THE TIMELINESS OF FINANCIAL REPORTING IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN UNION’S EMERGING ECONOMIES

Purpose- This research aims to investigate the timeliness of financial statements of the companies across the European Union‘s emerging economies. Research Design- Out of the emerging economies from European Union, the following sample was constituted: the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange, Warsaw Stock Exchange, Prague Stock Exchange and Budapest Stock Exchange, no matter what tier. The final sample, after eliminating the financial institutions and the entities which were not listed in all the studied years (2008-2012), consists of 37 companies. Findings- While comparing the results of this research with those from prior literature, it can be noticed a slightly decrease of days delay in the case of the analyzed emerging economies. Moreover, consistent with other researchers` findings, companies audited by a Big 4 auditor and with a qualified opinion in the auditor`s report, publish their financial results later than entities which have a favourable audit opinion. Value/Practical Implications- This study highlights the importance of financial statements` timeliness in the context of four European Union`s emerging economies, economies which are known for their delay in publishing their financial results compared to the market economies.