Scale of Disclosures in Polish Financial Statements Related to Operating Within Special Economic Zones – Measurement Using a Scoring System

Companies that function within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) gain specific privileges. One of the common benefits is the exemption from income tax. Such reduction of tax burdens has a major impact on a company’s performance and thus can influence how the company is perceived. Therefore, information related to functioning in SEZ should be presented in the financial statement. The aim of the article is to measure the scale of disclosures regarding operating in Special Economic Zones in financial statements published by Polish companies. An analysis of financial statements of companies
functioning in Katowice SEZ was performed. The research was conducted with the usage of a scoring system that emerged from 11 disclosures proposed by the author. 168 financial statements for 2018 year were qualified for the study. Results show that more than half of companies did not disclose any information related to operating in SEZ. Only 19% of companies disclosed more than half of information. Overall companies disclosed on average a total of 19,8% of disclosures inserted within the scoring system. Furtherly Kruskal-Wallis H test showed significant differences between companies. Entities from automotive and metal industries, with American and French capital of origin and with total assets above 10 million euro, revenues above 10 million euro that employ over 250 people disclose the most information related to operating in SEZ. The results add to existing knowledge by opening a discussion regarding proper disclosure of activities related to operating in SEZ. Guidance related to what information should be presented in the financial statements should help managers of companies to disclose relevant information, which furtherly enhances the faithful presentation of the company and thus helps end users of financial statements to make relevant judgement regarding specific entities.