ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CORPORATE CHARACTERISTICS AND DISCLOSURE LEVELS IN ANNUAL REPORTS: A META-ANALYSIS

Abstract

Accounting researchers have investigated associations between corporate characteristics and disclosures in corporate annual reports since 1961. Findings have consistently shown corporate size and listing status to be significantly associated with disclosure levels, while mixed results have been reported for leverage, profitability, and audit firm size. The purpose of the present paper is to integrate prior disclosure studies and to identify the underlying factors that moderate the apparent variation in results. A meta-analysis of 29 studies confirms significant and positive relationships between disclosure levels and corporate size, listing status and leverage. No significant association is found between corporate profitability or size of audit firm, with aggregate disclosure levels. This study also found that in addition to sampling error, the results are moderated by differences in disclosure index construction, differences in definition of the explanatory variables, and differences in research settings.