Public companies’ transparency in Ukraine: key regulatory requirements

Public companies as strategically important and economically powerful Ukrainian companies should be classified as public interest entities in the context of European integration. Based on the research methodology of the Index of public companies' transparency of the Center for CSR Development and research of largest public and private companies' transparency in Ukraine, conducted by TI, the authors concluded about critically low level of transparency of public companies in the disclosure of audited financial reporting, as well as non-financial reporting. This research may contribute to the existing literature in regard to identifying key areas of improving transparency of public companies in Ukraine on the basis of amendments to the existing order of reporting and additional disclosure of non-financial information and carrying out the statutory audit, taking into account European experience. Among the issues that require further study, the authors should name the relationship between the level of transparency of public companies, their financial efficiency and investment attractiveness. Among the promising areas of research, the extension of the study on transparency of public interest entities after the publication by the European companies of the first statements prepared in accordance with Directive 2014/95/EU is worth noting. Limitations of the research carried out concerned the size of the sample Ukrainian public companies analyzed.