Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyse the level of voluntary disclosure practices in the annual reports of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) listed firms and explore the association between corporate governance mechanisms and voluntary disclosure practices. Design/methodology/approach Panel data analysis was undertaken over a period from 2005-2008 with an aim to examine the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on voluntary disclosures made by 52 listed firms in their four years of annual reports. An unweighted voluntary disclosure index has been used for hand-collecting data from annual reports. Findings The findings show that the mean voluntary disclosure level over the four years is 23 per cent. Four out of eight corporate governance mechanisms examined found to be significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure, three negatively, one positively. Cross directorship, board size and role duality are negatively related to voluntary disclosure, while government ownership is positively related to voluntary disclosure. In contrast, the proportion of non-executive directors, family members on the board, the presence of an audit committee and the presence of the ruling family on the board have an insignificant influencer on voluntary disclosure practices. Practical implications The study provides an assessment of KSE-listed firm voluntary disclosure practices and its determents and highlights that that corporate governance attributes affect the voluntary disclosure practices of KSE-listed firms. Originality/value The findings of this study contribute to the arguments concerning the role of corporate governance mechanisms in improving the level of disclosure and information transparency.

This study aims to empirically investigate the association between firm-specific characteristics and corporate financial disclosure among Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)-listed firms. Consistent with prior disclosure research, the extent of corporate disclosures among all KSE-listed firms in 2010 was measured using a selfconstructed disclosure index. The results show that the mean level of mandatory disclosures for all KSE-listed firms in 2010 was 74% and ranged from 41-95%. The regression results suggest that older, highly leveraged, larger, and profitable KSElisted firms are associated with high levels of disclosures. Importantly, the results reveal significant variations in disclosure levels across the three possible auditor combinations, implying the importance of high quality and rigorous external audits in promoting corporate disclosures. The study contributes to the extant literature by extending corporate disclosure research into the Kuwaiti emerging market that comprise different economic, social, political, and cultural characteristics.

PurposeThe purposes of this study are to identify the reasons that prevent students from attending lectures, to examine the impact of absenteeism on their academic performance and to explore the role of gender in their attendance.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey made up of statements was distributed to accounting students. Descriptive measures, a five-point Likert scale, Pearson's chi-square test and phi test were employed to achieve the study's objectives.FindingsThe study shows that most of the accounting students surveyed are aware of the importance of attending lectures, since they believe that attendance will have a positive impact on their understanding of course material and on their academic performance. The study indicates that overall academic performance and student attendance are related. It also indicates that there is a statistically significant association between the overall academic performance of accounting students and their gender.Practical implicationsTo gain greater insight into educators, academic institutes, researchers and parents concerning the reasons that lie behind students not attending accounting lectures in public higher education institutions in Kuwait and the effect of attendance on academic performance.Originality/valueMost prior studies have been conducted in developed countries and Western contexts. Especially, with the potential perceived differences in cultures and norms, this empirical study is expected to contribute to fill the gap in this research field.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of corporate governance mechanisms, among other variables, on audit report lag (ARL) for a sample of 97 companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Market (KSE) in 2020. Audit report lag is measured as the number of days between the date of the financial year end and the date of the audit report. The descriptive statistics indicate that there is considerable variation in the ARL between the sample companies, ranging from 13 to 121 days, with an average of 69 days. A multivariate regression model was employed to examine the association between ARL and corporate governance proxies, namely: board size, board meetings, board financial expertise, non-executive directors, and institutional ownership. The results indicate that companies whose boards have considerable financial expertise are associated with lower audit delay. For other (control) variables, the results indicate that profitability, company size, type of audit opinion, and industry type are found to have a significant impact on the timeliness of financial reporting. More profitable and larger companies were found to issue their audited financial reports faster. Moreover, financial institutions show a shorter lag in releasing their annual report than other sectors, and companies which seek qualified opinions have longer ARLs. Finally, in order to improve the timeliness of annual reports of companies listed on the market, the study suggests the adoption of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). There is convincing evidence to suggest that the use of XBRL results in timelier stock market filing and shorter ARL.

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