Disclosure quality vis-à-vis disclosure quantity: Does audit committee matter in Omani financial institutions?

Abstract

We examine the impact of audit committee (AC) characteristics (e.g. AC foreign members, AC female members, AC members with multiple directorships, AC members with share ownership and AC with financial and supervisory expertise) on forward-looking disclosure (FLD) quality and quantity. Using a sample of Omani financial companies listed on Muscat Securities Market over a five-year period (2014–2018), we find that a number of AC characteristics (such as AC size, AC female members and AC with multiple directorships) improve FLD quality. We make no such observation for FLD quantity. The results suggest that the responsibility of AC extends to improving the quality of FLD. We provide an additional analysis on the impact of AC effectiveness (ACE) on FLD quality, which suggests that companies’ compliance with CG code is beneficial for disclosure quality. We also find that the impact of ACE on FLD quality is influenced by corporate performance, leverage and the quality of external auditors. Our findings carry implications for the regulatory bodies’ efforts in encouraging companies to improve disclosure quality by considering AC characteristics as well as appointing more effective AC directors.