Title: Determinants of voluntary disclosure practices in the annual reports of savings and credit cooperatives in Kenya

Authors: David Mathuva; Florence Memba; Josephat Mboya

Addresses: School of Business, College of Human Resource Development, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya ' School of Business, College of Human Resource Development, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya ' School of Management and Commerce, Strathmore University, P.O. Box 59857, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract: Prior studies have investigated the determinants of discretionary disclosure in a number of organisations. However, very few studies have investigated the determinants of discretionary disclosure by cooperatives in a developing country. This study investigates the determinants of voluntary disclosure practices by savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in Kenya, a developing country with a vibrant credit union sector. Using a sample of 212 deposit-taking SACCOs in Kenya over a six-year period between 2008 and 2013, the study finds that voluntary disclosure practices in SACCOs are largely shaped by governance, asset quality, proprietary and regulatory forces. The study provides important implications on the need for SACCOs to improve voluntary disclosures in a developing country context.

Keywords: voluntary disclosure; governance; proprietary forces; regulatory forces; Kenya; annual reports; savings and credit cooperatives; SACCOs; developing countries; credit union; asset quality.

DOI: 10.1504/AJAAF.2015.072223

African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2015 Vol.4 No.2, pp.139 - 162

Published online: 05 Oct 2015 *

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