Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments

The widespread use of boilerplate disclosures in financial reporting has led regulators to express concerns about the decision-usefulness of annual reports. We conduct two experiments to determine the effects of risk management disclosure presence and specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgme...

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Main Authors: Xinyan Miao, Shaofei Wang, Yue Wang, Bo Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:China Journal of Accounting Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000280
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author Xinyan Miao
Shaofei Wang
Yue Wang
Bo Zhou
author_facet Xinyan Miao
Shaofei Wang
Yue Wang
Bo Zhou
author_sort Xinyan Miao
collection DOAJ
description The widespread use of boilerplate disclosures in financial reporting has led regulators to express concerns about the decision-usefulness of annual reports. We conduct two experiments to determine the effects of risk management disclosure presence and specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. In Experiment 1, we manipulate risk management disclosure at three levels (non-disclosure vs. generic or specific risk management disclosures). Relative to the non-disclosure condition, nonprofessional investors exhibit more favorable investment judgments when provided with a specific risk management disclosure. However, generic disclosure has a negligible influence on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. We find no convincing evidence supporting potential alternative explanations. Experiment 2 confirms this mechanism and provides further evidence that the observed effects are not driven by the lengths of specific disclosures.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Elsevier
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series China Journal of Accounting Research
spelling doaj-art-ea400e77a03340e8b21fe165af67f5842025-08-20T04:00:28ZengElsevierChina Journal of Accounting Research1755-30912025-09-0118310043210.1016/j.cjar.2025.100432Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgmentsXinyan Miao0Shaofei Wang1Yue Wang2Bo Zhou3School of Accountancy, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, ChinaCollege of Business, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China; School of Advanced Accounting and Auditing, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China; Institute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, ChinaInstitute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, ChinaInstitute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China; Dishui Lake Advanced Finance Institute, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China; Corresponding author at: Institute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.The widespread use of boilerplate disclosures in financial reporting has led regulators to express concerns about the decision-usefulness of annual reports. We conduct two experiments to determine the effects of risk management disclosure presence and specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. In Experiment 1, we manipulate risk management disclosure at three levels (non-disclosure vs. generic or specific risk management disclosures). Relative to the non-disclosure condition, nonprofessional investors exhibit more favorable investment judgments when provided with a specific risk management disclosure. However, generic disclosure has a negligible influence on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. We find no convincing evidence supporting potential alternative explanations. Experiment 2 confirms this mechanism and provides further evidence that the observed effects are not driven by the lengths of specific disclosures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000280C91D81D83G11G41M41
spellingShingle Xinyan Miao
Shaofei Wang
Yue Wang
Bo Zhou
Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
China Journal of Accounting Research
C91
D81
D83
G11
G41
M41
title Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
title_full Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
title_fullStr Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
title_full_unstemmed Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
title_short Fruitless effort? The effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors’ judgments
title_sort fruitless effort the effects of risk management disclosure specificity on nonprofessional investors judgments
topic C91
D81
D83
G11
G41
M41
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000280
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AT yuewang fruitlessefforttheeffectsofriskmanagementdisclosurespecificityonnonprofessionalinvestorsjudgments
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