Transparency and Reliability in Financial Statement: Do They Exist? Evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the existence of reliability and transparency in the financial statement, for the benefit of investors and analysts. The scope of the study is to find the relationship of accounting standards, corporate governance, external controls, internal controls, and ethical practices with the financial statements, based on the auditors and management views in Malaysia. Methodology: 52 out of 60 questionnaires were taken from audit firms and management firms to test the visibility of transparency and reliability in financial statements. The qualitative data were also analyzed to understand the financial statements further. Findings: According to the data, the existence of transparency and reliability in financial statements was related with accounting standards, ethical practices, internal controls, external controls, and corporate governance. This finding was supported by many tests through SPSS statistic software. Research Limitations/Implications: The implication that first occurred was the intention of auditors and management in hiding the truths behind transparency and reliability of financial statements. Commonly, audit fees and audit sizes are the main truths that are hidden by the auditors. Practical Limitations: The implications of this were the value of transparency and reliability of financial statements hidden from the investors and its capabilities in restoring those into the financial statement. Originality/Value: The results were put through a quantitative approach. Also, additional qualitative analysis was gathered to attain extra knowledge in the transparency. While the rest of the paper is original, previous authors were also discussed for their theories and hypotheses.