Corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from selected companies in Bangladesh

Abstract

This research aims to test empirically the relationship between corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure by the listed companies in Bangladesh. The corporate governance factors examined are proportion of independent non-executive directors (INDs), board leadership structure, management ownership, board size and audit committee size. The extent of voluntary disclosure level is measured using 68 items of information. Data are taken from annual reports of the listed companies in Bangladesh. The result shows a positive association between board size, board leadership structure, audit committee size and voluntary disclosure. However, no evidence is found to support the contention that independent directors are associated with increased disclosure, consistent with previous studies. Higher education of the CEO and CFO is positively related to the level of voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that the extent of voluntary disclosures is negatively associated with a higher management ownership