Disclosure practices of information in the field of financial instruments : evidence from Polish companies listed in the Warsaw stock exchange

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of the work is to investigate the practices of disclosing information about financial instruments in the financial statements due to the fulfillment of disclosure obligations and voluntary presentation of information under the accounting policy of financial instruments of companies listed in the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research aimed at achieving the assumed goal was conducted based on annual, separate financial statements of listed companies for 2016 and 2017. The selection of entities for the audit covered 66 companies and was deliberate selection. In the study, the content of financial statements was analyzed.

FINDINGS: The analysis shows that the requirements for disclosing information about financial instruments in accordance with the accounting principles are very liberal. The scope of disclosures about financial instruments among Polish companies is varied and their transparency is low. Overall results show that companies are complying with their accounting policy disclosures, although there are a few requirements that companies ignore. The main problem with information transparency about financial instruments is that companies comply with their disclosure obligations by copying the guidelines and not by presenting important principles to the usefulness of the information.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The information obtained will constitute the basis for multifaceted research on accounting for financial instruments, especially in the field of identifying mandatory and voluntary disclosures of information about the accounting policy of financial instruments, as well as comparing and assessing the application of specific accounting principles of financial instruments from individual periods of application of the guidelines.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The study joins the current literature dealing with disclosure practices about financial instruments that are still missing. The study enriches the existing knowledge in the field of financial instruments and IFRS by identifying attributes that increase the level of information related to financial instruments provided by non-financial enterprises.