This paper aims to investigate the direct relationship between the board characteristics on voluntary disclosure quality in (MENA) countries. Therefore, the importance role played by the audit committees in voluntary disclosure quality is for the board of directors and assisting executive members of the board of directors in carrying out accounting and financial matters, through the role of audit committees, their duties and responsibilities, especially in improving communication between the internal auditor of the board of directors and the external auditor, and the process of supervising and controlling the preparation of financial statements. Thus, the main objective of this study, to determine the relationship between board characteristics and voluntary disclosure quality in (MENA) countries. However, to achieve this objective, the study obtained data from listed firms on Amman Stock Exchange, Egypt Stock Exchange and Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange from 2013-2022 during which 128 firms were analyzed, culminating in a total of 1280 observations. Secondary method was adopted to determine the relationship between board characteristics and voluntary disclosure in the annual reports. The findings suggest that strengthening the effectiveness of audit committees can be a key strategy for improving the quality of voluntary disclosures. However, the impact of such measures is contingent on the specific corporate and regulatory context of each region. For regulators, the results supports the development of policies and guidelines aimed at promoting effective audit committees as a part of broader efforts to enhance corporate governance and transparency. Thus, the study recommends that, this research was conducted using firms listed in Amman Stock Exchange, Egypt Stock Exchange and Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange, which come from Non-financial sector. As such, the results are valid for firms in these sectors and any generalizations made with respect to this study are confined to firms in these sectors. Therefore, future research can involve comparisons between these sectors and others such as financial and plantation sectors to see the improvement in the research. Finally, the study will add more value to the body of literature related to the variables used in the study.
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(Alhzeem et al., 2024)
Alhzeem, A. R. S., Abdul-Hamid, M. A., & Saidin, S. F. Bin. (2024). Effects of Audit Committee Effectiveness and Board Characteristics on Voluntary Disclosure Quality in (Mena) Countries. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(6), 1594–1611.
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