Abstract:
Previous research suggest that there is a rather heterogeneous use of the Internet as an instrument for investor relations strategies and corporate reporting among Malaysian firms [i.e. types of information disclosed (Ruhaya et al. (n.d.); Noor and Mohamad, 2000), qualitative nature of Internet reporting (Nik and Amdan, 2001) and benefits of reporting on the websites (Salleh et al., 1999)]. The study has investigated whether the differences in Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) policies might be due to a firmâ s specific characteristics. Given there is no mandatory requirement for IFR disclosure, the study adopts the traditional voluntary disclosure variables in attempt to explain such practices by Malaysian main board listed in Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). A total of 100 firms were selected based on their market capitalization for the year 2001. All selected firms were analyzed via their web sites or linkage to KLSE web site if present and traceable. The regression result show that firm size, leverage, growth, foreign share ownership and shareholders concentration were directly attributed to the adoption of IFR by the listed firms. In conclusion, a bigger firm, a more leveraged firm, a high growth firm, a firm with high foreign share ownership and a firm with highly concentrated shareholder has a higher tendency to adopt IFR.
