The Effect of Human Resource Investment in Internal Control on Unfaithful Disclosure Designations and their Subsequent Remediation

The number of companies involved in unfaithful disclosure practices, such as the late or inaccurate reporting of key management issues, is rising annually, accompanied by an increase in repeated offenders. This study examines the influence of internal control personnel (IC personnel) responsible for disclosure tasks on the likelihood of being classified as an unfaithful disclosure firm. The results are as follows. Firms with more-experienced IC personnel are less likely to be designated as an unfaithful disclosure firm, and even when they are designated, the penalties imposed are smaller. It shows that the expertise of IC personnel plays a significant role in controlling errors and irregularities in financial reporting. In the remediation analysis, a firm that appoints a new IC personnel with more experience after being designated as an unfaithful firm is found to be less likely to be re-designated as such in the subsequent year. It indicates that for an unfaithful firm, enhancing the expertise of IC personnel following its designation can lead to improved quality in subsequent disclosures. The findings of this study suggest to regulators that policies promoting investment in IC personnel can effectively enhance firms’ disclosure capabilities. In addition, this study measured the severity of sanctions imposed on unfaithful disclosure firms by incorporating both penalty points and fines, contributing to improved reliability of the analysis results.