Internet financial reporting: a survey of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange

Abstract

The primary objectives of this study are to: investigate the utilization of the internet by the companies listed on the Ghana Stock exchange (GSE) for financial reporting; to determine the company characteristics that influence the information disclosure on the internet; and to investigate whether there is a difference between the firms listed in terms oftype of financial information disclosure on the internet. The methodology of the study was content analysis of corporate web sites of companies listed on the GSE. The findings indicated that although all listed companies operate websites, only 21(61%) of the companies, which are predominantly in the banking and insurance sector provide a complete set of financial information on the internet. Again, there exist variations in terms of the amount of content(e.g. summary financial statements vs. detailed financial statements),the style of presentation (e.g. similar to paper-based reports vs inclusion of multi-media) and the manner in which companies incorporate navigation aids (e.g. hyperlinks, search boxes and others). Overall, the research finding is essential as it assists in informing regulators about the characteristics of listed companies that are, and are not, satisfying national and international investors‟ demand of updated/online information. It also assists current and potential stakeholders to know what drives corporate internet reporting in Ghana. Consequently, they may further investigate and verify such reporting practices. In practice, online reporting can be used as an effective tool for improving stakeholders‟ decision-making process. Therefore, further research can be undertaken to examine the degree to which online reporting provides value-relevant information for stakeholders. Digitized