The impact of board and audit committee characteristics on voluntary disclosure: A meta-analysis

We apply meta-analysis to a sample of 64 empirical studies to identify potential moderators to the relationship between board, audit committee characteristics and voluntary disclosure. We also examine whether the results are affected by differences in the construction of disclosure index, the type of voluntary disclosure, the method of disclosure, the definitions of variables relating to corporate governance, the level of investor protection, and country geographic location. We find that, while board size, board composition and audit committee have a significant positive effect on voluntary disclosure, CEO duality has a significant negative impact. Additionally, geographic location moderates the association between board size, board composition, CEO duality and voluntary disclosure. Furthermore, the association between CEO duality and voluntary disclosure is moderated by disclosure type, disclosure method and the level of investor protection. Finally, differences in definitions of explanatory variables affect the association between board composition and voluntary disclosure.