scholarly journals Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure and Its Consequences on the Sustainability Reporting Quality of Italian and German Companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Mion ◽  
Cristian R. Loza Adaui
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Nonfinancial Information ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
The Law ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
One Year ◽  
Nonfinancial Disclosure

Companies disclosing nonfinancial information through sustainability reporting practices provide markets with data on their social, environmental, and governance performance. The quality of sustainability reporting is much discussed in the literature because this quality affects factors such as the credibility of accountability and building stakeholders’ trust in the company. Nonetheless, the concept of quality is multidimensional, and empirical evidence relating to the quality of sustainability reporting presents different findings. Regulations on mandatory nonfinancial disclosure (NFD) open new perspectives for research on sustainability reporting quality (SRQ). This study explored the effect of introducing mandatory NFD on SRQ by focusing on the effects of new legislation (Directive 2014/95/EU) introduced in Italy and Germany. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of Italian and German companies in the top lists of stock exchanges. Sustainability reporting practices of one year before (2016) and one year after (2017) the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU were compared. The results of 132 observations demonstrated that the quality of sustainability reporting increased after implementation of the law on mandatory NFD. Further, the effect of the law seemed to reduce the differences in SRQ of the two countries before the introduction of mandatory NFD. The results suggested that obligatoriness of NFD affects SRQ together with other relevant determinants focused on by previous research (e.g., company size and industry type).

scholarly journals Sustainability Reporting Quality of Peruvian Listed Companies and the Impact of Regulatory Requirements of Sustainability Disclosures

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian R. Loza Adaui
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Sustainability Disclosure ◽  
The Impact

Regulations establishing mandatory sustainability reporting practices are proliferating around the world. The empirical evidence comparing sustainability reporting quality (SRQ) in the context of mandatory and voluntary institutional frameworks does not show consensus. Similarly, this occurs with studies addressing the effects of regulatory shocks on SRQ. Moreover, empirical evidence addressing SRQ in Latin American countries is scarce. To fill this gap, this study aims to explore the consequences of introducing new regulatory requirements for sustainability disclosure on SRQ of Peruvian companies. To reach that goal, 81 sustainability disclosure documents published between 2014 and 2016 by 27 companies included in the S&P/BVL Peru General Index of Lima’s Stock Exchange were analyzed using qualitative content analysis methods and adopting a multidimensional approach for SRQ evaluation. The findings show a constant improvement of SRQ regardless of the introduction of the new regulatory requirements. Furthermore, after the entry into force of new sustainability reporting obligations, the number of companies providing third-party independent assurance of the information contained in their sustainability disclosure documents decreases, suggesting that for the Peruvian case, regulatory requirements tend to discourage companies to invest in the credibility of their sustainability disclosure documents, and promote a symbolic application of sustainability disclosure standards.

scholarly journals Hypocrisy and legitimacy in the aftermath of a scandal: an experimental study of stakeholder perceptions of nonfinancial disclosure

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 151-163
Author(s):  
Marco Bellucci ◽  
Diletta Acuti ◽  
Lorenzo Simoni ◽  
Giacomo Manetti
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Reporting Behaviors ◽  
Main Paper ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Nonfinancial Disclosure

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how stakeholders perceive the company's nonfinancial disclosure after a scandal has occurred. More specifically, the authors examine whether and how sustainability reporting practices in the aftermath of a scandal can influence the perceptions of stakeholders in terms of hypocrisy and legitimacy.Design/methodology/approachThe present research represents a companion paper to another study in this issue that investigates the adaptation of companies' reporting behaviors after a scandal. The results of the initial qualitative study informed the subsequent quantitative study developed in this article. The authors build on the evidence of the main paper and perform a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment to examine how stakeholders perceive the actions of companies that aim to restore their eroded legitimacy through social, environmental and sustainability (SES) reporting.FindingsThe results suggest that when companies take responsibility and develop remedial, socially responsible corporate activities are perceived as less hypocritical and more legitimate. Moreover, we show an interaction effect between taking responsibility and developing remedial socially responsible actions on hypocrisy and legitimacy perception.Originality/valueThe present research takes advantage of an experimental design to investigate the effects of the adaptation of SES reporting from the perspective of stakeholders. The study provides insightful theoretical and practical implications for managers regarding how to handle a reputational loss and avoid perceptions of hypocrisy.

The Development of Accounting and Financial Reporting Practices in Sri Lanka: An Exploratory Investigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (02) ◽  
pp. 1950008
Author(s):  
Jayasinghe Hewa Dulige ◽  
Nadana Abayadeera ◽  
Muhammad Jahangir Ali ◽  
Paul Mather
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Exploratory Investigation ◽  
Chartered Accountants

In this paper, we examine the factors that influence the development of accounting and reporting practices in Sri Lanka in the backdrop of its political and economic environment. We find that the early days of accounting in Sri Lanka were heavily influenced by the British colonial system. Subsequently, its greatest influence was derived from the regulatory and institutional framework backed by local and British professional accounting bodies. We also interview key stakeholders to draw insights on how the institutional factors contribute to the development of financial reporting in Sri Lanka. We discover that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) is a key player in developing and implementing accounting standards and the best financial reporting practices. We observe that although the Sri Lankan Government has undertaken many initiatives to improve the quality of financial reporting, monitoring and enforcing regulations remain weak partly due to political interference. Therefore, we suggest that strengthening the existing regulatory mechanisms will help to improve the reporting quality and build investor confidence.

Determinants of GRI-based sustainability reporting: evidence from an emerging economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurlan Orazalin ◽  
Monowar Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Publicly Traded Companies ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Sustainability Performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and determinants of sustainability performance disclosures reported by publicly traded companies in Kazakhstan by using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Among the different possible determinants, stand-alone sustainability reporting (SR), reporting language, leverage, cash flow capacity, profitability, size, age and auditor type were selected to investigate their impacts on the quality and scope of sustainability information. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes data from publicly traded companies at the Kazakhstani Stock Exchange for the years 2013–2015. To investigate the extent, nature and quality of sustainability reports, the study measures and analyzes economic, environmental and social performance parameters, as suggested in the GRI guidelines. Findings The results indicate that determinants such as stand-alone reporting, reporting language, firm profitability, firm size and auditor type substantially influence the extent, nature and quality of sustainability-reporting practices of Kazakhstani companies. Practical implications The findings of the study suggest that managers, practitioners, regulators and policy makers in emerging economies should adopt the GRI guidelines to report sustainability performance disclosures and focus on specific factors to improve the quality of sustainability disclosures. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies to investigate the extent, nature and possible determinants of corporate SR in central Asian-emerging economies.

Environmental Reporting Quality

2016 ◽  
pp. 625-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akrum Helfaya ◽  
Amr Kotb
Keyword(s):  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
Global Initiatives

The ultimate question of most business practitioners and policy makers now is how to reduce corporate negative environmental performance. One of the most effective ways is to help corporations to set the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of their sustainability performance and to report these KPIs to their stakeholders using corporate reporting cycle. To improve the environmental reporting quality, companies generally adopt and follow widely recognized reporting guidelines and third-party assurance standards, thus improving their environmental disclosure quality and trustworthiness in minds of their stakeholders. Over the last two decades a number of global initiatives (e.g. GRI, ISO, DEFRA, AA1000 APS, and ISAE 3000) have been developed for use in sustainability reporting. This chapter, therefore, aims to shed light on these credibility initiatives developed by governmental and non-governmental bodies to improve the quality of environmental reporting and to see the extent to which these credibility initiatives are different or similar.

Sustainability reports in Brazil through the lens of signaling, legitimacy and stakeholder theories

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Yuh Ching ◽  
Fábio Gerab
Keyword(s):  
Information Asymmetry ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Dimension ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the applicability of stakeholder, legitimacy and signaling theories by examining to what extent proactive corporate social responsibility disclosures are interrelated to attempt to gain and maintain legitimacy, to gain support of the stakeholders and to reduce information asymmetry. Design/methodology/approach To test the theoretical arguments, a longitudinal approach over a five-year period of 145 companies’ sustainability reports and statistical analysis was applied to investigate the evolution of their quality. Findings The results show a significant increase in the quality of sustainability reporting, and the experience gained while writing these reports can contribute to this. Based on signaling and legitimacy theories, this paper suggests that improvement in sustainability reporting quality acts as an important signal to gain legitimacy in case of information asymmetry during the legitimacy process. Th disclosure for economic and social dimensions is better than that of the environmental dimension, and the improvement in quality over time is the because of synergies and interlinkages more between these two dimensions of sustainability, and to a lesser extent because of the environmental dimension. Practical implications Firms should view investing in sustainability reporting disclosure as a strategy for obtaining business legitimacy. Originality/value The results of this paper are of interest for several reasons: extend and broaden the use of signaling in studying its use on sustainability reporting; the use of three theories is an appropriate framework for empirical analysis of sustainability reporting disclosure quality in Brazil; and add to the scarce evidence of sustainability reporting in Brazil.

scholarly journals A Reporting Quality Assessment of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses in Sports Physical Therapy: A Review of Reviews

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1368
Author(s):  
Sung-Hyoun Cho ◽  
In-Soo Shin
Keyword(s):  
Physical Therapy ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Review Of Reviews ◽  
Meta Analyses

This review of reviews aimed to evaluate the reporting quality of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the field of sports physical therapy using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. This review of reviews included a literature search; in total, 2047 studies published between January 2015 and December 2020 in the top three journals related to sports physical therapy were screened. Among the 125 identified articles, 47 studies on sports physical therapy were included in the analysis (2 systematic reviews and 45 meta-analyses). There were several problems areas, including a lack of reporting for key components of the structured summary (10/47, 21.3%), protocol and registration (18/47, 38.3%), risk of bias in individual studies (28/47, 59.6%), risk of bias across studies (24/47, 51.1%), effect size and variance calculations (5/47, 10.6%), additional analyses (25/47, 53.2%), and funding (10/47, 21.3%). The quality of the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies on sports physical therapy was low to moderate. For better evidence-based practice in sports physical therapy, both authors and readers should examine assumptions in more detail, and report valid and adequate results. The PRISMA guideline should be used more extensively to improve reporting practices in sports physical therapy.

scholarly journals Statistical Significance Testing at CHI PLAY: Challenges and Opportunities for More Transparency

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Benjamin Vornhagen ◽  
April Tyack ◽  
Elisa D Mekler
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Significance Testing ◽  
Statistical Significance Testing ◽  
Questionable Research Practices ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Statistical Hypotheses

Statistical Significance Testing -- or Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) -- is common to quantitative CHI PLAY research. Drawing from recent work in HCI and psychology promoting transparent statistics and the reduction of questionable research practices, we systematically review the reporting quality of 119 CHI PLAY papers using NHST (data and analysis plan at https://osf.io/4mcbn/. We find that over half of these papers employ NHST without specific statistical hypotheses or research questions, which may risk the proliferation of false positive findings. Moreover, we observe inconsistencies in the reporting of sample sizes and statistical tests. These issues reflect fundamental incompatibilities between NHST and the frequently exploratory work common to CHI PLAY. We discuss the complementary roles of exploratory and confirmatory research, and provide a template for more transparent research and reporting practices.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Measurement for Sustainability Reporting Quality: Principles-Based Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Paulina Permatasari ◽  
Juniati Gunawan ◽  
Magdi El-Bannany
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Quality Principles ◽  
Quality Of Reports ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Comprehensive Measurement

This study presents a comprehensive approach to measure sustainability reporting quality (SRQ) and examines levels of SRQ. It was then used to measure SRQ in Indonesia. Based on reporting guidelines, the new comprehensive measurement for SRQ was developed by not only evaluating the extent of disclosures, but also by examining the quality. The content analysis was conducted to measure the level of SRQ using this comprehensive measurement. The samples are from stand-alone sustainability reports of companies. The results indicate that the overall score for SRQ was moderate. The score was derived using five aspects: the extent of quantitative reporting, the extent of qualitative reporting, the content of the report, the quality of the report, and sustainability reporting accordance. This proposed comprehensive SRQ measurement was used to examine the quantitative and qualitative aspects. This measurement will help academicians to examine the quality of reports and provide more credible assessments that can be used by practitioners to analyze the content of the report. Applying the SRQ measure to Indonesian companies empirically enriches the existing literature and creates a new platform for future studies. 

Corporate governance and sustainability reporting quality: evidence from Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olayinka Erin ◽  
Alex Adegboye ◽  
Omololu Adex Bamigboye
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Board Governance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between corporate governance and sustainability reporting quality of listed firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The authors measure corporate governance using board governance variables (board size, board independence, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting). The authors measured sustainability reporting quality using a scoring system, which ranges between 0 and 4. The highest score is achieved when sustainability reporting is independently assured by an audit firm. The lowest score refers to the absence of sustainability reporting. The study emphasizes 120 listed firms on Nigeria Stock Exchange using the ordered logistic regression technique. Findings The results indicate that board governance variables (board size, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting) are significantly associated with sustainability reporting quality. Additional analysis reveals that external assurance contributes to the quality of sustainability reporting through corporate governance characteristics. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to a single country. Future studies should consider a cross-country study, which may help to establish a comparative analysis. Likewise, the future study could consider other regression techniques using a continuous measurement of the global reporting initiative in measuring sustainability reporting quality. Practical implications This study’s findings have important implications for policymakers and practitioners, especially the corporate executives and top management. Companies are encouraged to restructure their board to enhance better monitoring and support towards better sustainability reporting. Social implications Disclosure on sustainability reporting helps corporate organizations advance the issues of sustainability both nationally and globally. Originality/value This current study adds to accounting literature by examining how corporate governance contributes to sustainability reporting practices within the Nigerian context. Drawing from the result, the study provides strong interconnectivity between the corporate board and audit committee in driving sustainability reporting quality within an organizational context.

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