Corporate governance and the timeliness of financial reporting: An overview

Abstract

Transparency is one of those terms that have many facets. It is used in different ways. It can refer to the openness of governmental functions, to a country's economy, or to various aspects of corporate governance and financial reporting. The OECD (1998) lists transparency as one element of good corporate governance. Kulzick (2004) and others (Blanchet 2002; Prickett 2002) view transparency from a user perspective. According to their view, transparency includes the following eight concepts: accuracy, consistency, appropriateness, completeness, clarity, timeliness, convenience, and governance and enforcement. This chapter focuses on just one aspect of transparency - timeliness. The International Accounting Standards Board considers timeliness to be an essential aspect of financial reporting. In APB Statement No. 4, the Accounting Principles Board (1970) in the USA listed timeliness as one of the qualitative objectives of financial reporting disclosure. APB Statement No. 4 was later superseded, but the Financial Accounting Standards Board continued to recognize the importance of timeliness in its Concepts Statement No. 2 (1980). The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also recognizes the importance of timeliness and requires that listed companies file their annual 10-K reports by a certain deadline. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004) lists timeliness as a principle of good corporate governance. © 2009 Springer US.