & Ioannis Tsalavoutas, 2021. "Compliance with pension‐related mandatory disclosures and debt financing," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 148-184, January.
    2. Paul J.M. Klumpes & Mark Whittington, 2003. "Determinants of Actuarial Valuation Method Changes for Pension Funding and Reporting: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1‐2), pages 175-204, January.
    3. Andrew Marshall & Pauline Weetman, 2007. "Modelling Transparency in Disclosure: The Case of Foreign Exchange Risk Management," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5‐6), pages 705-739, June.

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