International Perceptions of Cost Constraints on Voluntary Information Disclosures: A Comparative Study of U.K. and U.S. Multinationals

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the cost constraints on voluntary information disclosure in a comparative study of the perceptions of financial executives in U.K. and U.S. multinationals. The study examines the perceived net costs or benefits of disclosing information voluntarily, the types of costs involved and the significance of cost constraints in respect of specific items of disclosure. The results suggest that while there is substantial agreement on the major cost constraints involved and the individual items giving rise to major net costs, there are significantly different perceptions by U.K. and U.S. financial executives in terms of the overall emphasis of responses to the issue of cost constraints on voluntary information disclosures.

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