The Empirical Study On The Influential Factors Of The Information Voluntary Disclosure Of Listed Companies’ Annual Report In Shanghai Stock Market

The voluntary disclosure by listed companies is the essential of capital market. Voluntary disclosure can be defined as disclosures in excess of requirements, representing free choices on the part of company managements to provide accounting and other information deemed relevant to the decision needs of users of their annual reports. Acting as supplement of the compulsory information disclosure and effective way of alleviating "aymmetrical information"in the capital market, in particular having the function of coordinating the relation between listed companies and exterior investors,the voluntary disclosure is valued increasingly. Under this background, this paper conducts the research for the influential factors of the Voluntary disclosure of listed comprnies’annual report, through normative and positive study methods.This paper has five chapters:Chapter1:introduction, This chapter illustrated the research background and the significance of the voluntary disclosure, reviewed the literatures in the infective factors in voluntary disclosure behavior home and abroad, illustrated research frame.Chapter2:the basic theory of voluntary information disclosure of listed company. Firstly,this chapter illustrated the concept of voluntary information disclosure of listed company. Secondly, it analyzed the developing process of voluntary information disclosure of listed company. Thirdly, it analyzed the formation mechanism--Agency Cost theory,Signaling theory and Competitive capital market theory,thus obtains the collusion that listed companies have the motive and the reason carrying on disclosing information voluntarily.Chapter3:The established index and measure of voluntary information disclosure of listed company. First,using the former researches as reference and combing China’s fact,the paper established the index of voluntary information disclosure of listed company in China, Then it evaluated the level of voluntary information disclosure of listed company using listed companies’annual report of2006,2007and2008as example. from continuously three years data material analysis, the total level of voluntary disclosure is lower in China, demonstration the enhancement tendency the year by year too, the average degree of the voluntary disclosure of In2006, in2007, in2008is0.3782,0.4189and0.4275.Chapter4:the empirical study on the infective factors in voluntary disclosure. This chapter brings forward a research design for Chinese listed companies in four aspects of corporate character, ownership structure, corporate internal governance and outside environment factors. the paper carries on the regression analysis for those influential factors by taking advantage of2007’s annual reports data from Shanghai Stock Exchange. The paper draws the following conclusion:company size, board size, the quantity of "four committee", the degree of industry competition are positively associated with voluntary disclosure, while financial leverage, proportion of institutional investors and CEO duality are negatively related to voluntary disclosure; profit ability, the first shareholders, the character of first shareholders, proportion of independent director and "big four audit" are not related to voluntary disclosure. last,this chapter explains the conclusions.Chapter5:Conclution. This chapter brings forward policy suggestions on improving voluntary disclosure based on the empirical results of our empirical study. Then it presents the main work, innovation, disadvantage and study direction later.