The impact of corporate governance on the timeliness of corporate internet reporting by Egyptian listed companies

Purpose This study seeks to examine the key factors that affect the timeliness of corporate internet reporting (CIR) by the Egyptian listed corporations on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach The authors use firm characteristics and corporate governance variables to investigate the influence on the timeliness of CIR. They also develop a disclosure index to measure the timeliness of CIR for the listed Egyptian corporations. Findings The primary analysis finds a significant relationship between the timeliness of CIR and firm size, type of industry, liquidity, ownership structure, board composition and board size. The results indicate that firms typically in the service sector, that are large and have a high rate of liquidity, a high proportion of independent directors, a large number of board directors and a high free float disclose more timely information on their web sites. Furthermore, a significant association between the entire independent variables and some items of timeliness of CIR is found. Originality/value This study is one of the first empirical studies to investigate the relationship between the corporate governance and the timeliness of CIR in an emerging market.