The E-Voluntary Disclosure of Financial Information, a Jordanian Phenomenon

The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which the Jordanian companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) use their websites to disclose financial information. Furthermore, this paper examines the relationship between company’s characteristics and financial ratios (Sector, Size, Age, Return on Investment, Debt Ratio, and Market to Book Value Ratio) on one hand and the extent of financial information disclosed on its website on the other hand. The level of financial information disclosure is measured using a scheme of weighted financial items, and the companies' characteristics and financial ratios are considered based on the annual financial reports published by the companies. The findings revealed that there are 143 active websites (52% of companies), from which 8 (3%) websites are common for different companies belonging to same group, and 124 (45%) companies have no active website or have under-construction website. It is found that 62 (43%) of 143 websites have disclosed some financial information (at least one item of the items used in the scheme), While 81 (57%) of the websites have no financial information. The banking sector is leading the sectors in this regard. The results of regression models showed that two variables only, the Size and ROI have a significant relationship with the presence and the extent of online financial disclosure.