Amidst ongoing global economic and environmental crises, the concept of legitimacy has gained paramount importance for firms, which must not only survive but also maintain their legitimacy through comprehensive disclosures. This study investigates the mediating role of corporate governance in shaping firm performance and voluntary disclosure, emphasizing sustainability implications. Analyzing 82 firms across various sectors in Turkey from 2010 to 2020, the research reveals no direct relationship between corporate governance and equity. However, it identifies a partial mediation effect of corporate governance on the disclosure of general, strategic, and forward-looking financial information related to net profit. Critically, our findings demonstrate that corporate governance fully mediates the relationship between net profit and the disclosure of social and board information, with the magnitude of this indirect effect being complete. This underscores the fact that robust corporate governance enhances transparency in social and environmental reporting, thereby supporting firms in their efforts to align with sustainable business practices and stakeholder expectations. These results highlight the crucial role of effective governance in ensuring comprehensive disclosures that support the sustainability goals of modern enterprises.

This paper seeks to examine whether the characteristics of the audit committee impact the timely reporting represented by audit report lag (ARL), firm-based abnormal audit report lag (FAARL), and industry-based audit reports lag (IAARL). The sample of the study includes mostly hand-collected 2,284 firm-year observations obtained from Turkey’s listed non-financial companies. Main regression results show that audit committee gender diversity, meeting frequency, and independence are negatively associated with timely reporting. Furthermore, additional analysis indicates the negative association between timely reporting and the audit committee effectiveness indexes created by the coexistence of the audit committee. Also, an interaction effect between audit committee independence and gender diversity concerning the timeliness of financial reporting has been documented. The use of fixed effects estimators and two-step system GMM estimator also supported the main results. This paper aims to provide concrete contribution to the literature by examining timely reporting in an emerging market like Turkey. The results suggest that regulatory bodies and companies should review the audit committee structure to better timely reporting and reduce firm and industry-based abnormal delays.

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the influence of corporate and foreign ownership structures on the timeliness of financial reporting. The sample of the study consists of 2,204 observations obtained from 208 companies trading in Borsa Istanbul between 2008 and 2019. Multiple regression analysis was conducted, and the relationship between ownership structure and financial reporting timelinesses was investigated. The findings indicate that corporate and foreign ownership are significantly and negatively associated with financial reporting timeliness. Robustness analysis was carried out using the two-stage GMM method, and it was determined that there was no endogeneity problem. The results provide valuable information for financial reporting users, such as investors, companies, regulators, policymakers, and auditors, and will aid them in their decision-making processes as it reduces information asymmetry and contributes to the improvement of the financial reporting quality.

Purpose- A key factor in ensuring that stakeholders can make well-informed decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information is financial reporting timeliness. This involves the timely release of financial statements, which are essential for providing investors, creditors, and other stakeholders with an overview of a company's financial status. Timely financial reporting allows stakeholders to react quickly to changes in a company's financial situation and make informed investment decisions. It also helps to build trust and confidence in a company's management and financial reporting processes, ultimately leading to greater transparency and accountability. This study aims to provide a scope review of current literature on financial reporting timeliness by analyzing the number of publications on this topic in Web of Science. Methodology- A systematic search of academic databases and search engines was conducted using keywords such as "financial reporting timeliness," "audit report lag" and "audit report delay". Findings- We found that there are more than 150 publications on the topicality of financial reporting on the Web of Science alone from 2012-2023. Over the past few years, there has been a steady and consistent increase in the number of publications dedicated to exploring the topic of financial reporting timeliness, specifically focusing on the audit report lag. Conclusion- The review highlights key themes, including factors contributing to audit report delays, the impact of audit report delays on financial reporting timeliness, and potential solutions for improving audit report timeliness. The findings reveal that audit report delays can have significant consequences for financial reporting timeliness, and consequently, for stakeholders' decision-making processes. This scope review underscores the importance of addressing audit report delays to maintain timely financial reporting and proposes future research directions for further exploration. Keywords: Financial reporting timeliness, audit report lag, auidt report delay, scope review JEL Codes: M40, M41, M42