Non-financial Performance Disclosure and Company Performance: Australian Evidence

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between company financial performance, company characteristics and non-financial performance disclosure (NFPD) in terms of quantity and quality. This paper uses a NFPD index that covers six perspectives: three perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and three perspectives of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure. The sample data used in this study is 30 Australian listed companies in 2014. The results show that in terms of quantity, there is a significant relationship between company financial performance (Return on Equity-ROE and Earning per Share-EPS), company type, company age, auditing firm and non-financial performance disclosure while Return on Asset (ROA) and size of company shown no significance. Meanwhile, in terms   of quality, only ROE and company age were significantly related to non-financial performance disclosure. Overall, by using the six perspectives of non-financial performance disclosure in the 30 companies in Australia, this study has contributed new understandings to the main corporate social disclosure studies focused on non-financial performance disclosure, which should motivate companies to produce and disclose annual and sustainability reports that are more comprehensive and highly credible. Keywords: Non-financial performance disclosure; Balanced Scorecard; Environmental, Social and Governance