Does Internet Reporting Improve the Accessibility of Financial Information in a Global World? A Comparative Study of New Zealand and Indian Companies

Abstract

The accessibility of business reporting, including financial reports on companywebsites is not necessarily increased by providing more information on websites. Thequality of Internet-based information is affected by both the accessibility and quantityof information provided. However, the accessibility of the information is an underresearched area. This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge on webbasedbusiness reporting, by considering the dimension of accessibility in terms ofwebsite appearance and visual design from four different perspectives. The aim is toconsider the differences that occur in website organisation as a way of considering theaccessibility of information provided on company websites. The paper considers thedifferences in the accessibility of website information between New Zealand andIndian companies as a means of demonstrating the variation that can occur acrosscountries as well as within the same reporting structure. We conclude that Internetfinancial reporting does provide the illusion of comparability but without a moresustained focus on the harmonisation of terminology and attributes included inInternet reporting, the potential for comparison is reduced.

Keywords

• Web-based reporting
• accessibility of information
• information disclosure