Disclosure

Disclosure is the release of information that would not otherwise be known by the parties that receive it. Disclosure may be the release of information either to the general public or to a limited, selected audience, sometimes under conditions of confidentiality. The release of information may also be either voluntary or legally required. Although the disclosure of financial information is an important topic in accounting and finance, the concept of disclosure in business applies to all kinds of information that are released for many different reasons. Disclosure is studied in business, mostly in accounting and finance, primarily to determine its impact on firms' performance, but it also raises many ethical concerns. The main ethical issues concerning disclosure are the following: (1) When is disclosure morally ...