We examine firm characteristics associated with the decision to voluntarily include an
MRIC. We rely on the work of Healy and Palepu (2001) who argue that the demand for
disclosure arises from information asymmetry and agency costs between firm managers and
outside investors. A naturally occurring research question arising from this theoretical
framework involves examining the factors affecting management’s disclosure choices. Voluntary
disclosures are likely to be related to economic and governance characteristics of
firms (Healy and Palepu 2001). In this study, we examine the relation between voluntary
inclusion of an MRIC in the annual report and firm economic and governance
characteristics.