The Practice Statement provides a flexible approach to preparation of the management commentary, generating more meaningful disclosure and discussing those matters that are more relevant to the company＇s individual c...The Practice Statement provides a flexible approach to preparation of the management commentary, generating more meaningful disclosure and discussing those matters that are more relevant to the company＇s individual circumstances. In this direction, the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） has highlighted some content elements recognised as being fundamental for guaranteeing the usefulness of the management commentary. With reference to these elements, it is interesting to analyse the level of disclosure of the financial reporting. These analyses aim to identify the themes dealt with most extensively by the companies and those that require greater attention so that the narrative section of the financial statement is, on the one hand, at least consistent with the suggestions of the guideline and, on the other hand, contains information that is useful for the users. Lastly, in the light of the relevant European Union （EU） directives, the results of the analysis will help to formulate considerations on the ability of the IASB guideline to improve the completeness of the narrative section. All this is examined in a cross-country dimension： Financial reports in Italy and the United Kingdom （UK） are examined. The content analysis methodology is applied. Within the financial reporting, the management discussion is examined in particular. The analysis is performed considering 2008. This qualitative paper will contribute to the studies on disclosure and usefulness of the information provided.展开更多
The Management Discussion and Analysis （MD＆A） is a mandatory document under the European Union＇s （EU） law. In 2003, the EU issued Directive 2003/51/EC, which broadened the information that firms have to provide ...The Management Discussion and Analysis （MD＆A） is a mandatory document under the European Union＇s （EU） law. In 2003, the EU issued Directive 2003/51/EC, which broadened the information that firms have to provide in their MD＆A, and in 2010 the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） issued the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） Practice Statement ＂Management Commentary＂, a non-binding guidance for the presentation of this document. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between MD＆A disclosure quality and properties of analysts＇ forecasts. In fact, although most studies found that financial analysts mainly refer to financial statement data in forecasting earnings, there are few researches highlighting the importance of MD＆A disclosures for financial analysts. On this basis, Ramnath, Rock, and Shane （2008） called for researches in order to better understand the relationship between the information really used by analysts and their forecasts. To assess the quality of MD＆A disclosures, we developed a multidimensional measure on the basis of the EU requirements and the IFRS Practice Statement, and then we regressed this variable on both forecast accuracy and dispersion. The findings show that our measure of MD＆A disclosure quality is significantly and positively related to forecast accuracy. We conducted other analyses in order to better understand the previous relationship and we found that, if we analyze the different information contained in the MD＆A statement, financial analysts consider useful accounting and financial data in forecasting earnings. These results enhance our understanding of the role of MD＆A disclosures in the wide set of information that firms provide to financial statement users.展开更多
文摘The Practice Statement provides a flexible approach to preparation of the management commentary, generating more meaningful disclosure and discussing those matters that are more relevant to the company＇s individual circumstances. In this direction, the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） has highlighted some content elements recognised as being fundamental for guaranteeing the usefulness of the management commentary. With reference to these elements, it is interesting to analyse the level of disclosure of the financial reporting. These analyses aim to identify the themes dealt with most extensively by the companies and those that require greater attention so that the narrative section of the financial statement is, on the one hand, at least consistent with the suggestions of the guideline and, on the other hand, contains information that is useful for the users. Lastly, in the light of the relevant European Union （EU） directives, the results of the analysis will help to formulate considerations on the ability of the IASB guideline to improve the completeness of the narrative section. All this is examined in a cross-country dimension： Financial reports in Italy and the United Kingdom （UK） are examined. The content analysis methodology is applied. Within the financial reporting, the management discussion is examined in particular. The analysis is performed considering 2008. This qualitative paper will contribute to the studies on disclosure and usefulness of the information provided.
文摘The Management Discussion and Analysis （MD＆A） is a mandatory document under the European Union＇s （EU） law. In 2003, the EU issued Directive 2003/51/EC, which broadened the information that firms have to provide in their MD＆A, and in 2010 the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） issued the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） Practice Statement ＂Management Commentary＂, a non-binding guidance for the presentation of this document. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between MD＆A disclosure quality and properties of analysts＇ forecasts. In fact, although most studies found that financial analysts mainly refer to financial statement data in forecasting earnings, there are few researches highlighting the importance of MD＆A disclosures for financial analysts. On this basis, Ramnath, Rock, and Shane （2008） called for researches in order to better understand the relationship between the information really used by analysts and their forecasts. To assess the quality of MD＆A disclosures, we developed a multidimensional measure on the basis of the EU requirements and the IFRS Practice Statement, and then we regressed this variable on both forecast accuracy and dispersion. The findings show that our measure of MD＆A disclosure quality is significantly and positively related to forecast accuracy. We conducted other analyses in order to better understand the previous relationship and we found that, if we analyze the different information contained in the MD＆A statement, financial analysts consider useful accounting and financial data in forecasting earnings. These results enhance our understanding of the role of MD＆A disclosures in the wide set of information that firms provide to financial statement users.
