Web-Based Voluntary Financial Reporting of Jordanian Companies

This paper investigates the extent of financial reporting on the internet of the Jordanian companies listed in the first market on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) for the year 2004. This issue is motivated by the growing concern with internet as a medium to disseminate financial information from regulatory bodies e.g. IAS. After surveying the internet and the companies ' websites, the researchers find that about (45%) of companies have websites. While (70%) of the website’s companies report financial information, only (30%) don’t report any financial information. Furthermore, companies report financial information are classified into three categories as follows: about (31.5%) report comprehensive set of financial statements, (15.8%) report partial or summary financial statements, and (52.7%) report financial highlights. On average, the results indicate that companies that report financial information on their websites are larger, more leverage, have more concentrated ownership, have more international investors, and more recent than non-web-based companies