ABSTRACT
Agency theory explains voluntary disclosures and the need for the assurance of the information through the concept of information asymmetry. Information asymmetry arises from the separation of ownership (principals or shareholders) and control (agents or managers). Agency theory assumes that both shareholders and managers are economically rational and self-interested. Shareholders monitor the behaviour of managers through disclosures. Managers voluntarily disclose additional information to reveal positive information and may do so in self-serving ways. Agency theory focuses on managers’ motivations to disclose information rather than organizations’ ‘motivations’.
