4 - Users of corporate reports

Summary

One of the most important questions in any discussion about disclosure and corporate reporting is that of to whom must companies report? Financial reports detail the company's financial position including its profit achievement and forecasts, making such reports especially relevant to the company's shareholders, whose concern is with profit figures which largely determine the value of their shares and the likelihood of dividend payments. However, in reality a variety of potential users are interested in seeing financial and other information relating to the company. Indeed, the number of possible users with different interests presents a significant challenge for disclosure regulation. A particular difficulty is how best to balance the different and competing needs of the various user groups and how to prioritise them, if necessary, for the purpose of presenting and delivering corporate reports.

This discussion could be regarded as a subheading within the broader shareholder–stakeholder debate that raises the question of for whom should managers run companies. The answer to this question depends on which theory of company law one adopts and in turn such theory will determine who should be entitled to receive information from the directors or the company. This chapter will first list the potential user groups and will describe their main information needs. Secondly, the chapter will outline the predicament of legislators and policy-makers when faced with the broad range of possible information recipients and their different interests.