Disclosures about corporate culture by UK companies: the impact of a change to the corporate governance code

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of new provisions in the UK 2018 Corporate Governance Code that relate to the assessment, monitoring and reporting of corporate culture, which were introduced by the Financial Reporting Council after high-profile corporate scandals and several government and industry-commissioned reports. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a sample of 76 FTSE 100 companies in the years 2017 and 2021, content analysis and regression analysis were used to examine changes in disclosure about corporate culture after the 2018 Corporate Governance Code became effective. Findings Although the mentions of corporate culture have increased following the introduction of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code, the findings suggest that this change was superficial and associated more with attempts to enhance corporate legitimacy. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to look at a change in the reporting on corporate culture within financial statements following the revisions to the Corporate Governance Code in 2018 from a qualitative and a statistical point of view.