The effect of corporate social responsibility on earnings management and tax avoidance in Chinese listed companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijing Liu ◽  
Hyun-Ah Lee
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Private Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to verify the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on Chinese listed firms’ earnings management and tax avoidance. Specifically, this study investigates whether government-guided CSR implementation indeed drives firms to behave in a responsible manner by constraining earnings management and tax avoidance. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses a sample of Chinese listed companies that are confronted with the unique situation of CSR being developed at a rapid pace by government-led policy and regulation. The study further investigates whether the effect of CSR on earnings management and tax avoidance is different for state-owned and private enterprises by partitioning the sample into these two subgroups. Findings The findings of this study show that government-guided CSR could be effective in reducing the firms’ earnings management and tax avoidance, even though the effect is limited to state-owned enterprises. Originality/value This paper provides new evidence on the relation of CSR with earnings management and tax avoidance in the Chinese context and sheds light on the importance of differentiating between the state-owned and private enterprises when studying the corporate behaviors of Chinese firms.

scholarly journals Does Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Corporate Tax Avoidance of Chinese Listed Companies?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4549 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Gulzar ◽  
Jacob Cherian ◽  
Muhammad Sial ◽  
Alina Badulescu ◽  
Phung Thu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Effective Tax Rate ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

The primary objective of this paper is to empirically examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences corporate tax avoidance (CTA) of Chinese listed companies. The study is based on a sample of 3481 firm-year observations from 2009 to 2015 using CSR ratings from the Rankins (RKS) corporate social responsibility ratings agency in China, and all financial data extracted from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR). The authors foundthat CSR is negatively related to the current and cash effective tax rate (proxies of corporate tax avoidance), suggesting that responsible firms are more involved in tax avoidance as compared to less responsible firms. Their findings are robust against different control variables. Additionally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is one of the first to document an empirical association between CSR and corporate tax avoidance of Chinese listed companies.

Corporate social responsibility information disclosure objective or not

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-539
Author(s):  
Zhao Duan ◽  
Yajuan He ◽  
Yuan Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Text Mining ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Based on the text mining tools, this paper aims to propose a new method to evaluate the subjectivity and objectivity of corporate social responsibility information disclosure. Design/methodology/approach The authors build up a text subjectivity evaluation model of corporate social responsibility reports through meta-analysis; a text mining is conducted to all sample CSR reports released by Chinese listed companies untill March 2016[1]. Furthermore, the authors made an overall and quantitative analysis of the situation which contained changing state, characteristics and abnormal value on the subjectivity and objectivity of information disclosure. Findings The results show that the subjectivity scores of social responsibility reports of Chinese listed companies are generally in a normal distribution. The diagram turns out to be a rising trend over the years and increases linearly from 2011 to 2013. Also, the industry heterogeneity and policy control are the main reasons for the formation of the differences, which are significant between different industries and different years. Originality/value This paper provides not only an important empirical basis for the research of corporate social responsibility but also a new idea for the non-financial information disclosure as well as objective evaluation of normative text.

Do female and independent directors explain the two-way relationship between corporate social responsibility and earnings management of Chinese listed firms?

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Safdar Sial ◽  
Zheng Chunmei ◽  
Nguyen Vinh Khuong
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose This study aims to explore the possibility of a two-way relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (accruals and real EM) with the moderating role of female and independent directors. Design/methodology/approach The authors use STATA to test the generalized method of moments on a sample of Chinese listed firms data over the period 2009-2015. The unbalanced sample obtained 3,481 observations from China stock market and accounting research database and CSR rating provided by Rankins. Findings The results indicate a significant negative relationship between two-way CSR and accrual-based EM. Moreover, female and independent directors moderate the two-way relationship between CSR and EM. Research limitations/implications The present study does not include all financial, insurance and investment firms to impact on CSR and EM. Further research might consist of family ownership to enhance the evidence for an emerging market. Originality/value This study primarily contributes to the literature on CSR, female and independent directors, and EM by providing evidence for the moderating role of female and independent directors on the two-way association between CSR and EM.

scholarly journals ARE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACTIVE FIRMS LESS INVOLVED IN EARNINGS MANAGEMENT? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 504-516
Author(s):  
Oleh Pasko ◽  
Fuli Chen ◽  
Nelia Proskurina ◽  
Rong Mao ◽  
Viktoriia Gryn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Earning Management ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

This paper investigates whether corporate social responsibility active (CSR active) firms operate dissimilarly from other firms in their financial reporting. Specifically, we examine whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) attitude of a firm sways its reporting incentives, in respect of the extent of earning management. To test our predictions, we use a sample of 25,861 year-company observations, corresponding to 3538 Chinese listed companies, for the period 2009–2019. We find a significant positive association between CSR activity and earning management assessed by the level of discretionary accruals in Chinese listed companies. Moreover, we document that Chinese CSR active firms engage more in earnings management through discretionary accruals than CSR inactive firms. These findings are consistent with the opportunistic financial reporting hypothesis: advances in CSR used by managers to safeguard their position by evading scrutiny from stakeholder activists. This study contributes to the growing awareness among investors, stakeholders and researchers that we should distinguish between CSR active firms and socially responsible firms and that being the latter entail something more than just mechanically produce CSR reports.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Outbreak and Financial Performance of Chinese Listed Firms: Evidence From Corporate Culture and Corporate Social Responsibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunpeng Sun ◽  
Ying Li
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

This research described Chinese listed firms' COVID-19 Outbreak and financial performance using corporate culture (CC) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) evidence. The epidemic's impact on Chinese companies' profits was much less than the impact on their sales growth rates. Although the COVID-19 has had a more significant negative impact on the financial performance of Chinese listed companies in sectors that are more severely impacted, such as travel and entertainment, we believe that the financial performance of the medical industry has improved as a result of the outbreak. Meanwhile, Chinese listed companies in high-risk areas experience more significant financial losses during the epidemic, and the Hubei impact is hefty weight. Corporate social responsibility moderated the inverse relationship between this epidemic and Chinese firms' economic success. This research enhances the current literature on the effects of the COVID-19 on financial success and practical, realistic, and theoretical consequences in companies worldwide.

Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in the EU: a panel data analysis approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Eu

Purpose Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions. Findings Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality. Practical implications Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports. Social implications Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information. Originality/value This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.

Top management team heterogeneity, corporate social responsibility and firm risk: an emerging country perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hassan Shakil ◽  
Nor Shaipah Abdul Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Top Management Team ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Total Risk ◽  
Firm Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the firm risk of Bursa Malaysia listed firms. Also, this study examines the moderating effect of CSR between TMT heterogeneity and firm risk. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel regression models to test the hypotheses. The sample of this study is Bursa Malaysia non-financial listed firms from 2013 to 2017 with 3,055 observations. Findings This study finds significant effects of TMT age and tenure heterogeneities on total risk. Effects on idiosyncratic risk are evident only within age heterogeneity. Further, this study finds negative effects of CSR on total and idiosyncratic risks. CSR significantly moderates the relationship between total TMT heterogeneity and firm systematic risk. Practical implications This study reduces the literature gap by providing useful insights on the effects of CSR activities and TMT heterogeneity on firm risk. The findings can also provide hints to investors to assist them in assessing firm risk based on TMT heterogeneity and firms’ CSR. This study can also benefit shareholders in their attempts to mitigate the risk of their portfolio by investing in firms that are socially responsible as firms with high CSR suffer lower total and idiosyncratic risks. Originality/value Previous studies have emphasised on the influence of TMT characteristics and CSR on firm performance. However, studies that investigate the effects of TMT heterogeneity and CSR on firm risk are limited in the context of Malaysia.

Relationship between corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance: international evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Country Level ◽  
International Setting ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Statutory Tax Rate ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance as well as how CSR and country-level governance interplay in affecting tax avoidance in an international setting. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an empirical work using listed companies from 35 countries and relying on several proxies for corporate tax avoidance activities including the difference between the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate, the book-tax difference and the residual book-tax difference. Findings This study finds strong evidence that CSR is positively related to tax avoidance. It also finds that in countries with weak country-level governance, firms with higher CSR scores engage in less tax avoidance, implying that CSR and country-level governance are substitutes. Originality/value This paper is the first study that examines the relationship between CSR and tax avoidance in an international setting with different legal and institutional environment.

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