published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This study investigates voluntary disclosure practices in Canadian public companies and how they are affected by the costs and benefits of disclosure, the firm's disclosure position (Gibbins, Richardson and Waterhouse, 1990), and situational factors including earnings performance and changes in corporate strategy. Specifically the study looks at the effect of these variables on the volume and content of disclosure. It also investigates the determinants of disclosure position which are hypothesized to include managerial disclosure beliefs about the costs and benefits of disclosure, and certain organizational variables previously identified in the literature. / L'étude porte sur la publication volontaire d'informations par les sociétés ouvertes canadiennes et sur la façon dont les pratiques en la matière sont influencées par les coûts et les avantages de la publication d'information, par la propension à informer («disclosure position») de l'entreprise (Gibbins, Richardson and Waterhouse, 1990), par des éléments objectifs de sa situation (résultats financiers et modifications de la stratégie), et par les convictions de la direction. Plus précisément, l'étude porte sur les effets de ces variables sur le volume et la nature de l'information volontaire. Elle examine également les facteurs déterminant de la propension à informer en termes d'opinion de la direction sur la publication d'informations et de certaines variables organisationnelles mises de l'avant dans la littérature.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 1992. / Ph.D. submitted the Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Glasgow. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-171).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisor: Ross Jennings. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Company law has made a major contribution to the industrial and economic development of capitalist countries. This thesis seeks to explore an important aspect at the heart of UK company law - disclosure of information by limited liability companies. The importance of disclosure lies in the fact that since the early days of the formation of joint stock companies, law makers have relied on disclosure as a means of protecting investors, creditors and others persons dealing with a company. This thesis examines disclosure of information in some chosen areas in UK company law. In each of the chosen areas the thesis examines the reasons why companies are required to disclose information to investors, creditors, employees and, to some extent, members of the public. It makes a brief summary of the information required to be disclosed in each area. It then goes on to make an assessment of the usefulness and effectiveness of the disclosure requirements and policies. Problem areas are identified and possible solutions are noted. The work is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is a general discourse of the various arguments for and against disclosure of information to various users of information. The other chapters discuss disclosure in relation to each chosen area. Chapter Two concerns public documents of limited companies. It examines the significance of disclosure of information in public documents in the light of the abolition of the ultra vires doctrine and the doctrine of constructive notice. Chapter Three deals with accounts. The reasons for financial reporting and some problems relating to financial reporting are at the heart of this chapter. Chapter Four examines directors' fiduciary duties. The reasons for imposing fiduciary duties on directors, problems faced by shareholders in monitoring company management and insider dealing are discussed. Chapter Five concerns takeovers. The importance of disclosure of information in a takeover and the measures taken by the City Panel on Takeovers and Mergers to protect shareholders of the target company are the basis of this chapter. Finally, the thesis ends with a General Conclusion which brings together the conclusions drawn from each chapter.

No description available.

This thesis adds to the ongoing accounting and financial literature by investigating the determinants and economic effects of corporate disclosure in a low disclosure environment – the two Chinese stock markets.  It examines two research questions: whether the imposition of exogenously-imported corporate governance legislation and international accounting standards (IAS) lead to a fundamental improvement of corporate disclosure practices; and the estimation risk perspective of whether increased corporate disclosure results in a lower cost of equity capital through reducing the risk premiums on information uncertainty on firm-special characteristics. Results for the first question demonstrate that, while corporate disclosure is increased over time, neither advanced corporate governance mechanisms nor the IAS facilitate material improvement in voluntary disclosure.  Instead, the ownership structure, especially foreign-ownership, seems to play a more essential role in determining companies’ disclosure practices. In regards to the second research question, this thesis shows stock prices of listed Chinese companies are largely informational inefficient, and that, under this circumstance, the level of corporate disclosure is strongly negatively associated with stock return volatilities.  This negative association appears to result from the high-margin decrease in information asymmetry on firm-special characteristics when listed companies increase mandatory disclosure.  This finding therefore provides further country-level evidence in support of the view that the extent of negative association between corporate disclosure and the cost of equity capital is primarily dependent upon the features of stock markets and the disclosure environment in different nations. This thesis concludes with recommendations for the Chinese government and the market regulator, the China Securities Regulation Committee (CSRC), to fundamentally improve current political and legal systems and to effectively enforce the mandatory disclosure legislation.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 15, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Inder Khurana and Dr. Raynolde Pereira Vita. Includes bibliographical references.