SEGMENT DISCLOSURES IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF STOCK COMPANIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Vladimir Obradovic¹, Marko Milasinovic² and Jasmina Bogicevic¹

¹Faculty of Economics, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, The Republic of Serbia
²Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjacka Banja, University of Kragujevac, The Republic of Serbia

Information about the segments of a company is an important basis for making business decisions. In order for decisions based on segment information to be adequate, that information should be communicated in accordance with regulations. This paper is aimed at examining the adequacy of the segment information of listed companies in the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia and determining whether the volume of disclosed financial segment information is related to the company size and character of the audit firm. The research reveals that, in general, the disclosure of segment information is not fully in line with the International Financial Reporting Standard 8 - Operating Segments and that the joint-stock companies with a higher value of their total assets disclose financial segment information in more detail. However, there is no statistically significant difference in the amount of the segment information disclosed between the companies whose financial statements are audited by large audit firms and those that are the clients of other audit firms.

Keywords: segment reporting, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 8, stock companies, Belgrade Stock Exchange, Zagreb Stock Exchange

JEL Classification: M41, M42