Question

Reasons why companies where relactant to publish their financial information

Answer 1

Explanation:

In the early days of accounting regulation, companies were reluctant to publish their financial reports because they considered the financial statements to be confidential. In particular, they were concerned that the income statement would disclose trade secrets.

Answer 2

Answer:

Probably the same reason that small businesses who are not required to publish their accounts generally do not do so: it puts otherwise confidential information out in the public domain where their competitors can read it; it is an additional administrative burden; and you get hauled over the coals if you publish something which later transpires to be inaccurate, even if the fault was the auditor’s and not yours.