Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and the Value Relevance of Annual Reports for Listed Banks in Kenya

This study investigated the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and value relevance of annual reports for listed banks in Kenya. To do so, the study used content analysis and financial analysts’ perception to quantify corporate social responsibility disclosure, included by banks in their annual reports. The sample comprised of the annual reports of ten banks listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) over the entire period from year 2010 to year 2015. The study focused on banks due to additional regulation by the Central Bank of Kenya, (CBK). A survey research design was adopted. The study used both primary data and secondary data. Primary data was obtained through survey questionnaires administered on respondents who were financial analysts at a total of sixty one Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) licensed firms (investment banks, stock brokers, fund managers and investment advisers) as at 30 April 2016. Secondary data was obtained from the corporate action register and handbook by the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the daily market statistics from the NSE data and annual reports released by the banks. Content analysis program ATLAS.ti 8, OneLook dictionary and Ms Excel 2007 were used for content analysis. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20 and Stata 13. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The results revealed that corporate social responsibility disclosure had a positive and significant relationship with value relevance of annual reports which was measured by the average market price per share, (MPS). This study therefore concluded that corporate social responsibility disclosure in annual reports of listed banks in Kenya affect the value relevance of the annual reports. The study recommends an expanded role of the auditor in reviewing the corporate social responsibility disclosure and other accounting narratives. Currently in accounting reporting, the auditor is not obligated to formally audit accounting narratives. Instead, an auditor reviews the accounting narratives to ascertain if the narratives are consistent with the financial statements. The study also recommends more guidelines and regulations in relation to non-financial disclosures to ensure that firms put clearer information in the hand of investors.