CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: FACTORS INFLUENCING VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE BY PUBLICLY TRADED SAUDI ARABIAN FIRMS

This paper investigates the determinants and the features of voluntary disclosure based on information in the annual reports of 113 Saudi companies listed on Saudi stock market (Tadawul) for the period 2012-2013. Using a multivariate regression, the results shown that firm size, profitability, leverage and assets-in-place are the principal factors affecting the voluntary disclosure of Saudi firms. However, the board independence, ownership concentration and liquidity does not affect the level of voluntary disclosure for Saudi companies. Another interesting result is that audit quality have opposed effect on the disclosure level.