The Impact of Impression Management Using Minimal Narrative Disclosures in Integrated Reports on the Performance of the top 100 JSE-listed Companies

This paper explores if the top 100 Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE)- listed companies utilise impression management strategies through minimal narrative disclosures in their integrated reports and how this impacts their performance. This paper builds on the paper published in The British Accounting Review Journal by Leung et al. (The British accounting review 47:275–289, 2015) but focuses on South African-listed companies. A quantitative research approach using statistical methods was used to identify minimal narrative disclosure companies and determine if this was associated with a company’s current performance, future performance, or financial distress. This was achieved by using a comprehensive disclosure checklist to identify minimal narrative disclosure companies and a multivariate regression model to determine the related association to performance or financial distress. The paper found that of the sample companies selected, 49% were classified as minimal narrative disclosure companies based on their disclosure scores obtained. The paper further found no association between a company’s current performance, future performance and the minimal narrative disclosure score obtained. In contrast, an inverse association was found between a company’s financial distress level and minimal narrative disclosure score obtained. This paper extends the body of knowledge within a South African context of the use of impression management in integrated reports by JSE-listed companies using a concealment strategy and is beneficial to academics seeking to explore the effect of impression management in the corporate environment.