The Impact of Bad News and the Manıpulatıon of Accountıng Fıgures on the Delay in Fınancıal Report Dısclosure: The Case of Saudı Arabıa

Abstract

This study aims at examining whether the inclusion of bad news and manipulation of accounting figures impacts the delay of annual financial reports’ disclosure. We found that firms whose disclosures included bad news did not delay the disclosure of their financial reports. There is no clear evidence as to whether firms that manipulate accounting figures delay their disclosure. However, there is strong evidence that firms that have bad news and manipulate accounting figures at the same time delay their disclosure of their annual financial reports. This study contributes to increasing our understanding of the effect of bad news and manipulation of accounting figures on the delay of disclosure in a developing market, such as the Saudi market as well as expanding the accounting literature related to disclosure.