Digitalization of Financial Reporting: The Preparers’ Perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the use of the Internet and electronic and digital media, particularly the extensible business reporting language (XBRL) and social media channels, for the dissemination of financial information. For this purpose, we conduct an online survey among a sample of 58 listed firms in the DACH region (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland). The results reveal the high relevance of the portable document format, followed by the printed format, for financial reporting. It also reveals the increasing importance of XBRL, social media channels, and smartphone applications. Twitter and LinkedIn, followed by Facebook, are the most used social media channels for sharing financial information. The results of the regression analysis show that firm size is positively related to the level of digital financial reporting. Hence, larger firms are more likely to exhibit a higher degree of digitalization. These findings have implications for the increased adoption of digital reporting among firms.