Digital Reporting Practices Among Malaysian Local Authorities

Abstract

Using 109 Malaysian local authorities as the sample, this paper examines the type and extent of financial information disclosed digitally. This study further examines whether council size, performance and social obligation affect digital reporting. The results show that 64.2% maintain websites and out of this, 15.7% local authorities provide some disclosure on financial statements digitally. The results also show that performance and social obligation do influence the digital reporting practices among the local authorities. Further investigations reveal that lack of information technology facilities, inadequate specialised staff and lack of enforcement are among the factors deterring local authorities to disclose their financial information digitally. The results increase the body of knowledge by providing a continuous insight on the type and extent of information disclosed digitally by the Malaysian local authorities.