Corporate social responsibility disclosures and reputation risk management post the banking royal commission: a study of the big four banks

Purpose This study aims to explore the use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures by the “Big Four” Australian banks post the banking royal commission (BRC) to manage their reputational risk. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach through a thematic analysis of the Big Four banks’ annual and sustainability reports and uses reputation risk management (RRM) as a conceptual lens to explore the image restoration strategies used by these banks. Findings The study finds that a corrective action strategy was disclosed extensively by all four banks whereby each bank outlined the actions that they were undertaking to correct the deficiencies identified by the BRC. However, the impact of these proposed actions was tampered by the fact that each bank sought to use strategies to reduce the offensiveness of their misdemeanours. It is argued that while disclosure on corrective actions and compensation is useful, an emphasis on reducing offensiveness of actions impacts the effectiveness of banks’ responses and their acceptance of full responsibility for their actions. Research limitations/implications This paper applies the RRM perspective to a recent reputation damaging event, thereby expanding the literature on image restoration strategies used by companies during major incidents. Practical implications This study provides useful insights in relation to the approaches used to manage the reputational risk arising from the BRC. It provides insights into the credibility of information disclosed post an incident and has potential implications for the assurance of such information. Social implications Given the critical importance of the banking industry to modern society, misconduct in this sector needs a closer examination, requiring a greater need for responsibility from its key players. Originality/value This study extends the applicability of the RRM perspective to a social incident and highlights that it is reputation, rather than legitimacy, that is critical when organisations in an industry face extensive public scrutiny. A thematic analysis approach adds value to the methods used for analysing CSR disclosures.

The effect of the financial crisis on audit quality: European evidence

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the recent financial crisis on audit quality by analysing discretionary accruals. Design/methodology/approach This study considers a sample of German, French, Italian and Spanish non-financial firms from 2005 to 2013 to investigate the auditor’s independence. It uses a cross-sectional and time-series ordinary least squares regression model to control for other predictors of the auditor’s independence when the financial crisis produces a decrease in audit quality. Findings The proportion of the non-financial firms having lower audit quality was higher during the financial crisis. In addition, during the crisis auditors were less likely to provide a higher audit quality for these non-financial firms. The level of audit quality returned to normal levels during the post-crisis years when the crisis had ceased. Originality/value These findings contribute to the literature on the impact of economic and financial changes on audit quality. In addition, this research finds that the Big Four accounting firms provide a higher audit quality in different circumstances from non-Big Four accounting firms, and that audit quality decreased during the crisis and returned to normal in the post-crisis period.

¿Influyen los auditores en la agresividad fiscal de sus clientes? Evidencia empírica en las compañías españolas no cotizadas

The purpose of our study was to carry out an empirical test of the extent to which auditors have an influence on the tax practices of the audited firm. Based on a wide sample of Spanish non-listed companies for the period 2009-2017, we have obtained consistent empirical evidence revealing that the choice of a high-quality auditor has a significant impact on the tax planning strategy of the firm. Companies show a greater tax planning aggressiveness when they are audited by one of the Big Four. Notwithstanding, leverage and the existence of tax credits are factors mitigating that aggressiveness. Moreover, abnormally higher audit fees do not seem to be an incentive for the auditor to cooperate in the tax strategies of the audited company. Our results are robust and remain unaltered after adjusting for the potential heterogeneity inherent to auditor’s choice and using alternative variable specifications. Nuestro estudio tiene por objeto verificar empíricamente en qué medida los auditores influyen en las prácticas fiscales de sus clientes. Tomando una amplia muestra representativa de compañías españolas no cotizadas para el periodo comprendido entre 2009 y 2017, hemos documentado resultados empíricos que dejan constancia de que la elección de un auditor de calidad induce un significativo impacto en las estrategias de planificación fiscal de las empresas, que muestran una mayor agresividad tributaria cuando son auditadas por una Big Four. No obstante esta evidencia, el endeudamiento y la presencia de créditos fiscales pendientes de aprovechamiento se erigen como factores mitigantes de esta conducta. Además, la percepción por el auditor de un nivel de honorarios anormalmente elevados no parece generar incentivos para cooperar en las estrategias fiscales de la compañía auditada. Los resultados que hemos documentado son robustos y se mantienen inalterados tras corregir la posible endogeneidad inherente a la elección del auditor y ensayar con especificaciones alternativas de variables.

Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e Adesão aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável

O objetivo do estudo é avaliar o efeito conjunto dos fatores endógenos e do desempenho em Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC) na adesão das empresas aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS), no âmbito internacional. Realizou-se pesquisa explicativa, documental e quantitativa, com análise descritiva e por meio de oito modelos de regressão logística binária. Foram analisadas 2.786 empresas de capital aberto listadas nos países do G-20, que publicaram seus relatórios de sustentabilidade no ano de 2018, das quais 300 aderiram aos ODS. Os resultados indicam que o desempenho em RSC influencia positivamente a adesão das empresas aos ODS. Ademais, quanto aos fatores endógenos analisados, o tamanho da empresa e o crescimento de vendas demonstraram influência sobre a adesão aos ODS, de forma positiva e negativa, respectivamente. Complementarmente, conclui-se que a RSC modera positivamente a relação entre auditoria big four e adesão aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável. O estudo fornece insights das implicações do desempenho em RSC na adesão das empresas aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável em âmbito internacional.

EFEITO DA GOVERNANÇA CORPORATIVA NA RELAÇÃO DO DESEMPENHO FINANCEIRO E DO OPORTUNISMO GERENCIAL COM AS PERDAS DO GOODWILL

O estudo objetivou verificar o efeito do monitoramento da governança corporativa na relação do desempenho financeiro e do oportunismo gerencial com as perdas do goodwill. A amostra foi composta por 173 companhias listadas na B3 com goodwill no período de 2012 a 2017. A variável que captou a existência de perdas no valor recuperável do goodwill foi evidenciada pela dummy igual a 1. Em seguida, foi identificada a magnitude das perdas do goodwill em relação ao ativo total das empresas. Os indicadores de desempenho foram: crescimento das vendas, variação do fluxo de caixa operacional, rentabilidade dos ativos e market-to-book. Quanto ao oportunismo gerencial, as variáveis foram: endividamento, tamanho da empresa, primeiro ano de mandato do CEO e último ano de mandato do CEO. O indicador de governança corporativa foi construído pelo conjunto de quatro características: maioria de membros independentes no conselho de administração; não dualidade entre os cargos de diretor-presidente e presidente do conselho de administração; auditoria por firma big four; e, existência do comitê de auditoria. Os resultados apontaram que 9,83% das empresas que possuíam goodwill, reconheceram perdas no valor recuperável. O setor de petróleo, gás e biocombustíveis possuía o maior percentual médio de magnitude nas perdas do goodwill. Os resultados sugerem também que a existência e a magnitude das perdas do goodwill estavam associadas ao desempenho financeiro e não ao oportunismo gerencial. Por fim, os resultados indicaram ainda que a governança desempenha um papel de monitoramento na relação entre o desempenho financeiro e as perdas do goodwill.

The interplay between global accounting firms and national institutional contexts: The establishment of the Big Four in China from 1978 to 2007

This paper provides an analysis of the establishment of global accounting firms (the ‘Big Four’) in China between 1978 and 2007. Drawing on the extant literature on professional service firms, and the work of Faulconbridge and Muzio (2015) , this paper examines how the Big Four entered China following the country's ‘Reform and Opening-up’ and evolved from tentative representative offices to established accounting firms in the Chinese audit market. Based on an extensive analysis of archival materials and interviews, the findings of this paper show that the Big Four's establishment in China has been deeply intertwined with the country's socio-political and economic transition. It reveals important conjunctural moments in history that have provided the Big Four with important windows of opportunity to actively shape local institutional change to their own interests. This paper contributes to the extant accounting literature on the expansion of the Big Four in China by highlighting the interplay between their surrounding institutional context and their capacity for agency.

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR ACCOUNTING OF THE FUTURE

Disruptive technologies in accounting represent a new evolutionary phase of accounting impacted by emerging technologies that are part of industrial revolution 4.0. The relevance of emerging technologies, their potential and the opportunities they offer for the accounting profession attract both academia and professionals with accelerated research efforts. Academia and scientific researchers must research and provide an appropriate theoretical basis to help practitioners better adapt and increase their awareness and trust in technology. This paper provides early quantitative research data on publication trends related to most disruptive technologies in accounting such as big data, data analytics, cloud, artificial intelligence and blockchain. We identified these five emerging technologies through literature review and elaborated in detail how they can change and advance the accounting profession. The research was conducted using bibliometric analysis to examine the level of coverage of each of the technologies in the period from 2016 to 2020 by analyzing the published articles by the Big Four accounting firms, professional accounting associations and institutions and high-ranking academic journals. The purpose of the research was to identify a potential gap in research preferences related to selected technologies between academia and development professionals and experts in the field. The findings highlight that there are no significant discrepancies or different views of academia and practitioners. It is a positive result indicating that academia and scientific researchers exploit in the same direction as practitioners, thus providing support for adaptation and alignment to technology trends.