Disclosures about Corporate Culture in the Annual Reports of UK Companies: The impact of the Corporate Governance Code, 2018

TY - CONF

T1 - Disclosures about Corporate Culture in the Annual Reports of UK Companies

T2 - European Accounting Association Annual Congress

AU - Cordina, Renzo

AU - Wang, Yang

AU - Nixon, William

AU - Power, David

AU - Pringle, Jack

N1 - Conference code: 46th

PY - 2024/5/16

Y1 - 2024/5/16

N2 - This paper examines the impact of new provisions in the UK 2018 Corporate Governance Code that relate to the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of corporate culture. The paper investigates whether disclosures about corporate culture in a sample of UK listed companies' annual reports, increased after the introduction of the UK 2018 Corporate Governance Code. Using data for a sample of large companies, the paper demonstrates that mentions of terms associated with corporate culture increased between 2017 (before the new Corporate Governance Code) and 2021 (after the new code was adopted). However, these tended to be positive in tone, and general in nature, suggesting that changes were superficial and associated with attempts to enhance corporate legitimacy. The current paper suggests companies may need to engage more fully with 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code’s provision on disclosure about culture to prevent future financial collapses and avoid calls for legislation in this area.

AB - This paper examines the impact of new provisions in the UK 2018 Corporate Governance Code that relate to the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of corporate culture. The paper investigates whether disclosures about corporate culture in a sample of UK listed companies' annual reports, increased after the introduction of the UK 2018 Corporate Governance Code. Using data for a sample of large companies, the paper demonstrates that mentions of terms associated with corporate culture increased between 2017 (before the new Corporate Governance Code) and 2021 (after the new code was adopted). However, these tended to be positive in tone, and general in nature, suggesting that changes were superficial and associated with attempts to enhance corporate legitimacy. The current paper suggests companies may need to engage more fully with 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code’s provision on disclosure about culture to prevent future financial collapses and avoid calls for legislation in this area.

UR - https://eaa-online.org/congress-2024/scientific-programme-3/

UR - https://eaa-online.org/app/uploads/sites/76/2026/02/EAA-2024-Full-program_Update_07.05.pdf

M3 - Paper

Y2 - 15 May 2024 through 17 May 2024

ER -