Journal•ISSN: 0001-4788
Accounting and Business Research
Taylor & Francis
About: Accounting and Business Research is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Audit & Accounting information system. It has an ISSN identifier of 0001-4788. Over the lifetime, 1520 publications have been published receiving 59976 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the environmental disclosure practices of Australian corporate entities and found that the extent of corporate environmental disclosure is positively associated with the environmental lobby groups' concern about the environmental performance of companies within particular industries.
Abstract: This paper analyses the environmental disclosure practices of Australian corporate entities. The paper documents three separate but related investigations. First, in a review of a sample of annual reports for the 1991 financial year, it is apparent that environmental disclosure practices adopted by the sample are self-laudatory, with companies promoting positive aspects of their environmental performance, but failing to disclose negative aspects. Second, in a review of corporate disclosure practices in the period 1980 to 1991, environmental disclosure made by the sample significantly increases across time. This change is linked to an apparent increase in societal concern relating to environmental issues. Finally, using a questionnaire administered to environmental lobby groups, it appears that the extent of corporate environmental disclosure is positively associated with the environmental lobby groups' concern about the environmental performance of companies within particular industries.
1,505 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the results of an historical analysis of social disclosures in 100 years of annual reporting by a dominant corporation in the Australian mining/manufacturing industry and identify a variable but significant pattern of social reporting.
Abstract: Various rationales have been advanced to explain the phenomenon of corporate social reporting. Among these has been legitimacy theory which posits that corporate disclosures are made as reactions to environmental factors and in order to legitimise corporate actions. This paper reports the results of an historical analysis of social disclosures in 100 years of annual reporting by a dominant corporation in the Australian mining/manufacturing industry. A variable but significant pattern of social reporting is identified and compared with an earlier study of social reporting by US Steel. The results of this study fail to confirm legitimacy theory as the primary explanation for social reporting in the Australian case.
1,405 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted an empirical study of the relationship between the print media coverage given to various industries' environmental effects and the levels of annual report environmental disclosures made by a sample of firms within those industries.
Abstract: This paper documents the results of an empirical study undertaken within Australia of the relationship between the print media coverage given to various industries' environmental effects, and the levels of annual report environmental disclosures made by a sample of firms within those industries. The paper draws upon previous studies in media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory to develop two testable hypotheses. Nine industries are reviewed across the period from 1981–1994. Drawing upon two theories, it is argued that the media can be particularly effective in driving the community's concern about the environmental performance of particular organisations (from media agenda setting theory). Where such concern is raised, organisations will respond by increasing the extent of disclosure of environmental information within the annual report (from legitimacy theory). The results indicate that for the majority of the industries studied, higher levels of media attention (as determined by a revie...
1,105 citations
TL;DR: The conceptual model underlying the empirical tests is based on economic and political incentives for providing greater detail in corporate annual reports and accounts as discussed by the authors, which provides evidence that the amount of detail in Spanish corporate annual report and accounts is increasing in firm size and stock exchange listing, and decreasing in liquidity.
Abstract: Not much information exists in the international accounting literature on Spanish accounting. Spain is selected as a subject of study because it is different from those countries that are subjects of the research concerned with investigating the multivariate impact of firm characteristics on disclosure in annual reports and accounts. The conceptual model underlying our empirical tests is based on economic and political incentives for providing greater detail in corporate annual reports and accounts. The paper provides evidence that the amount of detail in Spanish corporate annual reports and accounts is increasing in firm size and stock exchange listing, and decreasing in liquidity.
877 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the extent of disclosure in the corporate annual reports of Swedish companies is investigated and an assessment is made as to whether there is a significant association between a number of independent variables and the extentof disclosure.
Abstract: Sweden is of interest because of the rapid growth in the Stockholm stock exchange and because of the country's disproportionate number of multinational enterprises. This paper reports on the extent of disclosure in the corporate annual reports of Swedish companies. An assessment is made as to whether there is a significant association between a number of independent variables and the extent of disclosure.
796 citations