Determinants of business combinations disclosure quality under IFRS

The increasing relevance assumed by business combinations (BC) worldwide and the effects they may produce on acquirers’ performance make financial disclosure on this issue extremely important. By consequence, identifying the determinants of BC disclosure have relevant implication for theory and practice. Using a sample of BC consummated from 2005 to 2008 by Italian listed companies applying IFRS, we analyze the determinants of BC disclosure quality. The extent of disclosure is measured by means of three indexes based, respectively, on overall disclosure, mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure. Independent variables used to explain BC disclosure quality are both “generic” determinant, such as company size, profitability, leverage, industry type, and determinants specifically related with BC characteristics, such as BC relevance and goodwill recognition. Relations are assessed using both univariate and multivariate analyses. Our findings do not always support previous literature on factors determining corporate disclosure level. Both comprehensive and mandatory disclosure quality present a negative and significant association with profitability, and a positive and significant association with goodwill recognition. Differently, voluntary disclosure quality is manly driven by corporate size, leverage and BC relevance.