The Impact of Corporate Governance on Voluntary Information Disclosures: Evidence from Ghana Stock Exchange

ABSTRACT

Corporate governance refers to the mechanisms, processes, and relations by which corporations are controlled and directed. Corporate governance is an element in monitoring the process of financial reporting system. This thesis investigates the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on firm's voluntary information disclosure using four years data from the year 2009 to 2012 with a sample of eight Ghanaian banks listed on the Stock Exchange.

Corporate governance mechanisms considered in this study include board size, board gender diversity, board members industrial experience, board independence and audit committee size. The regression results show that large board size negatively influences voluntary disclosure; whereas board gender diversity positively associates with voluntary information disclosure. While an increase in the independence and the industrial experience of the board members augment voluntary disclosure.

The study revealed that the boards of banks are dominated by male and board gender diversity is very limited in Ghanaian commercial banks. Thus, there is much to be done to improve the gender balance of boards in Ghanaian banks with a great care about their industrial experience and competency.