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The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the impact of corporate governance factors on the disclosure of internal control information by firms in Ghana.

A data set from 110 firms in Ghana for the year ending of 2013 was used. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of internal control information index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis method.

Results of the disclosure of internal control information mean of 35 per cent indicate that most of the sampled firms did not disclose sufficient internal control information in their annual reports. The low level of internal control information disclosure cannot be used by stakeholders to determine the level of corporate governance practices in the sampled companies. The results of the regression analysis indicate that board independence is a significant variable that explains the disclosure of internal control disclosure. This supports the generally held view that independent directors help to improve the quality of disclosure and increase the transparency of information.

This is the first study in Ghana that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on internal control information disclosures. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between corporate governance and disclosure by showing that the disclosure of internal control information in Ghana is associated with the proportion of independent board members. This findings support Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) 404 requirements, even though this is not compulsory for Ghanaian firms unlike their US counterparts. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sub-Saharan African Exchanges in evaluating the adequacy of the current disclosure regulations in their countries. Understanding the board composition and their impact on voluntary disclosure provides evidence on the sufficiency of the board of directors’ guidelines in the corporate governance code in Sub-Saharan African countries.

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between board attributes and national culture on firms’ investment decisions.

The study used data from listed firms from seven Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which constitutes the main data analysis.

The multiple regression analysis results indicate a negative relationship between uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and corporate investment decisions. The study also found that there is a negative relationship between the interaction between UAI and the number of independent board members and corporate investment decisions.

This study is one of the few to measure the influence of governance variables and national culture on corporate investment decisions in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Focussing on responsibility theory of management accounting, the purpose of this paper is to test how performance measurements are applied in divisionalised financial service companies. Management accounting theory suggests that two different measures of branch performance should be computed: one to evaluate the economic performance of each branch and the other to evaluate the performance of branch managers (managerial performance). It also advocates that the evaluation of a manager’s performance should consist of only those factors under his or her control. That is, divisionalised performance measurement should be based on the application of the controllability principle, the study also identified the contingent factors that impinged on the selection of performance measures and the allocation of common costs (ACCs) to branches.

Using a survey questionnaire and analysis of financial statements of the 129 respondent companies the application of financial performance measures: non-financial performance measures and ACCs were tested. For the purpose of this study, dummy variables were assigned to represent whether or not an item is used, if an item is used 1 is assigned to that item and 0 if an item is not used. The values assigned were then summed up to represent the total score for each company. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis was performed to test the six hypotheses of the study.

The study found that a substantial majority of respondents used different performance measures to evaluate the performance of their branch managers and the economic performance of branches. Both financial and non-financial performance measures were equally used in measuring the performance of branches and branch managers. The study also found that branch managers do not have full autonomy and control over the allocation of common resources costs which form part of their evaluation, even though accounting theory suggest that. The regression analysis results showed that firm size, liquidity and leverage were the factors that influence the decision to employ financial performance measures, non-financial performance measures and ACC by the respondent companies.

Despite the popularity of the balanced scorecard it is surprising to note that none of the respondents have ever used this as a performance measure. The implication is that knowledge of this performance measure is very low among the respondents. The excessive use of uncontrollable factors in the measurement process can reduce the morale of the staff involve hence steps should be taken to reduce their use.

This is one of the few studies conducted on the application of performance measures in the financial services and also in a developing country setting. The findings would help organisations in both developing and developed economies to improve upon the application of performance measurement techniques in their branches/divisions.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of board characteristics on firms’ investment decisions.

The study used data sourced from annual reports of firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2018. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by a regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.

The multiple regression analysis results indicated that the proportion of independent directors and financial experts on the board are negatively related to firm investment. These findings imply that independent directors and financial experts on the board can help firms reduce overinvestment and improve investment efficiency.

The extant literature shows that the board of directors are an effective mechanism to reduce agency problems in firm decisions and operating performance. However, there has been little research on the role of the board of directors in corporate investment policy.

The study aims to examine the simultaneous influence of corruption and culture on corporate social and environmental performance of selected companies.

Theoretical propositions on how corruption and culture influence corporate social responsibility performance were developed and empirically tested. Corruption is measured using Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index and Schwartz (2008) cultural dimension is used as a measure of culture. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.

The multiple regression analysis results indicated that corruption and two of the three cultural dimensions (embeddedness and Mastery) are significantly related to corporate social responsibility performance.

The study contributes to the corporate social responsibility literature by revealing that corruption and culture are key determinants of corporate social responsibility performance.

This paper aims to investigate compliance with risk disclosure requirements under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 7) by firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) over a three-year period. Specifically, the paper examines the extent, quality and determinants of risk disclosure compliance with IFRS 7.

The study uses 90 firm-year observations for the period 2011-2013 for firms listed on the GSE. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the extent and quality of corporate risk disclosure index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis.

The results indicate that over the three years, the extent of compliance with IFRS 7 is, on average, 53 per cent, which is very low; the quality of the disclosures is, on average, 33 per cent, which is also very low. The regression results suggest that proportion of non-executive director (PNED) is significantly and positively associated with the extent of risk disclosure compliance under IFRS 7. Board size was found to be significantly and positively associated with quality of risks disclosure compliance.

This is the first study in Ghana that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on the extent and quality of IFRS 7 risk disclosure compliance. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana in evaluating the adequacy of the risk disclosures by listed firms.

This paper aims to investigate the possible corporate governance attributes that can influence companies in Ghana to disclose intangible assets in their annual reports to stakeholders.

A data set from 110 firms in Ghana for the year ending of 2016 was used. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of intangible asset information index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis method.

A large proportion of companies disclosed that the useful lives of intangible assets (either acquired or internally generated) are finite and also disclosed their useful lives or the amortisation rates used. Auditor type, industry type and leverage were the factors influencing the compliance with IAS 38 disclosure requirements.

This is the first study in Ghana that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on IAS 38 information disclosures. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between corporate governance and disclosure by showing that the disclosure of intangible asset information in Ghana is associated with Auditor type, industry type and leverage.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, corruption and compliance with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 7) risk disclosure requirements in listed firms in two Sub-Saharan Africa countries: Botswana and Ghana. This study tries to test whether the transparency level of a country has any impact on the transparency level of its firms.

The study uses 174 firm-year observations between the period 2013-2015 for listed firms in the two countries. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of corporate risk disclosure index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis.

The results suggest that the extent of risk disclosure compliance over the three-year period is, on average, 63 and 53 per cent for Botswana and Ghana, respectively. The differences in the disclosure levels in the two countries can be attributed to the different levels of corruption in the two countries. One way of hiding corrupt practices is for companies to disclose scanty information.

This is one of the few studies in Sub-Saharan Africa that tests the transparency levels of listed firms in the two countries by considering the impact of corporate governance factors on IFRS 7 risk disclosure compliance. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana, Botswana, the Sub-Saharan Africa Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sub-Saharan Africa exchanges in evaluating the adequacy of the current disclosure regulations in their countries.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, corruption and disclosure of forward-looking information in listed firms in two African countries, Botswana and Ghana.

The study uses 174 firm-year observations between the period of 2011-2013 for listed firms in the two countries. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of forward-looking information index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.

The findings show that firms in the least corrupt country, Botswana, disclose more forward-looking information than firms in Ghana, one of the most corrupt countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This confirms the relationship between the transparency level of a country and the transparency level of the listed firms in that country.

This is one of the few studies in sub-Saharan Africa that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on transparency and disclosure of forward-looking information. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between corporate governance and disclosure by showing that disclosure of forward-looking information in Ghana is associated with the proportion of independent board members. The disclosure of forward-looking information in Botswana on the other hand is influenced by board ownership concentration. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana, Botswana and sub-Saharan Africa, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sub-Sahara African Exchanges in evaluating the adequacy of the current disclosure regulations in their countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkages between audit committees’ (AC) effectiveness, audit quality and corporate voluntary disclosure quality (VDQ).

Empirical tests address 144 firm-year observations drawn from Ghanaian listed companies during 2013–2016.

The results document a substitute and complementary effect between the presence of Big Four auditor and effective AC in increasing quality voluntary disclosure.

This study is one of the few that have examined the effect of AC effectiveness and audit quality on corporate VDQ. The findings lend credence to the belief that AC effectiveness and Big Four auditors complement each other to enhance quality of voluntary information disclosure.