Factors influencing voluntary annual report disclosure by trading and services companies

Abstract

This study examines the factors that influence the extent of the voluntary disclosures contained in the annual reports of trading and services sector in Malaysia. The four variables tested are firm size, assets-in-place, profitability and type of auditor. The empirical evidence suggests that firm size and profitability are statistically related to the level of information voluntarily disclosed by trading and services companies in Malaysia and using multiple linear regression models, the single most important independent variable that helps explain variations in voluntary disclosure is size.