Information Disclosure

There have been several studies in which the level of disclosure of information in various countries has been compared using an index score ( Singhvi and Desai, 1971 , Buzby, 1974 , Barrett, 1976 ). The construction of such an index entails selecting certain items of information that one might expect to find in a report and giving a suitable weighting to the various elements. A questionnaire may be sent to the relevant user groups or the subjective judgement of the researcher may be used in deciding on the composition of the index. Indices used in studies referred to have related primarily to investor needs. Accordingly information disclosed but not included in the index may result in erroneous conclusions being drawn about the level of information disclosure.