TIMELINESS OF ACCOUNTING REPORTS AND THEIR INFORMATIONAL CONTENT ON THE CAPITAL MARKET

Timeliness is recognized as an important characteristic of accounting information by the accounting profession, the users of accounting information, and the regulatory agencies. According to the evidence presented in this paper, accounting reports with shorter delay have a higher informational content than those with longer delay. At the time of release to the capital market, the effect of delay on the information content seems to be more significant in the case of the interim rather than the annual reports. This may be explained by the major characteristics which differentiate the information contained in the interim reports from that contained in the annual reports, the differences in their role in the investor's decision process, and the existence of substitute information.

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