Characteristics of firms that issue concise financial reports in Australia

Abstract

This study represents quantitative replication research in the area of summarised annual reporting in Australia. It investigates the characteristics of 176 publicly listed Australian firms and through both univariate and multivariate analyses finds that firm size and shareholder dispersion are significant determinants of firms that voluntarily choose to issue Concise Financial Reports (CFRs). Given the nature of summarised reporting the implications of these findings are important for preparers, users, professional and regulatory bodies and academics. If the CFR is the only formal communication between large complex companies (Whittred, 1987) and large numbers of individual shareholders it is essential that relevant information is not merely summarised but represents complete, comparable and effectively communicated financial information.