Search Results (12)

This study investigated how corporate maturity—measured through firm age and lifecycle stage—moderates the value relevance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures in a frontier market context, using Bangladesh as a case study. Drawing on panel data from 2011–2012 to 2023–2024 for 86 publicly listed non-financial firms, the study employed a modified Ohlson valuation framework, panel regression analysis, and multiple robustness techniques (2SLS, PSM). ESG disclosure was measured using a researcher-developed index aligned with international reporting standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD, UN SDGs). ESG disclosures are positively associated with firm value, but this relationship is significantly moderated by corporate maturity. Younger firms exhibit a stronger valuation effect from ESG transparency, driven by higher signaling and legitimacy needs. In contrast, mature firms experience a diminished marginal benefit, reflecting routine compliance rather than strategic differentiation. These findings challenge the uniform application of ESG assessment models and suggest the need for lifecycle-adjusted disclosure ratings, particularly in nascent regulatory environments like Bangladesh. Investors and regulators should tailor ESG evaluation criteria by firm age and industry sustainability exposure. Younger firms, often overlooked, may carry outsized ESG signaling value in emerging markets. Enhancing ESG transparency among younger firms can foster greater stakeholder trust, support inclusive growth, and strengthen social accountability in emerging economies. This study contributes to the ESG literature by introducing corporate maturity as a key moderating variable in value relevance analysis. It provides new empirical insights from a developing economy and proposes lifecycle-based adaptations to global ESG rating methodologies. Full article

This research investigates the effect of board characteristics on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure among firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) from 2021 to 2023. Motivated by the global shift toward sustainable development and the Saudi Vision 2030 agenda, this study examines how board size, gender diversity, independence, expertise, and compensation impact ESG disclosure practices. Drawing on stakeholder and agency theories, the regression model uses a sample of 78 Saudi-listed companies. ESG disclosure is measured using a content analysis-based checklist that conforms to international and Saudi ESG reporting frameworks. The findings indicate that background and skills, female representation, and compensation positively correlate with ESG disclosure. Conversely, board size and independence do not show significant relationships. The results highlight the pivotal role of board composition in emphasizing business practices for sustainability in emerging markets, particularly within the unique institutional setting of Saudi Arabia. The study contributes to the growing body of ESG literature by offering factual proof from an under-researched context and practical ramifications for investors, legislators, and business executives, as well as seeking to enhance transparency and accountability through effective board governance. Full article

This study examines the influence of sustainability disclosure on a firm’s financial performance in the energy sector, taking into account the role of ownership concentration as a moderating factor. This study utilized secondary data from 239 energy companies from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) nations from 2009 to 2022. This study employed the Common Correlated Effect Mean Group and the Pooled Mean Group estimators for the analysis. To determine which component of sustainability disclosure influences a firm’s financial performance, this study divided the measurement of sustainability into three themes: environment, social, and governance. The findings revealed a positive relationship between environmental disclosure and financial performance. Similarly, we found a positive relationship between social disclosure and financial performance. However, governance disclosure does not contribute to financial performance. Furthermore, we found that ownership concentration positively moderates the association between environmental disclosure and financial performance, as well as social disclosure and financial performance. The results suggest that energy firms in developing countries should prioritize disclosing their environmental and social policies to ensure long-term financial performance. Full article

This research paper describes the accounting practices of Jordanian companies engaged in agricultural activities, and identifies the influence of company characteristics on measurement practices related to asset pricing and level of disclosure required by IAS 41. Company characteristics were considered as: size, intensity of biological assets (BA), level of international activities, and audit for the Big Four. Dependent variables were considered measurement practices related to valuing BA as well as resultant harvest and disclosure level, the latter being measured by mandatory and voluntary disclosures. The entire population of companies that include one or more agricultural activities in their purposes and are considered reporting companies formed the research sample, giving a total of 259 companies. The findings revealed that both intensity of BA and level of international activities have a positive impact on measurement practices. Audit for the Big Four was the strongest variable influence, the overall disclosure level prescribed by IAS 41, followed by the level of international activities variable. However, the intensity of the BA variable affects only the overall disclosure level for companies that measure their BA based on the cost method. Firm size was found to have no influence on either measurement practices or disclosure level. The key value of this paper is its examination of the role of company characteristics on measurement practices and level of disclosure required by IAS 41 in the context of Jordanian companies. Through this examination, this study is helpful to standards setters and regulators who obligate and issue the financial regulation and reporting standards at a national or international level, supporting their understanding of measurement and disclosure practices adopted in agricultural companies in the developing country context of Jordan. Full article

The research examines the impact of applying the IFRS 17 International Financial Reporting Standard on the development of accounting measurement and disclosure to improve the quality of financial reports when considering compliance with the requirements of applying the IFRS 4 International Financial Reporting Standard for Jordanian insurance companies. Achieving the objective, previous studies were examined which related to the impact of applying the IFRS 17 Financial Reporting Standard on the development of accounting measurement and disclosure for improving the quality of financial reports when considering compliance with the requirements of applying the IFRS 4 International Financial Reporting Standard for Jordanian insurance companies. Moreover, the researcher linked the theoretical aspect to the practical aspect. Therefore, the researcher designed a questioner, distributed, and then analyzed the results obtained from the relevant parties. The study found the need to conduct increased research related to the impact of adopting the IFRS 17 International Financial Reporting Standard in improving the quality of reports and overcoming obstacles such as current laws, professional qualifications of those preparing reports for insurance companies, and the situation of auditors. Including the IFRS 4 and IFRS 17 standards in the content of accounting courses can be beneficial for linking academic study with practical practice in several ways: Real-world application, Industry relevance, Compliance and regulation, Career opportunities, Evolving nature of accounting. The need to adjust accounting practices of the International Financial Reporting Standard IFRS 17 is an important step in the field of insurance activity to improve the quality of financial reporting. Owing to the fact that the standard has been allocated only to insurance activity and not to all economic operations, means the application of the standard is limited to all insurance contracts for the duration of contracts, regardless of the nature of the activity of the entity issuing those contracts. Therefore, the study recommends increasing attention on disclosure and improving accounting methods in relation to IFRS 17; this is considered a major step in the insurance business in order to improve the quality of financial reports. Additionally, relevant information is provided for financial reports and similar; this helps improve the level of transparency and quality of the information presented in the core of the reports. Thus, it enables companies to assess the impact of contracts about the current financial position, financial performance, and cash flow. Full article

Climate-related reporting has become an integral part of firms’ disclosure. In this context, firms’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are of major importance to stakeholders and management. For measuring GHG emissions, a global standard has been established with the GHG Protocol. This standard contains an important accounting policy option that significantly affects firms’ reported emissions by allowing them to use different consolidation approaches: the equity share, operational control, and financial control approach. However, there is limited evidence on firms’ use of these approaches, resulting in a lack of foundation for discussing the approaches’ sufficiency to support achieving environmental sustainability. Therefore, this paper aims to close this research gap by empirically investigating the approaches’ relevance using 16,604 firm-year observations between 2009 and 2019. We demonstrate that the operational control approach is used by most firms and that its predominance substantially increased during the last decade. However, the predominant use of the operational control approach is not fully compatible with societal and political sustainability goals as expressed in recent sustainability regulations. Therefore, policy makers need to critically assess whether current GHG reporting supports achieving their goals. Furthermore, we develop a research agenda to encourage future researchers to contribute to improvements in GHG reporting. Full article

Emissions trading schemes (ETSs) are effective measures that facilitate economic growth and carbon mitigation, especially for developing countries such as China. These schemes can further affect the cash flow, production, and investment decisions of regulated companies. However, few empirical studies have explored how ETSs promote companies’ market value. We systematically evaluate the influence of the carbon emission trading (CET) policy on companies’ market value and explore the influential mechanism. We use the data of listed companies from the Chinese stock “A” markets and employ the difference-in-difference method to account for the unobserved cause of the CET policy regarding companies’ market value. Robust benchmark regression results reveal that the CET policy promotes companies’ market value significantly. The mechanism analysis reveals that the CET policy can improve the market value of listed companies by influencing the carbon price, innovative activities, and carbon disclosure. The results of the heterogeneity analysis show that the CET policy’s impact on companies’ market value is heterogeneous in terms of marketization degree, industry, firm ownership, and different regions. We suggest that the carbon pricing mechanism, degree of market perfection, carbon disclosure policy, and carbon finance should be optimized to improve the efficiency of ETSs. Full article

This study analyzed Chinese companies’ behavior regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure, and its impact on national and regional climate change measured by carbon emissions. CSR disclosure, supported by existing theories, is considered a powerful tool to curb climate change issues. We combined data of companies’ publicly traded annual financial reports and CSR reports from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database and provincial macroeconomic statistics from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics to run panel regressions. The results verify the following: (a) China is in a relatively early stage of CSR development, and Chinese firms’ internal incentives to adopt CSR projects are low since none of the internal factors researched contribute to CSR disclosure. (b) External factors work slightly better for CSR practices, but at the same time, the CSR regulations still need further improvement. (c) The current CSR disclosure practices do not have a clear impact on carbon emission reduction, contrary to some predictions that CSR could help reduce carbon emissions. Full article

CSR Reporting is an essential mechanism for ensuring the transparency and accountability of companies towards sustainability performance. To further promote that sustainable development agenda, CSR-related regulations and policies have emerged worldwide, including in Pakistan. Therefore this study assesses the quality of corporate social responsibility in annual reports issued by firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. This study has operationalized the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles for examining the quality of CSR disclosures. The paper sample comprised 540 annual reports of 90 financial or non-financial companies from the years 2012 to 2017. Content analysis is performed to look for six quality principles and measures, i.e., balance, comparability, accuracy, clarity, reliability, and timeliness. Results suggested that most Pakistani firms provide precise and on-time information and put less emphasis on the balance of information and comparable information. Moreover, this study also highlighted that organizations should implement the GRI principle for disclosing qualitative CSR report. Full article

This paper identifies factors influencing environmental disclosure and environmental performance of the top 100 Fortune Global companies. The analysis identifies whether they follow the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards to gain and maintain legitimacy with relevant stakeholders. Other factors such as sector and region are taken into account, with empirical testing of a model for the relationship between the extent of environmental disclosure (measured by the developed index based on GRI indicators), sector membership, region, and actual environmental performance. Evidence exists that the main factors related to actual environmental performance were the region and level of environmental disclosure. Full article

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is now extensively promoted in the European Union and highly desired by stakeholders. However, from a manager’s point of view, the question of whether or not corporations should conduct CSR activities is controversial because of the accompanying high cost and uncertain benefits. The vast empirical literature appears to be rather inconclusive with respect to the question of whether CSR business engagement creates or destroys financial performance (FP). This study suggests that the inconsistent findings may be due to the use of aggregated CSR measures and a linear approach, as well as the omission of the industry or country context. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide an updated assessment of the relationship between CSR and FP. Based on content analysis, we developed four individual CSR disclosure indices, corresponding to the environmental, human resources, product and customers, and community involvement dimensions, instead of an overall CSR composite score, and we examined their impact on accounting-based measures. We applied both linear and non-linear approaches. Data from Poland’s banking industry for the period 2008–2015 provided the background for this study. Our results confirm the existence of a U-shaped relationship between human resources and FP, and an inverse-U-shaped relationship between FP and community involvement, and FP and product and customers. This study contributes not only to the CSR literature by providing new insights into this relationship between CSR dimensions and FP, but it also offers policy suggestions for both bank managers and government regulators. Full article

Sustainability reporting is becoming more and more widespread among companies aiming at disclosing their contribution to sustainable development and gaining legitimacy from stakeholders. This is more significant for firms operating in a public services’ context and mainly when supplying a fundamental public resource, like water utilities. While the literature on sustainability reporting in the water sector is scant, there is an increasing need to study the usefulness and quality of its sustainability disclosures to adequately inform the stakeholders about the activities of water utilities to protect this fundamental resource and general sustainable development. This article presents a novel assessment framework based on a scoring technique and an empirical analysis on the sustainability reports of Italian water utilities carried out through it. The results highlight a low level of disclosure on the sustainability indicators suggested by the main sustainability reporting guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative, (GRI), and Sustainability Accounting Standard Board, (SASB)); most companies tend to disclose only qualitative information and fail to inform about some material aspects of water management, such as water recycled, network resilience, water sources, and effluent quality. These findings indicate that sustainability reporting is mainly considered as a communication tool, rather than a performance measurement and an accountability tool, but also suggest the need for a new and international industry-specific sustainability reporting standard. Full article