Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between firm characteristics and the voluntary disclosure level of graphs in annual reports of Turkish companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE). The firm characteristics used in the study are auditor size, ownership structure, firm performance (profitability), and firm size. The methodology of the study is content analysis of annual reports of the corporations listed on the ISE-100 Index for the year 2006. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that firm size, and auditor size has significant positive association with voluntary disclosure level of graphs. On the other hand, profitability and ownership structure do not have any significant association with graphical disclosure level.

Key words: Graphs, annual reports, auditor size, ownership structure, firm size, profitability, voluntary disclosure, Turkey.