K. P. Venugopala Rao

This paper investigates the value relevance of the financial information reported by energy companies included in the NSE Energy Index after the mandatory adoption of the Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for the 2016–2017 accounting year. The fixed-effects model was employed on the panel data of energy companies included in the NSE Energy Index to study the impact of the accounting information on the market price of the shares for the period 2017–2021. The study suggests that a company’s book value consistently explained the variation in the market price across each year individually. Moreover, with the control of time across firms for the study period, book value per share and net cash flow from investing activities have significant explanatory power on the market price of a company’s shares. Profit after tax, which is widely used to determine a firm’s performance, cannot explain the variability in the market price of shares.

In 2016, India implemented new accounting standards, Ind AS, aligning with IFRS to increase transparency in the financial reporting of Indian companies. This study examines the value relevance of financial information in India before and after the adoption of Indian accounting standards (Ind AS) by comparing the published financial statements in pre- and post-Ind AS periods and determines the influence of financial information on the market price of shares. The study period is for twelve years, from 2011 to 2022, divided into 2011–2016 (pre-Ind AS period) and 2017–2022 (post-Ind AS period). To evaluate the value relevance of financial information, the Ohlson pricing model is employed on the panel data of the blue-chip companies listed in the Nifty 50 Index. The results from the Least Squares regression reveal that the net cash from investing activities, profit-after-tax, and book-value-per-share were relevant for investment decisions prior to the adoption of the Ind AS. In contrast, the profit-after-tax had no explanatory power during the post-Ind AS period. However, the net cash from investing activities and the book-value-per-share significantly influenced the market price of equity since the implementation of Ind AS. The value relevance of the accounting statements was superior in the pre-Ind AS period compared to the post-Ind AS.

Corporations have a responsibility to provide a fair view of their financial state to their stakeholders. To facilitate the reporting process, the IFRS recommends the integrated reporting framework, which firms may may adopt voluntarily. This study examines the motivations of management in voluntarily disclosing capitals-related information in annual reports of companies listed on the Nifty Metal Index and their willingness to adopt the IR framework. It also empirically investigates how a company’s long-term and short-term goals impact integrated reporting adoption. The Integrated Reporting Capitals Index (IRCIN) was constructed to study the reporting behavior of companies within the specified framework. The reporting patterns within the metal industry are analyzed by employing the fixed effects model. Results highlight the interconnectedness of financial and non-financial capital dimensions in corporate reporting practices, albeit with a strong emphasis on financial capital. The average word count describing the financial capital was high, while the intellectual capital was the lowest. Strategic management evaluated via cash flow from investing activities proved statistically significant at the 5% level. Similarly, short-term goals indicated by profit after tax were found to play a crucial role in encouraging corporations within the Nifty Metal Index to adopt the integrated reporting framework. Conversely, book value per share exhibited a negative coefficient, indicating a historical disconnect with the reporting entities. These insights suggest that the adoption of the integrated reporting framework by management is driven by strategic goals, short-term objectives, and overall company performance.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming banking operations, with many banks rapidly embracing the technology. In annual reports, banks voluntarily disclose information about their AI initiatives, but the extent to which such disclosures influence customer behavior remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of voluntary AI disclosures on customer deposit behavior, with a focus on the ownership structure of banks in India. The AI disclosure index was constructed from annual reports of 12 Nifty Bank Index constituents. Using a mixed-methods approach, the balanced panel dataset over the period 2019–2023 was analyzed using a random effects model, validated through the Hausman test. Results indicate that voluntary AI disclosure positively influences the deposits, supporting the view that transparent reporting strengthens customer confidence. Public sector banks show stronger effects, with the ownership dummy yielding a negative coefficient, suggesting that private banks face a credibility gap. Profitability had a significant influence on deposit behavior, whereas book values per share and policy repo rate were insignificant. The findings demonstrate that voluntary AI disclosure has a signaling effect, influencing customer trust, which is captured in the form of customer deposits. These results have practical implications for managers in designing disclosure and policymakers in standardizing reporting frameworks to improve reporting transparency.