Question Tag: Barriers to Disclosure Reduction

There have been various arguments globally about the extent of disclosures in the annual reports of companies. Some argue that annual reports should include more extensive disclosures, while others believe that efforts should focus on reducing the quantity of information to avoid overwhelming users of financial statements.

The latter perspective suggests that excessive disclosure is burdensome and may obscure key information. Conversely, some argue that there is no such thing as providing too much useful information to users of financial statements.

Required:

Discuss why it is important to ensure that an optimal level of disclosure is made in annual reports. Also, identify and explain the barriers that may exist when trying to reduce excessive disclosure of information in an annual report. (7 Marks)