The Value Relevance of Voluntary Disclosure: Evidence from Tunisia Stock Market

The present research examines empirically whether domestic investors inthe Tunisia Stock Market (BVMT) perceive voluntary disclosure to be valuerelevant.The study is motivated by the market-based value-relevance literaturein the U.S. and by the developments of accounting and stock markets inTunisia. This research, explores through an investigation by questionnaireexternal auditors’ perception of the value relevance of voluntary information inthe annual reports, it also uses panel data analysis to examine the associationbetween voluntary disclosure and firm value. The Results reveal that externalauditors discern that the politics of voluntary disclosure in the annual reports isminimalist. Results show, also, the interest that carries these auditors tononfinancial and budgetary indicators and the utility of the annual report to thecertification. After controlling profitability and size, regression results indicatea negative and insignificant relationship between voluntary disclosure and firmvalue. This lack of statistical significance supports the idea that there is acomplex interplay of different factors affecting this association. However, thispaper has contributes to that investigation in the context of emerging capitalmarket in the North African Region.

Keywords:

Disclosure quality , Value-relevance , Voluntary disclosure , Tunisia