The impact of ownership structure and board composition on corporate voluntary disclosure
Abstract
This paper aims to investigate the impact of ownership structure and board composition on corporate voluntary disclosure. The research analyzed 273 listed firms on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange though annual report at the end of 2017. Disclosure score is illustrated by Vietnam disclosure index which is reference from the previous studies. The proxy of disclosure level in Vietnam is also fixed to adapt to Vietnam market. Ordinary least square multiple regression, T-test, and analysis of variance are used to determine the empirical result. The main findings of this research is the low level of total disclosure score. Blockholder ownership, CEO duality has a negative impact on voluntary disclosure, managerial and foreign ownership together with proportion of independent directors show a positive impact on voluntary disclosure, while state ownership has no relation to voluntary disclosure. The limited of this study is cross sectional data in 2017 and the small number of observations. It could be biased overtime since there are new annual reports and regulations each year. The practical implication is that policy makers should provide extra regulation on mandatory disclosure and encourage voluntary disclosure in order to protect shareholders and support the transparency. The value of this study is to provide more evidence to improve annual reports of listed firms as well as supporting managers and investors to control the element of board of directors. It also an evidence for further studies which examine corporate voluntary disclosure in emerging markets.