The aim of this paper is to assess the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure and the impact of a comprehensive set of corporate governance attributes (board composition, board size, CEO duality, director ownership, block-holder ownership and the existence of audit committee) on the extent of corporate governance voluntary disclosure in Egypt. The measurement of disclosure is based on published data created from a checklist developed by the United Nations, which was gathered from a manual review of financial statements and websites of a sample of Egyptian companies listed on Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Although the levels of CG disclosure are found to be minimal, however disclosure is high for items that are mandatory under the Egyptian Accounting Standards (EASs).The failure of companies to disclose such information clearly shows some ineffectiveness and inadequacy in the regulatory framework in Egypt.Moreover, the phenomenon of non-compliance may also be attributed to the socio-economic factors in Egypt. Therefore, it is expected that Egyptian firms will take a long time to appraise the payback of increased CG disclosure. The findings indicate that that -ceteris paribus -the extent of CG disclosure: (1) is lower for companies with duality in position and higher ownership concentration as measured by block-holder ownership;and (2)

This paper examines the level and determinants (i.e. ownership structure, board composition and audit committee presence) of voluntary corporate disclosure in the annual reports of the largest 100 companies listed on the Egyptian stock exchange (EGX). Our results indicate that overall voluntary disclosure was low at just 13.43% with a large variation range. This score places Egypt at a lower level than other emerging capital markets (e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia). The variances of these results support the need for individual country level studies and comparative analysis. Multivariate results show audit committee presence as the most significant variable influencing voluntary disclosure. Also, companies with a higher ratio of independent non-executive directors have a higher extent of voluntary disclosure. It was also evidenced that voluntary disclosure increases with decreases in block-holder ownership. Results show that two other ownership aspects -managerial and government -are not related to voluntary disclosure. Finally, the analysis shows profitability and internationality significantly impact voluntary disclosure. On the other side, that number of shareholders, type of auditor, size, liquidity, leverage and industry type of the firm do not affect the extent of voluntary disclosure.

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of corporate governance attributes of listed Egyptian companies on the propensity (adoption) and comprehensiveness (quality) of corporate internet reporting (CIR) practices. Design/methodology/approach -This study uses archival data from the largest (top) 100 listed companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX 100). Corporate governance attributes are captured by ownership structure (free float, managerial ownership, government ownership) and board of directors' structure (board size, board independence, CEO-chair duality). Empirical models are used to estimate the effects of these attributes on the propensity, content, presentation, and overall comprehensiveness of CIR. Findings -The results of this study indicate mixed effects of governance attributes on the choice to adopt CIR and its quality. The results from the Binary Logistic Regression suggest that Egyptian companies with greater (less) ownership dispersion, managerial ownership, governmental ownership, and (board independence) are more likely to adopt CIR. On the other hand -and as revealed by the seemingly unrelated regressions -among CIR companies those with greater (less) ownership dispersion, board size (governmental ownership), and (board independence) have more comprehensive CIR.Originality/value -This study extends the relatively limited research on the effects of corporate governance and CIR in emerging markets. The study contributes to this literature by demonstrating how corporate governance attributes affects the choice to adopt CIR disclosure practices and the level of its quality in an emerging market such as Egypt.

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Purpose – This exploratory study aims to provide preliminary evidence regarding the non-audit committee corporate governance determinants of audit committee functionality. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on archival accounting, corporate governance data, and interviews of subjects of the top 100 companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX100). A logistic regression is used to identify the non-audit committee governance attributes that affect the likelihood of of having a functional audit committee. Findings – Board size and board independence, (CEO-chairman duality) are positively (negatively) related to audit committee functionality, suggesting complementary governance relations. On the other hand, the authors document a negative relation between auditor type (Big4) and audit committee functionality indicating a substitutive governance effect. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that explores the actual functioning of audit committees in Egypt beyond mere regulatory requirements. The study highlights the importance of assuring that the “spirit” of corporate governance laws and regulations is adhered to rather than the mere compliance with their “letter”.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how users of company annual reports in the emerging market of Egypt view those reports, and to compare the results with the findings of Mirshekary and Saudagaran (2005) in Iran. Each study is based on a survey of different but comparable user groups in the respective country.The data reported in this study were collected through a questionnaire survey, covering six user groups. The 72 responses received were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA test.The results reveal that most use annual reports for obtaining information for financial decisions. The paper also reveals that, in comparison with developed markets, Egyptian users depend more on annual report information than on advice from stockbrokers and friends or on tips and rumours. The respondents, in general, ranked the auditors' report, notes to the financial statements and the balance sheet as the three most important parts of the annual report. However, the respondents differed in their rating of the importance of different sections of the annual report. Despite the lack of access to these reports by the general public and lack of trust in information, the majority of users view annual reports as the most important source of company information.The results further indicate that the ranking reported by users in Egypt is notably different from that reported in Iran. This supports the research stream that aims to study accounting at single-country levels. It also sends the message that developing countries are different and face different problems from developed ones. Therefore, there might be a need to reconsider the one-size-fits-all standards that are recommended by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). There is an important level of adjustment which a country that imports accounting standards must make to ensure that they do not conflict with the local socioeconomic culture.

This report is a case study of corporate governance disclosure in Egypt. The study employs the benchmark of good practices in corporate governance disclosure developed by the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR). This benchmark consists of fifty two disclosure items covering five subject areas and is based on a sample of the top 29 listed companies in Egypt. This study is complimentary to an earlier study conducted in 2007: 2007 Review of the implementation status of corporate governance disclosures: case study Egypt. This report compares the results of the current study to the 2007 study. This study finds the average disclosure level is less than half of the items in the ISAR benchmark. While nine items in the ISAR benchmark were disclosed by more than two-thirds of the companies in the study, forty items were disclosed by less than half. The absolute number of disclosure items found for each company ranged from 5 to 43, indicating a high level of variability between ‘best practice’ companies and companies with minimal disclosure practices. The study concludes that while the sample has relatively high rates of disclosure for few items, and the average disclosures in 2010 almost doubled the 2005 average disclosures in Egypt for several categories, they are still low levels compared to the average emerging markets levels. Policy options discussed include penalizing companies for undisclosed items, and providing education and training for executives and directors to enhance the awareness of the rapidly evolving regulatory environment, as well as the underlying importance of corporate governance disclosure