Anwar Ahmad

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial performance, firm liquidity and financial leverage of Indian listed firms. This study uses both static models (pooled, fixed, and random effects) and Generalized Moment Methods (GMM). Financial leverage (FINLE) is defined by the ratio of total liabilities to total assets, whereas the current ratio and the quick ratio are used as firm liquidity factors. Further, a set of financial performance determinants such as return on assets, profit after tax, return on capital employed, return on equity, and Tobin-Q are used as independent factors. The results indicated that profit after tax, return on equity, return on capital employed, and Tobin-Q are the most significant financial success variables that influence financial leverage of Indian listed companies. Furthermore, profit after tax, return on capital invested, return on equity, and Tobin-Q are considered to have a substantial effect on financial leverage among the financial success indicators. In the case of firm liquidity, the findings show that the current ratio and the quick ratio have a substantial effect on the financial leverage of Indian listed companies.

This article aims to measure the level of voluntary disclosure in the published annual reports of Yemeni Islamic banks. Four full-fledged Islamic banks from Yemen are selected for the current study. A disclosure checklist covering 266 items is prepared and a 10-year period, 2005–2014, is taken. The disclosure index items were classified into seven groups, such as basic information on Islamic banks, financial ratios, corporate governance information, financial statements data, corporate social disclosure, Zakat information, and other information that has been taken as an important attribute of voluntary disclosure. The obtained results show that the amount of voluntary disclosure that Yemeni Islamic banking institutions publish in their annual reports has gradually increased over the ten years examined. The results revealed that the highest average disclosure index score over the ten years was achieved by Tadhamon Islamic International Bank (TIIB), the second highest average disclosure score was obtained by Saba Islamic Bank (SIB), and the lowest average voluntary disclosure rating score during the ten years surveyed was achieved by Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain in Yemen during the study period. Substantially, the result of voluntary disclosure scores indicates that the degree of voluntary disclosure by Yemeni Islamic financial institutions has relatively expanded during the ten years investigated. The findings provide new evidence for voluntary disclosure, particularly, Islamic disclosure items. The survey findings can be useful for regulators in Yemen to improve overall disclosure practices by Islamic banks operating in Yemen.