Investigating the usefulness of management commentary: the view of users, preparers, and regulaters

This research examines the usefulness of the management comentary for the first time in Iran from the view of users, preparers, and regulaters. In order to collect the research data, first, based on the related literature and theoretical foundations, hypotheses related to the usefulness of the management comentary were developed. Then, the data related to the views of the three groups in 2021 were collected and the research hypotheses were analyzed using the one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test. The main findings show that the primary users of financial reports do not consider the current management comentary useful when making decisions. Also, the preparers of the management comentary do not consider this report useful in terms of not increasing the direct and indirect costs of the company and better fulfilling the responsibility of the company to the stock exchange; but they do not consider this report useful in terms of reducing the cost of financing and increasing the legitimacy of the company. In addition, regulaters do not consider this report useful in terms of increasing information efficiency, liquidity of the stock market and increasing the number of investors and analysts. The findings can inform companies and regulaters (Securities & Exchange Organization and Audit Organization) in relation to the usefulness of the current management comentary and the necessity of any revision and updating of guidelines or standards related to its preparation.