Assessment of corporate governance reporting in the annual reports of South African listed companies

Abstract

This dissertation reflects the results of a study during which the 2006 annual reports of the top-40 JSE listed companies, were assessed for their disclosure of the required corporate governance statements. Content analysis was used to identify the information.

The results obtained indicate that the majority of the JSE's top-40 listed companies adhere to good corporate governance disclosure practices. However, there are areas in which the non-disclosure of information was prevalent. These include the disclosure of information on the selection of external auditors and whistle blowing. Future research, employing sources such as SENS announcements, press releases, trading updates, cautionary announcements and websites together with annual reports should be conducted.