Abstract
We investigate the relationship between ownership structure and quality of disclosure in the case of Japanese firms. Our measure of disclosure quality is denoted by the attitude of firms toward voluntary revisions of management earnings forecasts, which are effectively mandatory in Japan. The results show that firms with high foreign and domestic institutional ownership are more likely to provide management forecasts revisions in a voluntary and timely manner. In contrast, firms with high bank ownership have a greater propensity to withhold material changes in management forecast estimates until the very last moment when they are legally compelled to reveal that information. These findings suggest that active investors are able to induce firms to adopt better disclosure practices, while investors with close business ties and access to firms’ private information appear to restrict the flow of information to other investors.
1. Introduction
Firms have good reasons to disclose private information. The benefits of disclosure involve lower cost of capital, higher stock valuation and greater ability to raise funds, which altogether promote firm growth (Pownall and Waymire, 1989; Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991; Lang and Lundholm, 1993; Botosan, 1997; Francis et al., 2005). However, concerns related to product market competition may prevent firms from disclosing their private information (Verrecchia, 1983; Darrough and Stoughton, 1990; Wagenhofer, 1990; Newman and Sansing, 1993). Attitudes toward disclosure also vary across shareholders. Institutional investors require accurate and timely information to allocate their funds more efficiently (Healy et al., 1999; Bushee and NOE, 2000; Ajinkya et al., 2005). In contrast, controlling blockholders prefer fewer disclosures since their longer horizons imply that they have little to gain from a prompt reevaluation of their shares. Furthermore, Sengupta (2004) argues that controlling blockholders have greater access to the firm’s private information and would prefer to maintain their informational advantage by discouraging timely and detailed public disclosures.
5. Discussion and conclusion
In this paper, we investigate the relationship between a firm’s ownership structure and the quality of its disclosures. Whereas US studies focus on the propensity to provide management forecasts, we examine the propensity to revise initial forecasts since these forecasts are effectively mandated in Japan. In addition, we investigate whether forecasts revisions are provided in a timely manner as opposed to being released just before the firm’s annual earnings announcement with the aim of avoiding violation of legal requirements. The low litigation costs in Japan make firms more likely to adopt disclosure practices that are best suited to their interests or to those of their controlling shareholders.
