Browsing by Author "Kawshalya, M.D.P."

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The Audit Committee Characteristics and Earnings Quality of Public Listed Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Rathnayake, M.L.M.L .; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
This study examines the impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on Earnings Quality of Public Listed Companies in Sri Lanka. Several prior studies have examined this relationship in developed countries. There appears to be a dearth of literature on the subject in developing and Asian countries and Sri Lanka in particular. Moreover, the extant literature provides mixed results and therefore, comprehensive evidence is missing relating to the subject. This study contributes to the existing literature by integrating both Audit Committee Characteristics and Earnings Quality. Quantitative approach is adopted in the study to find answers for the research questions. Audit Committee Size, Audit Committee Independence, Number of Audit Committee Meetings, Financial Experience of Audit Committee Members and Percentage of Common Stocks Owned by Audit Committee are used as independent variables and Earnings Quality used as the dependent variable of the study. Regression analysis is used to analyze data. The dataset covers all companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka except banks, finance and insurance companies and collected data for 5 years period from 2016 to 2020. Findings of the study will be useful to identify the impact of disclosure quality on the financial performance of the listed companies in Sri Lanka. Findings also provide useful insights to regulators and policymakers in coming up with appropriate policies.
Auditor’s Opinion, Auditor’s Size, and Value Relevance of Accounting Information
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Saran, V.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The main Purpose of this research is to study the effect of auditor’s opinion and audit firm size on the value relevance of accounting information of the companies listed on the Colombo stock exchange during the years 2018-2021. The feature of financial information to significantly affect the investors’ decision-making process, reflected by the stock price or stock return, is called value relevance The research includes a sample of 107 companies’ observations for 4 years drawn from the listed companies, and the research hypotheses were analyzed using multivariate regression model based on panel data. Data are hand collected from the annual reports of the companies. Financial institutions, banking, finance, and investment firms are also eliminated since their accounting and reporting environments differ from those in other industries.
Corporate Governance and Timeliness of Audited Financial Statements: Evidence from Listed Material Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Withanachchi, R.S; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The timeliness of companies audited financial statements is regarded as to a significant aspect influencing the usefulness of information available to external users for decision making process. The shorter the audit report delay in releasing audited financial statements, users of financial statements can obtain more useful information and benefits from these statements. The purpose of this study is to investigate influence of composite corporate governance (CG) on audit report delay. Corporate governance is investigated under three specific categories namely audit committee, board structure and operations, board diversity on audit report delay (ARD). Furthermore, this study identified factor that affect ARD other than corporate governance such as liquidity, profitability-return on equity, auditor type, number of subsidiaries and size of the company. The data for the study is collected from annual reports of all the listed companies of material sector in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), covering period of 2011/2012 to 2019/2020. Data were analyzed using regression analysis and E-Views packages. This study generates valuable insight in the area of corporate governance and timeliness of audited financial statements in Sri Lankan context.
A Critique on the Role of Social Media; Facebook
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2015) Padmasiri, M.K.D.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
This literature review reviews various roles of Facebook (FB) are playing in today's globalized world. According to literature, Facebook plays roles in various fields such as, marketing, online games, education, teaching, romantic relationship management, managing relationship among friends, and stakeholder engagement. The current study limits its investigation in to selected roles of Facebook such as academic teaching, marketing and romantic relationship management. One finding of the stated that using blogging tools to further develop relationships with undergraduate and graduate students and engage them in meaningful discussions outside of class time. According to another studies Facebook plays a major role in romantic relationship management which creates emotional outcomes as relationship satisfaction and trait jealousy. Further literature argues that network is important in changing the way of business talk with customer and indicates that Facebook plays a role as a communication channel in marketing at business level. Review discussed that FB plays important roles such as, FB in academic teaching, FB in marketing, and FB in romantic relationship. Based on above discussion study can conclude that Facebook plays an important role in various fields.
Differential Patterns of Textual Characteristics in the Chairman’s Statement and Company Performance: Evidence from Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2021) Rosa, S.J.S.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Corporate annual reports are continuously getting important in external reporting. The chairman statement is one of leading section of annual report that provides information beyond what is required by legislative. It is well-known fact that, those who prepare financial statements have motivation to exercise the content of Chairman’s Statements. In Sri Lanka, since Chairman’s Statement being a prominent requirement of annual report, this research investigates the textual differences of chairman’s statement in companies with higher performance and poor performance in terms of market capitalization. The research question is investigated by examining a range of textual characteristics in the chairman’s statements of 25 companies with highest market capitalization and 25 companies with lowest market capitalization listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The results of the current study indicate that content of chairman’s statement significantly affected by firm’s underlying performance. Since, Chairman’s statement is one of most widely read section of annual report, this study will provide an understanding and guidelines to the stakeholders who make decisions regarding organizations by reading chairman’s statement.
Double counting assets when investment properties are measured at fair value
(Department of Accountancy, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Kawshalya, M.D.P.; Anthony, C.S.W.
The Effect of Audit Quality on Earning Management within Public Listed Companies in Sri Lanka
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Kalpani, R.M.L.G.U.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
This research investigates the relationship between audit quality and earnings management in the context of publicly listed companies in Sri Lanka. Earnings management, the discretionary manipulation of financial statements, has significant implications for financial reporting integrity and market confidence. Recognizing the critical role of audit quality in ensuring the reliability of financial information, this study aims to empirically explore whether variations in audit quality influence the extent of earnings management within the Sri Lankan business landscape. Audit quality was measured in the study using three audit proxies: audit firm size, audit fees, and audit committee independence. The degree of earnings management was measured using a discretionary accruals perspective. The study’s scope focuses only on external audits and their impact on earnings management. There are several types of audits, but this study area is limited to external audits due to the availability and more reliable access to information. This research is mainly focused on secondary data gathered from publicly listed companies in Sri Lanka. 40 companies were selected for the study based on 296 publicly listed companies in Sri Lanka, using their most recent five-year annual reports from 2018 to 2022. The study data were analyzed using regression analysis, correlation analysis, and descriptive statistical measures. As an outcome, this study's conclusions will provide more insight into how audit quality affects earnings management. According to the study, there is a small association between audit quality and the degree of earnings management in Sri Lankan listed firms. According to the study, there is a negative correlation between audit quality and the level of earnings management in Sri Lankan listed companies. Additionally, the study shows that the oversight mechanism is ineffective because there is no statistically significant correlation between earnings management and the variables. As a result, the study concludes that the level of earnings management is not significantly impacted by audit quality. This may be because there are many inefficient monitoring systems in place, which discourage auditors from improving auditing.
The Effect of Inventory Management Practices on Financial Performance of Listed Material Sector Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Dileshana, P.K.A.U.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The material manufacturing sector companies have a significant concern over its inventory management and financial performance. Accordingly, it is important to identify the impact of inventory management on financial performance and many researchers have conducted their researchers relating to this impact in worldwide. But no consensus among researchers on the impact of inventory management on financial performance since they have identified negative and positive relationship between inventory management and financial performance. The objective of this research is to find out whether the inventory management practices have an impact on financial performance of listed material manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. Data collection of this study is carried out with sample of 25 listed material manufacturing companies in Colombo stock Exchange for a period of six years from 2015 to 2020. Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis which has multiple regression analysis and correlation analysis is used to analyze the data. There are four key variables as, inventory turnover, inventory to current assets, inventory conversion period and inventory to sales ratios considered as the independent variables. The return on assets is used as the dependent variable to measure the financial performance of companies.
The Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on Integrated Reporting Practices – Evidence from Listed Banks in Sri Lanka
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Hafsa, M.H.F.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Integrated reporting is the latest form of corporate reporting that promotes more integrated and transparent information about an entity. The integrated reporting can vary based on the audit committee characteristics and this study investigates the impact of audit committee characteristics on integrated reporting practices in banking industry in Sri Lanka.There are many prior researches which provide evidence on the impact of audit committee characteristics on firm performance. But only less amount of researchers are focused on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and integrated reporting practices. As well prior studies’ findings are not in a conclusive manner. Therefore this study afford a better understanding about the impact of audit committee characteristics on integrated reporting practices. This study mainly focuses on the individual impact of audit committee characteristics on the integrated reporting practices. The sample picked from the listed banks in Colombo stock exchange in Sri Lanka, which composed by 16 listed banks and for the period of 2014-2019. The data was collected through the annual reports which include integrated reports. The state of integrated reporting for each banks for each year is computed by scoring model. This study uses a panel regression model to estimate model. The findings of the study will provide useful perception relating to the integrated reporting practices. Moreover, the results will be interest to all the listed banks in Sri Lanka stock exchange, investors, other interest parties about the integrated repotting practices and recent trends in Sri Lanka.
The Impact of Board Characteristics on Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Listed Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Silva, D.P.A.M.S.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The generation of quality financial or earnings information depends on a whole set of governance mechanisms in the organization. The board of directors, as the responsible party the core of corporate governance (CG), will play a key role in supervising company’s financial reporting process and the quality of financial reporting. In the context of Sri Lanka several large firms had collapsed due to poor CG mechanisms. However, these failures could have been averted if the quality financial information was available on a timely basis by taking appropriate actions by the board of directors. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between board related characteristics including audit committee attributes and the degree of financial reporting quality in listed companies in Sri Lanka. Several prior studies have examined this association in both developed and developing countries. However, there is dearth of literature available in the Sri Lankan context. Moreover, the existing literature has revealed mixed results and therefore, comprehensive evidence is missing related to the subject. This study contributes to existing literature by integrating both board and audit committee characteristics on financial reporting quality which is an under-research area. This study adopts a quantitative research approach that analyses secondary data extracted from the annual reports of the companies listed in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) excluding banks, insurance and diversified financial industry groups for a period of five years from 2015/16 to 2019/20. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ordinary least square analysis and panel version of regression analysis are used to analyze the quantitative data of the study. The findings of the study will invariably boost the investor confidence as the chances of corporate failures will be minimal and informed decision making by the investors are facilitated and provide a support basis to both professional and relevant regulatory bodies to make necessary reforms as required to the current regulatory framework for the CG mechanism in Sri Lanka.
The Impact of Company Performance on Chairman’s Statement
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Rosa, S.J.S.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Accounting information are getting increasingly important in external reporting. The chairman's statement usually occupies a prominent place in the annual report and provides information beyond what is required for statutory financial reporting. It is a recognized fact that those who arrange corporate annual reports have important motivations to exercises the content of Chairman Statements. This study tries to identify is there any different pattern between how most profitable and the least profitable companies report their organizational information in the chairman statement. There are prior studies related this topic in different developed countries. In Sri Lanka, Chairman Statement is mandatory requirement of annual report whereas no any evidence of prior research regarding chairman statement in Sri Lankan content. Accordingly, this research investigates the relationship between financial performance and chairman statement textual characteristics in Sri Lankan Content. Impression management is given motivation for poorly performing management to report their performance. This study is trying to identify whether companies chairman statement reporting strategies depend on underlying financial performance. The research question is investigated by examining a range of textual characteristics in the chairman’s statements of 20 extremely profitable and 20 extremely unprofitable Sri Lankan listed companies. Since, Chairman’s statement is one of most widely read section of annual report, this study will provide an understanding and gridlines to the stakeholders who make decisions regarding organizations by reading chairman’s statement.
The Impact of Corporate Characteristics and IFRS Adoption on Audit Report Lag: Evidence from Listed Manufacturing Companies in Sri Lanka
(4th International Conference for Accounting Researchers and Educators, Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Srinath, V.P.N.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
An audit report lag (ARL) is defined as a period from a company’s fiscal year-end date to the audit report date. The shorter the ARL in releasing audited financial statements, the greater the usefulness and benefits that users can derive from these statements. The purpose of this research is to the identify impact of corporate characteristics on audit delay in Sri Lankan manufacturing companies, listed in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Further, since IFRS adoption represents a significant milestone in the accounting discipline in Sri Lanka which can reasonably expect an impact on audit report lag also, the study extended to investigate the impact of IFRS adoption also on audit report lag. Accordingly the current study investigated the influence of corporate size, audit firm statues, CEO duality, ownership concentration, ownership dispersion, board size and IFRS adoption on audit report lag. The data for the study collected from annual audited financial statement of all the listed manufacturing companies of CSE. Data for the period of nine years from 2008/2009 financial year to 2016/2017 financial year has been collected. Based on the regression estimate obtain, the study concludes that the audit report delay influenced by corporate size, audit firm statues, CEO duality, ownership concentration, ownership dispersion, board size and IFRS adoption
The Impact of Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure on Financial Performance of Materials Sector Companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Senanayake, S.W.P.S.W.H. A.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Corporate governance and ownership structure are becoming vital concepts of the organizations for last decades which contribute to the firm performance. This study investigates the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on financial performance of materials sector companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka. The findings of previous empirical researches are differ from one to another and this topic is not sufficiently investigated in Sri Lankan context. Therefore this research focuses on the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on the financial performance of materials sector companies in CSE. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on financial performance which is measured by the Earning per Share (EPS) of materials sector companies. Number of board directors, number of non-executive directors, number of family directors and CEO duality are used as corporate governance variables and percentage of individual ownership, institutional ownership, resident ownership and non-resident ownership are used as ownership structure variables. The study uses secondary data of 20 materials sector companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) of Sri Lanka covering the period of 2011/2012 to 2018/2019. Data will be analyzed using a multiple regression model. The findings of this study will be important for managers and investors. Potential and existing investors may use the findings to propose better corporate governance and ownership practices as well as managers can use the findings to design corporate strategies and make investment decisions in the areas of profit goals.
The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Financial Soundness of Listed Companies in Sri Lanka: An Application of Altman’s Model
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Basnayaka, B.M.T.S.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The financial position of listed companies is an issue that every stakeholder is concerned about very much. Therefore, investment decisions of the investors are based on the companies’ financial position. The management of the companies try every means to improve the company’s financial position and hopes to maintain good trends in the future. The objective of the study is to investigate the impact of COVID 19 pandemic on financial soundness of listed companies in Sri Lanka. Financial soundness is measured using application of Altman’s z -score model. The sample of this study consists of all the companies listed in Colombo stock exchange excluding bank, insurance, and diversified financials industry group between for the period of 2016-2020. Accordingly, this study uses secondary quantitative data by using annual reports of the listed companies. Correlation analysis is to use analyses data using statistical techniques. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying how listed companies manage their financial soundness and how COVID 19 influences on financial position. Then, it will be useful to decision makers and policy makers to ensure effective financial position.
The Impact of Fair Value Estimates on External Audit Fees: Evidence from Listed Banks and Finance Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Madhushani, V.P.P.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Fair value measurement has been considered as vital aspect in the preparation of financial statements and in auditing such financial statements. Since, the ever-increasing use of Fair value accounting is more useful for providing such benefits as relevant financial information and improving transparency of financial reporting. Further, the concept of fair value accounting is relatively new to the accounting and auditing profession when compared to the traditional accounting method. Hence, the application of the fair value concept is rather complex. Consequently, more audit effort is required from auditors to provide assurance in financial reporting. Specially, the primary motivation of this study is no research has been done on fair value estimates and audit fees in the Sri Lankan context. Therefore, the main purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of fair value estimates on audit fees of listed banks and finance companies in Sri Lanka. Data was collected from the annual reports of all banks and finance companies listed in the Colombo stock exchange for four years from 2017 to 2020. The data was analyzed by using e- views statistical package. This study used descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis to find out the association between the independent variables and dependent variable. Accordingly, findings of this will offer a better understanding of the influence of fair value estimates has on audit fees. Further, the findings of this study will provide interesting insights for policymakers, auditors, companies, standard setters, and investors.
The Impact of IFRS 16 Lease Capitalization on Financial Statement and Key Ratios: Evidence from CSE Listed Companies in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Sherad, M.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The exploit of leasing as a form of asset financing has been growing worldwide during the last two decades. The International Accounting Standard Board published IFRS 16 leases in January 2016 with an effective date of 1 January 2019. The new standard eliminates the lessee’s distinction between operating and Finance lease, it will have a substantial impact for companies have previously kept the largest proportion of their financing off balance sheet. The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of lease capitalisation on key financial ratios of listed companies in Sri Lanka. The method applied for the research is the constructive capitalisation approach which is based on the disclosed operating lease commitments in financial statement-year ended 31st March 2019. For the investigation purpose, we have selected the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE ) listed 215 Companies representing twenty Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) industry groups. The results of the study will diminish the impact of this important change in lease accounting and significantly encouraged, improving and analyzing the information to all stakeholders when making economic decisions.
Impact of IFRS Adoption on Audit Cost
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Fernando, K.D.M.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Regulators and standard setters claim that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) enhance the comparability and quality of financial reporting. However, the true returns to IFRS adoption should be evaluated by trading off the costs of transition and any recurring costs of reporting against the recurring benefits of comparability and increased reporting quality. This study investigates the impact of adopting IFRS on audit fees of manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. There are many researches conducted on IFRS, but few researches which are directly concerned with the costs of IFRS adoption focusing on audit fees whereas no research was found in Sri Lankan context. Moreover, this study provides a better insight on the relationship between disclosure and regulatory environments and audit fees within a single country setting, which brings a better understanding on the audit fee formation. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of IFRS adoption on audit fees in listed manufacturing companies Sri Lanka, by comparing audit fees in pre- and post-IFRS adoption periods. This study employs a model introduced by Emmanuel T. De George, Colin B. Ferguson, Nasser A. Spear (2013) to investigate the relationship. The pre-IFRS period is designated as 2009 through to 2012, and the post-IFRS period is designated as 2013 through to 2019. The sample comprises all 30 firms listed in Colombo Stock Exchange under manufacturing sector. The secondary data extracted will be analyzed using the multiple regression technique in order to test the formulated hypotheses. The findings of the study will provide useful insights to the accounting regulatory bodies in evaluating cost of IFRS adoption. And also, this will be helpful to standard setters, companies, auditors and future researchers as well.
The Impact of IFRS Adoption on Financial Ratios
(4th International Conference for Accounting Researchers and Educators, Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Rajapaksha, R.A.S.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
Since the world economy is getting globalized, past practices of accounting may not be able to satisfy the information requirements of global stakeholders. Therefore the concept of harmonizing the accounting practices has been put forward and realized by the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by International Accounting Standard Board (IASB).The main purpose of this research is to examine the impact of IFRS adoption on financial ratios in Sri Lankan listed manufacturing sector companies. The data was collected for the period of eight years from 2008/2009 to 2015/2016 using annual reports published on listed manufacturing sector companies. The total sample period is divided to two parts as pre IFRS and post IFRS for comparison. The ratios which are selected for the analysis are current ratio, earning per share, debt to equity ratio & return on equity ratio. The findings of the study suggests that there is no significant difference between the ratios calculated as per previous accounting standards and after adopting IFRS except return on equity ratio. Through the impact was not found to be significant for debt equity ratio and current ratio. These findings would be useful since data used for the current study is more recent than most IAS or IFRS studies around the world and are stratified to allow for comparison between voluntary/early adopters and mandatory/late adopters
Impact of IFRS Adoption on Financial Ratios Evidence from Materials and Capital Goods Sectors in Sri Lanka
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Madhushankha, J.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
In preparing their financial statements, the companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) were mandated to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS/SLFRS) with effect from 01 January 2012. Sri Lankan companies were reporting under the Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (SLAS) prior to the introduction of IFRS. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the adoption of IFRS on the key financial ratios of the materials & capital goods sectors of Sri Lanka. The sample consist of 30 companies listed in the CSE during the six years from 2009 to 2014 under material and capital goods sectors. To gather data for the analysis, audited financial statements were used. This analysis compares pre-adoption ratios under SLAS with post-adoption ratios in SLFRS to evaluate this impact on financial statements. The findings of the study will provide useful insights to the accounting regulatory bodies in evaluating whether its stated objective of IFRS adoption toward financial statements is being accomplished.
Impact of Institutional Ownership on Value Relevance of Accounting Information in Sri Lanka
(Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2020) Maheshika, G.A.R.; Kawshalya, M.D.P.
The value relevance of accounting information has received significant attention in both developed and developing countries for lase few decades. This study investigates the impact of institutional ownership on value relevance of accounting information in Sri Lankan context. There are only few prior studies have conducted to assess the value relevance of accounting information and influence of institutional ownership level in Sri Lankan context. Further, those studies haven’t considered how it might be affected by firm level characteristics such as institutional ownership, growth, firm size, firm industry, leverage and governance. Therefore, this study tries to fill this research gap by assessing the impact of institutional ownership and other firm specific characteristics on value relevance of accounting information. This study employs Ohlson (1995) price regression model to investigate the value relevance of accounting information. It explains Market Price per Share (MPPS) using earnings per share (EPS), book value of per share (BVPS), institutional ownership level, growth in assets, changes in financial leverage and firm size. The sample comprises 35 firms and 175 firm-year observations constitute to list manufacturing in CSE. This study will use a panel regression model to estimate model. The finding of this study will promotes the understanding of the influence of institutional investors on firm’s market value. Further this study can serve as a guide for accounting researchers studying other emerging markets. Capital market regulators can provide guidelines in the form of information characteristics and elements of financial statements that need improvement and enhance the quality of accounting information by identifying the strengths and weakness in their financial reports.