INFORMATIONAL TRANSPARENCY OF LISTED AND NON-LISTED COMPANIES

Abstract

Transparency regarding the economic and financial information of economic entities is a necessary condition for substantiating stakeholders decisions, but it is sometimes viewed as a way of compromising the image of the company, especially if that information is not favorable. Therefore, companies' attitude towards transparency of information is different. Transparency is not limited to the availability of information, but also to its veracity and fidelity. Information on the activity of listed companies is addressed to a broader and more dispersed stakeholder group than that of non-listed companies and therefore there are special regulations on transparency of information. The present paper analyzes comparatively the transparency of information of listed and non-listed economic entities, and research results show that listed companies are more transparent than non-listed companies, but they do not yet have enough of an openness for transparency as the information needs of the stakeholders would require.

Keywords

• transparency
• listed and non-listed companies
• financial and non-financial reporting
• stakeholders