The Relationship between Firm Characteristics and Mandatory Disclosure Level: When Egyptian Accounting Standards Were First Adopted

Abstract

Egypt witnessed continuous developments in accounting regulations which led to a comprehensive set of Egyptian Accounting Standards (EAS) in June 2006, to be implemented starting 2007. It is expected that complying with high quality accounting standards would result in more adequate information disclosure. This research aims to identify companies’ disclosure level after compliance with the newly issued EAS, and test the relationship between firm characteristics and mandatory disclosure level in the Egyptian context. Firm characteristics have been divided into three groups: market-related, structure-related and performance related characteristics. The research used annual reports of 39 listed companies for the year ended December 2007. Findings reveal that the average mandatory disclosure level was 74%, while the maximum disclosure level was 83%. Results indicate that the firm characteristics with a positive significant relationship with disclosure level are company size, and auditor type, while the factor that had a negative relationship is liquidity.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Disclosure, Egypt

JEL Classification: M40, M41, M14, M49, G34