Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the effect of tax avoidance on corporate social responsibility performance. It also investigates whether audit quality affects tax avoidance ...practices by socially responsible performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of French non-financial companies over the period 2005 to 2016, this paper uses panel data regressions. The authors apply generalized least square panel regression to overcome autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity problems. For further robustness, this paper runs instrumental variable regressions using the three-stage instrument variable method (three-stage least square).
Findings
The results show that firms with high CSR scores are more likely to engage in aggressive tax avoidance. The findings also show that firms audited by high-quality auditors are more likely to get involved in CSR for hedging against the potential consequences of aggressive tax avoidance practices.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are consistent with risk management theory, which suggests that firm’s hedge against any reputational risks that might arise from avoiding taxes by engaging more in CSR.
Practical implications
Results have implications for policymakers in that CSR firms audited by high-quality auditors may engage in CSR to overcome any negative reactions that could be caused as a result of tax avoidance. Thus, they need to be cautious about managers’ opportunistic behavior and enhance monitoring to enforce social compliance and to be tax compliant.
Originality/value
This paper extends the existing literature by examining the effect of audit quality on the relationship between CSR performance and corporate tax avoidance. Audit quality is deemed to be an important governance feature that is likely to constraint managerial opportunistic behaviors. Audit quality, along with CSR performance, are associated with a higher level of tax avoidance.
Purpose - This research aims to compare the environmental information that is disclosed in the annual reports of the American and European multinational companies. Eventually, it also aims to try to ...show the factors which explain the differences.Design methodology approach - This paper analyzes the annual reports of 72 multinational companies, thanks to the index developed by Wiseman. The paper then uses regression analysis in order to explain the differences.Findings - The study finds that European multinationals reveal more environmental information than those that are American. Equally, it finds that the nationality of multinational companies seems to have an effect on the level of environmental communication.Research limitations implications - The quantitative data are based on a small sample of multinational companies. However, findings will bring efficient contributions to the other studies dealing with the accounting harmonization.Originality value - The study aims at enriching the debates on this question, comparing the environmental information (obligatory and voluntary) showed by the annual reports of the American and European multinational companies.
Purpose
The COVID-19 outbreak and its confinement resulted in an unexpected stock market crash, hence the interest in environmental, social and governance (hereafter, ESG) policies. This paper aims ...to examine the association between ESG performance and stock market volatility before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examined 500 US companies listed in the S&P 500. The window period volatility refers to March 18, 2020, when the US President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Here, the Thomson Reuters database was used to collect ESG data and daily market information.
Findings
The findings suggest that companies with high ESG performance have lower stock price volatility than companies with poor ESG performance. In other words, strong ESG performance reduces stock price volatility resulting from the COVID-19 shock and promotes resilience and stock price stability.
Practical implications
This research contributes to current debates on emerging pandemics and unexpected risks and highlights the need to invest more in improving corporate sustainability.
Originality/value
The results have substantial implications for managers and investors, as it highlights the relevance of customer and investor loyalty to the durability of ESG stocks.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to study the direct impact of audit quality on environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency. It aimed also to investigate the moderating effect of ...media coverage on the relationship between audit quality and ESG transparency in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of US companies listed in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Index between 2010 and 2019. The Thomson Reuters database was used to collect ESG disclosure scores and governance information. The authors applied multiple panel data regressions.
Findings
The results showed that audit quality has a direct positive effect on ESG transparency. The findings also showed that the high exposure to public media by firms, the more they commit to high audit quality leading to disclose more transparent ESG information.
Research limitations/implications
The results illustrated the significance of an external audit on an organization’s ESG report. Second, improving data quality has significant consequences not only for rating agencies but also for investors, businesses and researchers. These steps are required to increase the information content of ESG ratings.
Originality/value
The findings demonstrated that third-party external verification improves the dependability of nonfinancial reporting, hence bridging the confidence gap between corporations and the market regarding sustainability reporting.
Purpose
This study aims to explore the role of mobile tracing applications as part of e-government services in combating the COVID-19 pandemic effects in Africa by analyzing the moderating role of ...sustainable development. This study also investigated the role of the political and economic systems in mitigating the negative consequences of COVID-19 and how e-government interacts in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study included the COVID-19 performance index for 94 countries belonging to different regions, including 20 African countries. Multiple linear regression was used for data analysis via Stata software. The study was conducted from the start of the pandemic to March 13, 2021.
Findings
The results show that less economically and technologically developed countries with generally authoritarian political systems, including African countries, could limit the spread of the pandemic better than some democratic, economically and technologically developed countries in the first wave of the pandemic. The promotion of sustainable development goals moderates the relationship between mobile tracing applications as part of the e-government service and the fight against COVID-19.
Originality/value
This study provides insight into the role of mobile application technology as an e-governance service in mitigating the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in a context characterized by economic limitations, fragile public health infrastructure and relatively high political instability, especially in Africa. The findings shed light on some of the difficulties African countries may face in incorporating technology into their development projects.
This study examines the effects of implementing the Liternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 15 standard, specifically focusing on "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," on the quality of ...accounting information disclosed in financial reports. In addition, it explores the implications of this standard on investor decision-making in companies that are listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange. A total of 294 questionnaires were administered to the intended recipients, namely the users and preparers of financial reports from companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange, as part of our research methodology. The data were subjected to analysis using the SPSS-AMOS software. The research conducted revealed a notable and favorable influence of accounting disclosure mandates in accordance with IFRS 15 on the decision-making process of investors. The enhancement of disclosure quality in the financial reports of companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange, in accordance with the Liternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 15, has positively impacted investment decision-making pertaining to these companies. The report proposes the implementation of a standardized accounting system and the adherence to Liternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) across
Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of accounting professionals’ Machiavellian behavior and ethical judgments on their intention to report fraudulent acts and also to examine the ...moderating effect of Machiavellianism on the relationship between professionals’ ethical judgments and whistleblowing intention, as well as the mediating effect of personal responsibility, personal costs/benefits and the seriousness of the questionable act on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected via a survey sent to 201 Tunisian accounting professionals and analyzed using the structural equation method. Findings The results indicate that ethical judgments support the whistleblowing intentions among Tunisian accountants. However, this relationship is affected by Machiavellian behavior that minimizes whistleblowing. Furthermore, the results show that Machiavellianism is negatively associated with whistleblowing intention and has an indirect effect on whistleblowing through perceived personal benefit and the seriousness of the questionable act. Originality/value Examining the ethical ideologies that may affect whistleblowing, including Machiavellianism and ethical judgment, in the Tunisian context contributes to the literature on the accounting profession in the Middle East and North Africa. The results of this study could raise awareness among policymakers and regulators in developing countries, particularly in Tunisia, to value whistleblowing as a mechanism for detecting and controlling organizational misconduct and enact regulations that encourage accounting professionals to report fraudulent acts while protecting them.
The voluntary disclosure of the intellectual capital occupies an increasingly important place. Thus, it is important to analyze the structure of the information offered on the intellectual capital to ...understand its management. The author wants to reveal the growing importance of the human capital in increasing the company’s wealth and the impact of the voluntary disclosure on market value. These objectives are completed by the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The results show that the investors have exploited the information that reflects the capacity of knowledge and the experience of the management team to generate future profits.
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