VARIOUS ASPECTS OF INTERNET FINANCIAL REPORTING: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIAN ACADEMICIAN

This paper examines the perceptions of corporate annual report users (mainly academic) on the various aspects of Internet financial reporting (IFR). The perceptions of corporate annual report users were solicited using a survey mailed questionnaire. From a survey, it was found that promote company wider to the public is the most important benefit of IFR to the company. The findings of this study suggested three main benefits to companies that engage in IFR: promote company mode wider to the public, provide wider coverage, and attract foreign investors. The findings also revealed that three main benefits to the users who collect financial information of companies via their website are: increases timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information, provides information for company inexpensively, and provides accessibility to the users. The results suggested three factors that are perceived as important by responding firms to engage in IFR: enhance corporate image, competitors in the industry, and company teller with the technology development. The findings also revealed three factors that inhibit firms from engaging in IFR: need to keep information update to be of use, no legal requirement, and do not want to be transparent. The findings also suggested that global reach and mass communication, and timeliness and up-date ability as the most important advantages from financial reporting on the Internet. On the other hand, security problems, and cost and expertise are the disadvantages of placing financial information on the Internet. Finally, plausible implications of the findings of the study are then presented and areas for future research are also proposed.