Extent and Quality of Environmental Reporting in Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level and quality of environmental reporting among the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) listed manufacturing companies. A content analysis on the number of sentences reported was used to determine the extent of Environmental Reporting (ER) in annual reports. The quality of ER was determined based on the disclosure quality index reviewed from previous studies. ANOVA was used to ascertain any variations in reporting in terms of both extent and quality among the investigated companies. The study covered annual reports from 2006 to 2013. Findings revealed that the level of ER in Tanzania has been increasing but also there is a significant difference in terms of both extent and quality of ER among the companies. Since ER in Tanzania is under voluntary regime and there is no reporting framework, the study recommends development of Environmental Reporting Framework (ERF) for Tanzania.

Keywords: Environmental reporting, disclosure, Tanzania