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Purpose: The main aim of the study is to provide a tool for non-financial information in decision-making. We analysed the non-financial data in the annual reports in order to show the usage of this information in financial decision processes.

Need for the Study: Main financial reports such as balance sheets and income statements can be analysed by statistical methods. However, an expanded financial reporting framework needs new analysing methods due to unstructured and big data. The study offers a solution to the analysis problem that comes with non-financial reporting, which is an essential communication tool in corporate reporting.

Methodology: Text mining analysis of annual reports is conducted using software named R. To simplify the problem, we try to predict the companies’ corporate governance qualifications using text mining. K Nearest Neighbor, Naive Bayes and Decision Tree machine learning algorithms were used.

Findings: Our analysis illustrates that K Nearest Neighbor has classified the highest number of correct classifications by 85%, compared to 50% for the random walk. The empirical evidence suggests that text mining can be used by all stakeholders as a financial analysis method.

Practical Implications: Combining financial statement analyses with financial reporting analyses will decrease the information asymmetry between the company and stakeholders. So stakeholders can make more accurate decisions. Analysis of non-financial data with text mining will provide a decisive competitive advantage, especially for investors to make the right decisions. This method will lead to allocating scarce resources more effectively. Another contribution of the study is that stakeholders can predict the corporate governance qualification of the company from the annual reports even if it does not include in the Corporate Governance Index (CGI).

The aim of this study is to approach the way in which corporate governance influences the occurrence of financial fraud, as expressed by the M-Beneish score. In order to get further into the topic, we have first computed a corporate governance score based on the comply-explain statement and then selected a few elements that are part of the corporate governance reporting: equilibrium of board members (EQUIL), independence of board members (INDEP), selection of the board members (NOM), remuneration policy (REM), audit committee (AUDIT) and the proportion of female directors on boards (GenF). They were tested, one by one, using the financial fraud score to see the way in which they interact.

The study is conducted on a sample of 65 companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) for the 2016–2022 period. The data were processed using three-stage general least square [general least squares (GLS), with iteration, igls and option] with a common first-order panel-specific autocorrelation correction, so as to explain how a poor adoption of the corporate governance score and its elements has a negative implication for the M-Beneish score, controlling for the auditor opinion, type of auditing company and if the company is privately owned.

The results support most of our research hypothesis, revealing that a poor adoption of the corporate governance score and its components – AUDIT, EQUIL, INDEP and GenF – negatively influences the M-Beneish score, i.e. a low corporate governance score will lead to an increase in financial fraud. This is an encouraging aspect, for an improved adoption of the corporate governance principles reduces the occurrence of financial fraud.

This is a study that concerns the relationship between corporate governance and financial fraud for the case study for Romania.

The study highlights the importance of adopting the corporate governance code applied to the Romanian business environment. By measuring the presence of financial fraud appearance through the M-Beneish score, we have managed to outline the negative relationship between the two components. Thus, it is an important aspect of which companies should take account, so they will have long-term benefits and ensure the continuity of the business.

The policy implications of this project are for policymakers, so that they will understand how a good corporate governance mechanism will enhance high-performing businesses. Different aspects regarding corporate governance were validated and are in the process of being validated. Managers can extract and try to understand and apply the good characteristics of corporate governance for the well-being of their companies. At a broader level, the macroeconomic environment will increase its own well-being while encouraging market players to enhance qualitative corporate governance reporting. There is no doubt that corporate governance has a positive impact on businesses.

The study highlights the importance of adopting the corporate governance code as applied to the Romanian business environment. By measuring the occurrence of financial fraud using the M-Beneish score, we have managed to outline the negative relationship between the two components. Therefore, this is an important aspect that companies should take into account in order to have long-term benefits and ensure the continuity of their business.

The purpose of this study is to examine the indirect relationship between the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards for small and medium-sized enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) and the corporate governance index (CGI) by checking the mediating effect of the quality of financial statements (QFS) on this relationship.

The main objective of the IFRS for SMEs standard is to meet the specific needs of SMEs in transition and developing economies. Here, the authors used the structural equation method to investigate SMEs in countries that mandate the application of IFRS for SMEs for the years 2010 (pre-adoption) and 2016 (post-adoption). The final sample covered two emerging countries: the Dominican Republic and El Salvador.

The results show a positive association between the adoption of IFRS for SMEs, CGI and QFS. Furthermore, the findings confirm that the relationship between IFRS for SMEs adoption and CGI is under the control of the QFS.

This study provides standard setters and managers of SMEs with an overview of the importance of QFS on the significance of this relationship in emerging countries. The study contributes to the literature by examining the indirect relationship between IFRS for SMEs and CGI and building a CGI that integrates a set of governance practices linked to SMEs.

This study aims to explore the quality of corporate governance disclosure under an “apply and explain” regime in the context of an emerging economy (Mauritius), following a transition from the traditional “comply or explain” approach within the national code of corporate governance.

The research relies on a content analysis of corporate governance disclosure in 86 annual reports of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius for the financial periods 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, one-way analysis of variance tests and draws on the typology of corporate governance explanations developed by Shrives and Brennan (2015), focusing on specificity, location and comprehensiveness dimensions. This paper draws on legitimacy theory and the concepts of substantive and symbolic disclosures to guide the interpretation of the findings.

From a specificity point of view, the disclosure index revealed significant variations, with the highest score being four times the lowest score. With regards to location and comprehensiveness, only around half of companies are making optimum use of a corporate governance report and providing explanations by principles. This paper also illustrated how some firms provided symbolic disclosures. Overall, there are disparities in the application of the code by companies, reflected in a blend of substantive and symbolic disclosures to maintain their legitimacy.

This study examines “apply and explain” disclosures in a emerging economy in contrast to the “comply or explain” approach studied so far in the literature. Merely professing a “well intended” shift to the “apply and explain” approach does not necessarily lead to improvements in the quality of corporate governance disclosures. Companies, governance professionals and regulatory bodies could formulate disclosure guidance to better underpin the implications of the “apply and explain” approach.

Poland generally has a homogeneous society, conservative towards changes and diversity. The corporate culture in Polish companies reflects this mindset, leading to a lack of inclusion on the corporate board. Additionally, many companies may not fully understand the benefits of an inclusive workplace and legal requirements for gender diversity.

The main objective of the study is to provide a better understanding of the attitude of Polish companies towards diversity policies and reveal differences in actual and expected levels of gender diversity in corporate boards. Thus, we examine compliance with the gender diversity guidelines in the corporate governance code.

Using a sample of 367 Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we study the composition of the management and supervisory boards to check if they meet the expected gender diversity criteria. We also look at companies' explanations for non-compliance with the main principles regarding diversity policy.

We find that the current composition of corporate boards of stock companies in Poland is male-dominated. Women represent only 12.72% and 17.12% of the management board and supervisory board members, respectively, and 68.94% (42.23%) of companies have no women on their management (supervisory) board. Moreover, only a small percentage of companies comply with the principles related to gender diversity. Qualifications, experience and education are pointed out as the most important criteria for decision-making on board appointments, with only 2% of companies applying gender as an additional criterion. The study suggests that larger companies are more likely to implement diversity policies.

The article aims to determine the implementation extent of the regulations around appointment and characteristics of audit committees and regulations concerning disclosure of information about the audit committee in Polish practice.

The author analyzed the informative content of management reports and corporate governance statements. The survey covered all domestic companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the years from 2017 to 2021.

The new guidelines resulting from hard law had a significant impact on the corporate governance on the Polish capital market. According to the research results, over the analyzed years, the share of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which appointed an audit committee within the supervisory board, clearly increased. Moreover, the research found that in the period under study, not all companies fulfilled the obligation to disclose information about the audit committee resulting from hard law. In particular, this applies to disclosures on how the members of the audit committee acquired competencies in the area of accounting.

The article concerns the operation of the audit committee in public companies listed on the Polish capital market. The study can serve as a reference point for further research on corporate governance. The results of the research may be an indication for those who create legal solutions in the area of corporate governance.

This is the first such comprehensive study on the characteristics of the audit committee and disclosures about the audit committee resulting from the introduction of hard law in this area.

This study examines the effect of board characteristics on the tax aggressiveness of listed companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka.

The sample consists of 264 firm-year observations of non-financial listed companies in Sri Lanka from 2014 to 2019. The dynamic panel system GMM technique was used to test the hypotheses, and further analyses were performed using the propensity score matching technique.

All four effective tax rate measures' mean values were lower than the statutory tax rate, indicating the likelihood of tax planning. Whether board attributes are likely to mitigate tax aggressiveness is uncertain because the results are inconsistent and depend on the ETR measure. Similarly, the logistic regression results derived using the PSM approach are inconsistent, suggesting that board characteristics may have a limited effect on tax aggressiveness. Hence, the corporate governance-tax aggressiveness nexus is limited in the case of Sri Lanka.

This investigation is limited to non-financial listed companies in Sri Lanka and incorporates only four tax aggressiveness measures. Findings are imperative for policymakers, regulators, and professional bodies to improve corporate governance codes and rules to enhance organisational transparency toward corporate tax payments.

Aggressive tax planning by companies will reduce government tax revenue, hinder social progress, and cause public mistrust of large corporations and institutions.

This study provides insight into the nexus between corporate governance and tax aggressiveness in a middle-income economy in South Asia hit by an economic crisis where tax revenue has fallen and tax enforcement is weak.

The present study aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance factors and financial reporting transparency pre and post of ISIS.

A multivariate regression model was used to test the hypotheses for this purpose. The research hypotheses were tested on a sample of 35 companies listed on the Iraqi Stock Exchange from 2012 to 2018 using a multivariate regression model based on panel data technique.

The results indicate a negative and significant correlation between the board independence, audit committee independence, management team stability and remuneration of the board of directors and financial reporting transparency. In contrast, there is a positive and significant correlation between the board expertise, audit committee expertise and managerial ownership, with financial reporting transparency. Moreover, ISIS has had a direct and significant impact on the correlation between the board of directors’ independence and remuneration with financial reporting transparency. The present study also tested research models using additional methods (such as feasible generalised least squares, ordinary least squares, random effects and T + 1) to obtain better results. The results of these different methods were entirely in line with the main results of the research.

The political and economic instability resulting from the entry of ISIS into Iraq has created severe problems for society’s economic, political, security and performance dimensions. Macroeconomic uncertainty driven by terrorist activities can negatively affect managers’ perceptions of firms’ future performance and result in poor judgments and estimations, significantly impacting business units' financial reporting transparency. Because no study has examined the relationship between corporate governance and financial reporting transparency on the Iraq stock exchange before and after the presence of ISIS, this study examines such a relationship. Although the economic and political situation in Iraq may not be identical to that in other nations, much of the experience in Iraq is anticipated to apply to other countries in the region.

This paper aims to measure the COVID-19-related disclosure extent of listed firms in Vietnam and its associated factors.

The authors apply a previously developed reporting framework to evaluate the disclosures of 100 listed firms with the largest market capitalization on the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh stock exchanges as of 31 December 2021. The disclosures were from integrated reports, annual reports, corporate governance reports and financial statements. The authors then used a regression model to examine the factors that influenced the disclosures, such as corporate governance, ownership concentration and firm profiles.

The research results reveal that the extent of COVID-19-related disclosure in Vietnam is relatively low. It also finds that the audit committee, firm size, age and industry are positively associated with the extent of COVID-19-related disclosure.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine COVID-19-related disclosures of listed companies in Vietnam and their determinants. It contributes significantly to the empirical evidence in this field. The findings of this study can help corporate managers and policymakers to improve information disclosure practices during future financial crises.

The authors investigate the adoption of nomination committees in Australia and identify the managerial power perspective as one explanation for firms not establishing nomination committees. A positive outcome of establishing a nomination committee from the perspective of board diversity is also examined.

The authors adopt an archival approach by collecting data for firms listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) during the period 2010 to 2018. The authors establish the prevalence of nomination committees for small medium and large Australian firms. Regression analyses are used to determine whether the power of the chief executive officer (CEO) influences the adoption of a nomination committee. The association between having nomination committee and board diversity is also analyzed using regression analyses.

Less than half of firms adopt a nomination committee. Larger firms are more likely to adopt a nomination committee than medium and smaller sized firms. Firms with less powerful CEOs are more likely to adopt a nomination committee. Adoption of a nomination committee is also associated with greater board tenure dispersion and board gender diversity in medium and smaller sized firms.

Evidence on nomination committees provides original research that extends previous research focusing on the audit, risk and remuneration committees and samples restricted to large firms. The nomination committee has an important role to play in the appointment of directors yet limited evidence exists of the adoption rate, explanation for non-adoption and benefits of adoption. The authors add to this evidence.