Online Disclosure of Financial and Control Information in Colombian Organizations in the Framework of Accountability

Abstract

To minimize undesirable practices in organization management, for example, corruption and corporative fraud, management visibility is sought through mechanisms such as accountability. This mechanism is configured by three components: information, explanation and responsibility. From the beginning it is based on the disclosure and release of information, which can be either mandatory or voluntary. Disclosure of information associated to financial aspects and organization control is recognized as mandatory. From this scenario, the degree of disclosure and release of financial and control information in Colombian organizations is studied, via their websites. Evidence shows that in the cluster of organizations (companies and universities) analyzed, the resulting degrees are not desirable, which therefore limits their visibility before the groups of interest. Additionally, it is shown that public organizations achieve better conditions of information revelation, due to the Online Governance guidelines established by the Colombian government.