Disclosure

Disclosure, or corporate disclosure, is a potentially important means for management to communicate firm performance, governance, and strategy to stakeholders and outside investors. Disclosures include financial as well symbolic content and affect how stakeholders regard a firm’s potential to deliver value.

There are two main categories of corporate disclosure: mandatory and voluntary. The most widely practiced form of corporate disclosure is mandatory financial statements. These include regulatory filings, financial reports, and financial statements. Organizations also carry out voluntary disclosures, which come in the form of long-term strategic plan presentations, managerial forecasts, analyst conference calls, corporate press releases, and annual reports. This entry discusses mandatory and voluntary disclosures and their link to reputation management. An example is given from mergers and acquisitions as to the timing of ...