Foreign Ownership and Financial Disclosure in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract It is recognized that multinational corporations (MNC) have played a significant role in the recent worldwide accounting reform. This study analyses the influence of foreign ownership, and MNC on financial disclosure practices of listed companies from Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). The possible reverse effect is also considered, and thus, the role of disclosure in attracting foreign investments is investigated. Fixed effects panel analysis has been conducted for 2005-2015 period, in the context of partial IFRS adoption in CEE. Contrary to hypothesized expectations, the influence of foreign ownership on the extent of disclosure is negative. As foreign investors in CEE are dominantly corporations, it seems they impose their own reporting policies or report detailed group information, which may diminish the disclosure of foreign subsidiaries. Moreover, it was found that foreign investors are not sensitive to changes of items in reported information. This evidence raises questions regarding the purpose, and the impact of disclosure on financial markets. Overall, this study gives a signal to standard-setters about reporting practices at regional level, and adds an original empirical contribution to reporting behavior and corporate transparency literature. Moreover, it invites to further research on reporting practices of companies with foreign ownership.