On-line financial reporting : an analysis of the Dutch listed firms

Abstract

This paper reports on the extent to which the Internet is used for financial reporting in the Netherlands. Results show that corporate reporting via the Internet seems to be an established fact. Most large companies have websites, and a growing percentage of those companies are placing business reporting information, including financial data, on their sites. However, the situation is not as positive as it seems. Further results show that Dutch corporations vary not only in their stage of Web-utilization, but also in the depth or volume of released information (divided into financial statement information and other investor related information). Besides, there is considerable variability in the manner in which the data are delivered, as shown by the scores of timeliness, technology and user support. In fact, the total weighted scores ranged between 11% and 74%. Concentrating on two sectors, it is found that the reporting behaviour within a single sector seems to be more or less homogeneous. This makes us conclude that companies are (partly) inspired by their competitors, and that they wish to keep pace with rivals.