Dissemination of annual report information on the internet by South African companies

Abstract

The Internet is a cost-effective and efficient way of distributing information to  all stakeholders in a transparent, globalised business environment. The aim of  this study was to determine the current state and level of adoption of the Internet  as a delivery and communication mechanism for disseminating online/digital  annual reports in the largest listed companies in South Africa. The population  selected for the survey was the 2001 Financial Mail top 300 (SA Giants)  companies. The research was conducted by analysing the corporate websites of  the selected companies, to establish the existence of a corporate website and  whether the full annual report was available electronically. The study also  investigated the relationship between digital annual reports and company  characteristics. The investigation revealed that those companies with websites  and digital annual reports are profitable companies.