Firm's Characteristics of the Voluntary Disclosure Based on XBRL
Asian Tax Journal Vol. 10 No. 1 (2009), pp. 249-277
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of the companies that made a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL. For that purpose, total 180 companies were analyzed which made a voluntary disclosure of their annual, quarterly and semi－annual reports to the DART system of the Financial Supervisory Service based on XBRL from September 2006 to June 2007. The major research findings were as follows: First, the smaller they were, the more likely they were to make a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL. As a result, the small－sized companies must have judged that it would be better for their own good to provide their information to the market more actively since there were no extra expenses involved. Second, the less profitable they were, the more likely they were to make a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL. The companies with a high profitability seem to have postponed their introduction considering that they could be more exposed to public investigations and forced to accept the increased measures of financial disclosure. Third, the higher debt－equity ratio was, the more likely they were to make a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL. The companies with a high debt－equity ratio appeared to have decided to make a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL in order to reduce the auditing expenses, meet the needs of the creditors, and signal to the public securities market that they were capable of providing proper services according to the debt and contract conditions. Finally, the companies' making a voluntary disclosure had nothing to do with whether they were audited by a big auditor or their liquidity. In conclusion, the companies that were not robust seemed to have introduced XBRL earlier than the robust ones that were able to offer information to the market via a range of channels so that they could enhance their corporate images and actively provide the market with more information through an XBRL－based voluntary disclosure. The significance of the study can be found in that it conducted an empirical research of the characteristics of the companies that made a voluntary disclosure unlike the previous ones that theoretically dealt with the backgrounds and effects of the XBRL introduction. But the number of the companies that made a voluntary disclosure based on XBRL was limited, which means cautions must be taken in interpreting the results and concluding that it verified the introduction effects of XBRL when companies made a voluntary disclosure of their financial statements based on it.
Keywords
- XBRL
- voluntary disclosure
- size
- current ratio
- debt－equity ratio
Related Articles
Voluntary Disclosure of Corporate Governance Report and Firm Value
21(2) 127-156
The Effect of the Voluntary Earnings Forecasts Disclosure on the Earnings Management
15(5) 263-291
The Effect of Insider Trading on Management Voluntary Disclosures
15(3) 145-173
Optimistic Preliminary Earnings Announcements and Characteristicsof Outside Directors
7(4) 133-151
Corporate Sustainability and the Frequency of Corporate Disclosure
19(5) 211-242