This study examined the impact of fiscal decentralization on quality financial reporting at the local government level in Ghana. The study is important because it provides development partners with the assurance that Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) funds are used for their intended purposes. The study was based on the theory of local public expenditures, which posits that fiscal decentralization may enhance local capacities for service delivery. The key research question examined the extent to which fiscal decentralization has influenced quality financial reporting at the local level. The research design was quantitative, randomly sampling stakeholders in the local government structures including traditional rulers, assembly members, principal spending officers, budget officers, auditors, and accountants (n = 65). Descriptive plots, Pearson chi-square, and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the relationship between the dependent variable of quality financial reporting and the independent variables of expenditure responsibilities, taxation powers, intergovernmental fiscal transfers, and borrowing powers. The results of the analysis revealed taxation powers to be the most significant contributor to quality financial reporting. Quality financial reporting improved internally-generated resources, reduced audit queries, and served as a basis for granting funds to MMDAs. The study recommends that MMDAs be given taxation powers to enable local assemblies to generate more revenue so as to minimize the need for the transfer of funds from development partners and central government. The significant social change implication of this study lies in giving MMDAs control of service delivery at the local level.

For many years, international financial reporting – and in particular the notes reporting – has been criticized in practice and academia for failing to provide information that is appropriate for its intended users. This criticism points to deficits with regard to the content and presentation and, thus, to the overall quality of the notes reporting. However, this criticism is predominantly anecdotal in nature as there is, as yet, scarcely any valid scientific evidence that supports these claims. This work addresses this research gap by elaborating what (notes) reporting quality is, what dimensions it consists of (conceptualization), how these dimensions can be measured (operationalization) and how they are empirically manifested (empirical evidence). For the latent construct of (notes) reporting quality, a formative measuring instrument to be used in an integrative content analysis is developed with which both dimensions of (notes) reporting quality – a content dimension (e.g., relevance) and a formal dimension (e.g., diction/readability) – can be measured and analyzed. This measuring instrument is validated both theoretically (argumentative reflection) and empirically (testing of hypotheses derivable from the underlying theories). The subsequent analysis of the notes reporting quality of a representative sample of German firms reveals that the above-mentioned criticism is well founded. Furthermore, the results point out both what specific deficits exist and where. The results of this work – the conceptualization, the operationalization and the empirical evidence – together form a starting point for developing, in the context of the (notes) reporting and its quality, valid insights/knowledge in research, ‘best practice’ solutions in practice and conceptually sound and target-oriented solutions in regulation.

Der internationalen Finanzberichterstattung – und darin insbesondere der Anhangberichterstattung – wird seit vielen Jahren in Praxis und Wissenschaft eine fehlende adressatengerechte Informationsbereitstellung vorgeworfen. Die Kritik deutet auf Defizite hinsichtlich Inhalt und Darstellung und somit insgesamt der Qualität der Anhangberichterstattung hin. Diese Kritik ist jedoch überwiegend anekdotischer Natur, valide wissenschaftliche Evidenz fehlt bislang. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird diese Forschungslücke adressiert. Für das latente Konstrukt Berichterstattungsqualität wird dafür zunächst ein formatives Messinstrument entwickelt, mit dem sowohl die inhaltliche (u. a. Relevanz) als auch die formale Dimension (u. a. Lesbarkeit) von Berichterstattungsqualität gemessen und analysiert werden kann. Dieses Messinstrument wird sowohl theoretisch (argumentative Reflektion) als auch empirisch (Prüfung von aus den zugrundeliegenden Theorien ableitbaren Relationen) validiert. Die anschließende Erhebung von Berichterstattungsqualität einer repräsentativen Stichprobe deutscher Unternehmen mittels einer integrativen Inhaltsanalyse verdeutlicht, dass die o. g. Kritik begründet ist und zeigt auf, worin konkret Defizite bestehen. Die vorliegende Arbeit leistet damit einen Beitrag zur konzeptionellen und empirischen Rechnungslegungsforschung.:Teil 1: Einführung Teil 2: Grundlagen Teil 3: Konzeptionierung von Berichterstattungsqualität Teil 4: Empirische Analyse von Berichterstattungsqualität im Anhang bzgl. immaterieller Vermögenswerte Teil 5: Fazit