Corporate Governance Disclosure Practices of Listed Companies in Ghana: An

Evaluation

1.0 Title
The working title of the study is initially drafted as Corporate Governance
Disclosure Practices of Listed Companies in Ghana: An Evaluation. Corporate
governance simply refers to the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and
institutions which affect a firms way of directing, administering and/or controlling.

2.0 Background of the Study

Early definition of corporate governance states that corporate governance refers
to the way by which shareholders decide in carrying out the business. Such a business
concept eventually resulted in generation of more profit because it is perceived that the
business conforms to the conventional regulations that the society created and
identified by various laws and regulations. By virtue, such definition of corporate
governance is underpinned by capitalism of shareholder.
On a more recent note, corporate governance refers to the part of economics,
enabling the investigation on effective management of the internal and external affairs of
a company or organization. In doing such, however, various administrative tools are

used for control including contracts, organizational structures and policies and
legislations (Mathiesen, 2002). Objective of corporate governance is central on
improving the overall performance of the firm, mainly considering the financial
performance. Another definition also relates with shareholders as the manner of
directors who manage their duties and responsibilities in accordance with the
shareholders interest (Maw et al, 1994).

3.0 Statement of the Problem

The study intends to investigate corporate governance disclosure practices in
Ghana. Specifically, the investigation will center on the evaluation of corporate
governance disclosure practices of listed Ghanaian companies. Listed Ghanaian
companies conform to disclosure requirements of the Companies Act of Ghana, the
Corporate Governance Code of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana,
the Listing Rules of the Ghana Stock Exchange and international best practice using the
OECD Guidance on Good Corporate Governance Disclosure Practices.
Recommendations to improve corporate governance disclosures will be made at the
end of the evaluation.

4.0 Aims and Objectives

The main aim of the study is to evaluate the corporate governance disclosure
practices of listed Ghanaian companies. Disclosure is a regulatory tool that is used by
the national and international business communities to ensure that companies are being
truthful, rightful and just. In lieu with this, the following specific objectives will be
addressed:

To determine the role of annual reports on corporate governance disclosure of

listed Ghanaian companies

To distinguish the challenges experienced by the listed Ghanaian companies in

disclosing corporate governance

To analyze the problems as experienced by listed Ghanaian companies in

disclosing according to national and international legislation

5.0 Overview of Methodology

This study will use the descriptive type of research which is a process of
gathering information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing
this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study
and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. Data for the evaluation will be
picked entirely from the annual reports of the listed companies as well as other reports
issued by the listed companies and from the websites of the companies.

For this research design, the researcher will gather published studies from
different local and foreign universities and articles from business journals; and make a
content analysis of the collected documentary material. As such, the study is archival in
nature. Afterwards, the researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion
and provide insightful recommendations that deal with the corporate governance
disclosure practices.
The study shall use the annual report of respondent corporations to gather
pertinent data. Moreover, the researcher shall also use previous studies and compare it
to its existing data in order to provide conclusions and competent recommendations.

References
Mathiesen, H. (2002), Managerial Ownership and Financial Performance, Ph.D.
dissertation, series 18.2002, Denmark, Copenhagen Business School.
Maw, N., Lane, L. & Craig-Cooper, M. (1994), Maw on Corporate Governance, ed. by
Alison Alsbury, Dartmouth Publishing.