Purpose – The study aims to identify, summarize and synthesize the theories used in corporate financial reporting (CFR) and propose a conceptual framework based on those theories. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied the systematic literature review approach to achieve the study objectives. So, the researchers systematically collected the relevant documents from the Scopus database with the help of an advanced search string containing keywords to the CFR theories. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses technique was used for the relevant document selection process. Finally, 67 documents were extracted and analyzed spanning from the year of 2017 to 2023. Findings – The major findings of this study indicate a predominance of legitimacy, agency and stakeholder theories in CFR studies. Whereas, this study reveals that neo-institutional, signaling, resource dependency, political economics and impression management theories have been less focused on by scholars in the CFR studies. Those theories need to be reemphasized in this field in future research. Originality/value – The study’s contributions are significant for academics, policymakers and different parties, as it enhance the understanding of CFR theoretical frameworks and suggest directions for future research to broaden the theoretical landscape. The study maps the motivations of applying a certain theory which will help the researchers to select a specific theory for the underlying context of CFR.