The determinants of corporate internet reporting in Egypt: an exploratory analysis
- 6 February 2017
- journal article
- Published by Emerald in Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies
- Vol. 7 (1), 35-60
- https://doi.org/10.1108/jaee-04-2015-0024
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide exploratory evidence about the use of the internet for disclosure purposes by non-financial companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange – and influences thereon – at two points in time: 2010 and 2011. Selection of these periods permits direct investigation of the extent to which the disruption caused by the popular uprising in early 2011 impacted on practice. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprises all of the 172 non-financial listed companies at the end of 2010. A disclosure index was developed to evaluate the content of the investigated websites in 2010 and 2011. Univariate and multivariate analysis is used to examine the cross-sectional determinants of disclosure both in total and in terms of three specific content categories. Findings The study reveals that 40.7 and 42.7 per cent of the sample companies provided some form of financial information via their websites in 2010 and 2011, respectively (i.e. pre and post the Spring 2011 political revolution). The results of the multivariate analysis indicate consistency across the two years in terms of total score determinants, but some variation in the disaggregated evidence. Originality/value This study indicates that Egyptian firms have started embracing the power of the internet as a disclosure channel, but the extent of these practices is still limited, with great variations evident amongst the sampled companies in this regard. Encouragingly, the disruption caused by the political upheaval in 2011 appears not to have caused reduction in the propensity to provide online disclosures.Keywords
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- A survey of internet financial reporting in OmanInternational Journal of Emerging Markets, 2009
- Hyperlinking Audited Financial Statements to Unaudited Information in the Presence of the WebTrust Logo: Hodge's Model RevisedInternational Journal of Auditing, 2003
- Financial reporting on the Internet by leading Japanese companiesCorporate Communications: An International Journal, 2003
- Financial reporting on the Internet by leading UK companiesEuropean Accounting Review, 1999
- Financial information on the Internet: a survey of the homepages of Austrian companiesEuropean Accounting Review, 1999
- External reporting of accounting and financial information via the Internet in SpainEuropean Accounting Review, 1999
- Internet and the future of reporting in EuropeEuropean Accounting Review, 1999
- The Internet as a vehicle for investor relations: the Swedish caseEuropean Accounting Review, 1999
- The influence of company characteristics and accounting regulation on information disclosed by Spanish firmsEuropean Accounting Review, 1997
- The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational FieldsAmerican Sociological Review, 1983