Contents

• Introduction
• Legitimacy Theory
• Voluntary Disclosure
• Motivation of Managers for voluntary disclosures
• Linking Legitimacy Theory with BHP Voluntary Disclosures
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Description

This assignment is based on the following requirement -
The following is an extract from BHP Annual Report for year ended 30 June 2010 (see CEO’s report p.7):
“This year we continued to make progress in reducing the number of injuries, though we did not meet our targets. It is with great sadness that I report to you that five of our colleagues lost their lives at work during the year and I personally extend my condolences to the families and friends of those individuals.
This is a stark reminder that we must lead in a way that ensures a safe workplace, and we can only do this by creating operating discipline and simplifying the way we work. Safety starts with strong leadership and I cannot emphasise enough how important this is to me personally and to our Group.”
REQUIREMENTS:
Use Legitimacy theory as an explanatory theory of voluntary disclosures made by companies such as BHP. In answering the question you may want to:
• Explain what the key features of Legitimacy theory are
• Use the theory to explain why BHP chose to make the disclosures shown in the extract from the 2010 Annual Report.