The disclosure of financial forward-looking information Does the financial expertise of female directors make a difference?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between the financial expertise (accounting and non-accounting) of female directors in the audit committee and the voluntary disclosure of financial forward-looking information. Design/methodology/approach The sample is composed of companies belonging to the Standard and Poor`s 100 Index in 2016. Content analysis techniques are used to analyze both information disclosed in annual reports and the financial expertise of female directors. Findings The results fail to find an association between the presence of women in the audit committee and the disclosure of financial forward-looking information. However, the disclosure of this information is associated with the presence of female audit committee members with financial expertise, especially accounting expertise. Originality/value This paper is the first to examine whether the specific expertise of female directors, beyond mere gender, makes a difference in financial forward-looking disclosure strategies.