The role of company annual reports for investment analysis in a developing country: the case of Malaysia

Abstract

The main objectives of this study are: (1) to examine the role of the company annual reports in investment analysis in Malaysia; and (2) to evaluate the importance of the annual reports as a source of information for analysts to make investment decisions. In order to achieve these research objectives the study begins with a review of the uses and users of financial statements and it is pointed out that one of the important groups of users of the financial statements are the ‘sophisticated’ investors. Prior studies, using tests of the Efficient Market Hypothesis and investors survey, are presented and discussed. The review of prior studies concludes that the area of research into the importance of annual reports for investment decisions are important and that no similar studies involving developing countries had been carried out. The accounting environment in Malaysia was presented to illustrate the regulations and statutes governing the preparation and presentation of information in company annual reports. In the discussions regarding the investment situation in Malaysia, the major characteristics of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange were introduced. A two stage research methodology was adopted in the current research. The first stage involves a survey and analysis of a sample of annual reports of companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. This survey revealed instances of companies not complying with the International Accounting Standards adopted by the accounting profession in Malaysia. The second stage consists of a postal questionnaire survey of investment analysts working in institutional investing firms, merchant banks and stockbrokers regarding importance of the annual analysis. Their perceptions of the reports for investment The results of the above surveys are presented together with recommendations to reduce the weaknesses of the annual reports of Malaysian companies. Finally, related areas for further research are suggested at the end of the thesis.