The Association between Firm Characteristics and Corporate Financial Disclosures: Evidence from UAE Companies

The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, Vol. 8 (2) pp. 101-123, 2014

24 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2014

See all articles by Khaled Aljifri

Khaled Aljifri

United Arab Emirates University

Abdulkareem Alzarouni

National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Chew Ng

Griffith University - Griffith Business School

Mohammad Iqbal Tahir

University of Faisalabad

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence of the impact of firm specific characteristics on corporate financial disclosures amongst UAE companies. A total of 153 public, joint-stock companies, listed and unlisted, were incorporated at the time of study. Both descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses are used to test the relationship between the characteristics of UAE firms and the extent of their financial disclosure. Eight hypotheses were established to examine the relationship between a number of explanatory variables (namely, type of industry, listing status, return on equity, liquidity, market capitalization, foreign ownership, non-executive directors, and audit committee) and the extent of disclosure in corporate annual reports. The results of this study show that listing status, industry type, and size of firm are found to be significantly associated with the level of disclosure. This finding not only provides support for previous studies, but also is of relevance to those in the UAE who want to understand corporate disclosure and should also be of interest to UAE user-groups. Conclusions drawn from this study may be of interest to policy makers and regulators who want to improve corporate financial disclosure in their countries.

Keywords: Corporate Financial Disclosure, Firm Characteristics, UAE Firms, Corporate Annual Reports

JEL Classification: M4, M48, M49

Suggested Citation

Aljifri, Khaled and Alzarouni, Abdulkareem and Ng, Chew and Tahir, Mohammad Iqbal, The Association between Firm Characteristics and Corporate Financial Disclosures: Evidence from UAE Companies (2014). The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, Vol. 8 (2) pp. 101-123, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2322965

Khaled Aljifri (Contact Author)

United Arab Emirates University ( email )

United Arab Emirates

Abdulkareem Alzarouni

National Bank of Abu Dhabi ( email )

PO Box 59212
AL Ain
United Arab Emirates

Chew Ng

Griffith University - Griffith Business School ( email )

Brisbane, Queensland 4111
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.griffith.edu.au/cgi-bin/frameit?http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/gbs/afe/staff/chew_ng.h

Mohammad Iqbal Tahir

University of Faisalabad ( email )

Sargodha Road Faisalabad
Faisalabad, Punjab 38000
Pakistan

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