Firm-specific characteristics, corporate governance and voluntary disclosure in annual reports of listed companies in Bangladesh

The aim of the study is to examine the factors influences voluntary disclosures of information in the annual reports of listed companies in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) over the period of 2007 to 2011. A sample of 106 non-financial companies listed on DSE was selected by judgemental sampling. The results of the disclosure index indicate that four highest disclosure scorer listed companies in DSE are from the industrial categories of 'Fuel and Power' and 'Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals' and four lowest disclosure scorer listed companies in DSE are from the industrial category of 'Food and Allied'. Secondly, the results indicate that the total assets, the percentage of female directors, board leadership structure of a firm are positively associated with the level of voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that the percentage of equity owned by the insiders of a firm is negatively associated with the level of voluntary disclosures.