Determinants of voluntary CSR disclosure: empirical evidence from Germany

Currently, companies spend a great deal of effort on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures. CSR disclosure relates to the provision of information on companies’ environmental and social performance. From an economic perspective, companies might disclose this information to avoid or decrease potential political costs. We construct a CSR disclosure index based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Using content analysis, we analyze 130 listed German companies’ CSR disclosures (470 firm-year observations) to investigate the determinants of these voluntary disclosure activities. Our results show that, consistent with the political cost theory, German companies’ disclosures of all CSR issues are affected by their visibility, shareholder structure, and relationship with their US stakeholders. In addition, higher profitability is associated with more environmental disclosures. Finally, size and industry membership affect the amount of CSR disclosure.     

Corporate social responsibility disclosure and market valuation: evidence from Spanish listed firms

Using a sample of listed Spanish companies pertaining to the IBEX35 index for the period 2007–2011, this paper examines whether those firms with higher CSR disclosure ratings are more valued by market participants. This study also complements the literature addressing the value relevance of CSR disclosure by further analyzing not only the direct effects of CSR reporting on stock prices but also its indirect effects through its interaction with main accounting variables (i.e., earnings and book value of equity). CSR reports can also affect stock price indirectly because the sustainability report may be perceived by investors to be a source of further and complementary information regarding the nature, composition and trends of the traditional value-relevant accounting variables. Finally, this study also analyzes whether CSR disclosure by firms operating in environmentally-sensitive industries is assessed differently by market participants than CSR disclosure by companies operating in other industries. By using a modified Ohlson (Contemp Account Res 1:661–687, 1995) model, it is found that CSR disclosure do have both a direct and indirect effect on stock prices by modifying the value-relevance of earnings and book value of equity. Moreover, CSR disclosure by companies operating in environmentally-sensitive industries is associated with higher market valuations than CSR disclosure by companies operating in nonsensitive industries. This may be due to the fact that CSR disclosures provide information that allow investors to make better assessments of the increased risk related to potential litigation and future environmental liabilities, thereby reducing information asymmetries and the risk of adverse selection.     

关联方关系及其交易的信息披露问题

上市公司关联方关系及其交易一直是证券市场关注的热点问题,对这一事项的信息披露是财务报表附注中的一项重要内容.因为关联方关系及其交易不同于-般的公司间关系及交易,有其自身独具的特点,因而成为投资者决策的一条主要依据.从中报和年报的总体来看,大部分上市公司能够比较客观、清楚地披露该项事宜,但仍然有一些上市公司不能按照准则要求去做,在信息披露中暴露出一些问题.因此,不论关联方关系及其交易的信息披露还是关联交易本身都有待于进一步规范.     

公司治理结构信息披露:若干发现

本文以 “ 公司治理结构 ” 定性信息披露为观察对象,通过认真阅读 2001 年度 1160 家上市公司的公司治理结构信息披露的文本,我们发现上市公司治理结构信息披露总体上存在 “ 表述操纵 ” 的特征主要表现为:华而不实、 文字游戏、避重就轻、虚假披露等现象。     

Enhancing the Quality of Reporting in Corporate Social Responsibility Guidance Documents: The Roles of ISO 26000, Global Reporting Initiative and CSR‐Sustainability Monitor

The intent of this article is to review the phenomenal growth of Corporate Social Responsibility reports published by large corporations around the world. The reports provide companies with an opportunity to inform large segments of society about the impacts of their business operations on the environmental, socio‐political, and governmental (regulatory) aspects of a society. The mostly voluntary nature of these reports, however, places the burden on the corporations creating them to (a) provide an adequate amount of information, (b) cover all the major issues that are relevant to the company and industry, and (c) provide measures of assurance as to the accuracy of information. In this article, we compare and examine three institutional approaches that have played an important role toward improving the quality and consistency of these reports. The institutions involved are ISO 26000, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)‐Sustainability Monitor. We intend to show their different approaches to guiding CSR reporting, and assess their relative strengths and limitations.     

碳税制度下企业产品升级及信息披露策略研究

在实行碳税制度的背景下,本文构建了包含两家制造商的双寡头模型,以其中一家制造商是否投资产品升级减排作为关键信息,分别研究信息不公开(模型1)和信息公开(模型2)时两家制造商的均衡定价与最优利润以及制造商产品升级的条件,并且进一步研究当制造商同时掌握技术决策权和信息披露权时选择四种不同决策方案的条件。理论结果表明,如果升级后单位实际生产成本变大,制造商选择不升级且不公开;如果升级后单位实际成本变小,当升级后利润增值大于固定成本投入时,制造商选择升级并不公开,反之,选择不升级并公开。无论升级前后单位实际成本大小关系如何,制造商都不会选择升级且公开信息。数值试验部分表明,当制造商同时掌握技术选择权和信息披露权时,碳税是驱动制造商进行升级减排的主要因素,随着碳税的提高,制造商会依次从不升级不公开,不升级公开到升级不公开做决策。当不升级的概率越大时,制造商会在较低的碳税点越早开始升级;当减排努力越大时,制造商会在较高的碳税点才开始升级。     

Corporate social responsibility recognition and support for the arts: Evidence from European financial institutions

This research investigates whether financial institutions that have gained a good reputation in relation to their CSR activities also engage in significant corporate support for the arts (CSA). Using a sample composed of the 42 largest listed European financial institutions, data from 2004 to 2013 (i.e., 420 firm-year observations) and manually collected CSA disclosure information, our findings indicate that entities rewarded for their CSR initiatives are also those that engage in significant CSA. We also find that CSA disclosure reported in the social reports of financial institutions is a predictor for the attainment of a CSR award, whereas that reported in annual reports is not. Our findings suggest that annual and social reports have a different informative relevance, at least in relation to CSR initiatives in the form of CSA, for the stakeholders of financial institutions. Thus, our results provide useful insights for companies’ communication strategies showing, for example, that social reports are the best channel to communicate about CSA.     

企业社会责任、媒体报道与股价崩盘风险

理论上企业披露社会责任信息既可能抑制股价崩盘风险,亦可能加剧股价崩盘风险;新闻媒体作为社会责任披露的重要载体在其中既可能弱化也可能强化这种影响,对这些问题的探讨是近年来公司金融领域研究的热点,但学者对当前的研究结果尚存在较多争论。鉴于此,本文首先在理论上导出社会责任披露对股价崩盘风险的双向作用机制,然后引入新闻媒体研究其可能的传导途径。基于我国A股市场所有上市公司2010-2018年面板数据的研究结果显示：上市公司通过披露企业社会责任指数能够显著降低股价崩盘风险;企业履行社会责任会显著增加媒体报道的数量,而媒体报道数量增加能够显著抑制股价崩盘风险,即媒体报道在企业社会责任影响股价崩盘风险的过程中起到中介作用;进一步的拓展研究发现：企业社会责任指数中的股东责任对股价崩盘风险影响最大,而供应商、客户和消费者权益、社会责任的影响不显著;与中性媒体报道相比,正面媒体报道和负面媒体报道的中介作用效果更强。     

内部控制鉴证报告的信号失灵和甄别——一个本土化的实证研究

本文从内部控制的三个关键点——内部控制实施、评价和审计师鉴证——分析了内部控制鉴证报告的信号失灵原因和甄别工具,采用我国上市公司数据进行检验并发现,公司披露鉴证报告与否和会计信息质量无关,但披露高质量(声誉)审计师签署的鉴证报告,公司的操控性应计更低,会计信息质量更高。研究结果表明,内部控制鉴证报告作为传递内部控制信息的二次信号是失灵的,而审计师质量具有信号甄别的作用。本文结论不仅有助于公司制定有效的内部控制信息披露策略,还为内部控制信息市场的监管导向决策提供依据。     

媒体关注下的CSR信息披露与企业财务绩效关系研究及启示——基于我国A股上市公司CSR报告的实证研究

企业社会责任(CSR)及信息披露已成为当前社会各界共同关注的热点问题。本文利用独立机构发布的我国A股上市公司CSR报告的评级数据,验证了当前时代背景下我国企业社会责任信息披露与企业财务绩效的关系,以及作为信息传递媒介和"公众日程设置者"的媒体的关注对于二者关系的影响作用。研究发现,高水平披露社会责任信息的企业的绩效明显高于低水平企业,但是这种作用关系是在媒体关注度这一变量的完全中介作用之下实现的。这一新发现不仅丰富和拓展了企业社会责任及信息披露的理论研究框架,对于基于战略性CSR思维制定相关战略的企业管理者也深具启发意义。     

Is a loosely specified regulatory intervention effective in disciplining management commentary? The case of performance indicator disclosure

This paper offers a contribution to the call for research on the effectiveness of regulatory interventions governing management commentary disclosure. Specifically, we focus on the mandatory requirement concerning performance indicator disclosure introduced by the Modernisation Directive (2003/51/EC). In keeping with other regulators, the European legislator opted to implement a regulatory approach based on a rule with loose specifications. To understand the effects of this Directive, we have investigated the Italian context, in which neither the national legislator nor the standard setter have supported companies with detailed specifications or guidelines aimed at integrating the European provision. We have compared companies’ disclosure practices before and after the adoption of the Directive, investigating the number of disclosed indicators and also their modalities of presentation, as they are considered essential to guaranteeing the quality of this disclosure. Our results document that a mandatory intervention, even if based on loose specifications, is associated with an increase in disclosure practices. Nevertheless, such regulation does not seem able to guarantee high quality disclosure practices. In fact, before and after the regulation, companies primarily disclose common financial measures. Moreover, the usefulness of such disclosure is undermined by a limited compliance with the international guidelines concerning the modalities of presentation. These results reveal some weaknesses in the European approach to performance indicator regulation. In general, the EU legislator fails to explain the purpose and the objective of performance indicator disclosure and does not take into account the differences between financial and non-financial indicators. Furthermore, it does not provide firms with clear guidelines concerning the presentation modalities.     

The disclosure of information by companies

The paper presents some results relating to the degree of disclosure of selected important items of information in company annual reports. The research involved deriving an index of disclosure and this was then applied to the annual reports of 100 stock exchange quoted companies. The general conclusion was that disclosure levels are very low and that there is a big demand for greater amounts of information to be released in annual reports.     

Tax attractiveness and the location of German-controlled subsidiaries

This paper analyzes whether taxation has an influence on the location decisions of multinational enterprises. We employ a novel set of 22 tax variables, such as the taxation of dividends and capital gains, withholding taxes, the existence of a group taxation regime, and thin capitalization rules. Furthermore, we use the Tax Attractiveness Index, a new aggregate measure containing the 22 tax variables. Our count data regression analysis is based on a novel hand-collected dataset consisting of the subsidiaries of German DAX30 companies in 97 countries. Controlling for non-tax effects, we find that a country’s tax environment has a significantly positive effect on the number of German-controlled subsidiaries and, therefore, on the location decisions of German multinational enterprises. Specifically, our analysis reveals that German multinational firms place affiliates in countries that offer favorable statutory tax rates, withholding taxes, double tax treaty networks, and holding incentives. Additionally, we find that the Tax Attractiveness Index has explanatory power in subsidiary location decisions and, therefore, it can be used as alternative composite measure, for example, when 22 single tax variables are not at disposal.     

Sustaining the Financial Value of Global CSR: Reconciling Corporate and Stakeholder Interests in a Less Regulated Environment

In this article we examine the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value. This line of research is important since firms continue to invest in CSR even though past studies reveal a limited linkage between financial value and CSR. However, the business case for CSR or “doing good while making a profit,” appears to be advancing within the business ethics literature as a preferred conception of CSR. We conjecture that the greater unification and refinement of both profit maximization and stakeholder interests through corporate acts, not statements alone, will sustain the financial value of CSR in a less regulated global business environment. We study the triangle of what companies say, what companies do, and firm financial performance. We analyze Fortune 250 firms and find a positive association between what companies do based on KLD Research and Analytics, Inc. (KLD) ratings, and what companies state about ethics in their CSR statements. We then employ regression analysis and find that companies’ socially responsible acts are positively associated with overall firm value and financial performance. Yet we do not find a statistically significant association between what companies say regarding ethics in their CSR statements and their financial outcomes. These results suggest that firm value and financial performance is associated with what companies do and not what they say. Our results seem to be driven by multinational corporations (MNCs) and not by non‐MNCs. This is possibly because MNCs generally operate in a less regulated global business environment that often necessitates strong ethical corporate leadership to further stakeholder interests. Overall, these results help reconcile corporate and stakeholder objectives since evidence of a link between financial performance and doing good sustains global CSR.     

Corporate Governance mechanisms as drivers that enhance the credibility and usefulness of CSR disclosure

The aim of this paper is to examine what kinds of CG mechanisms (institutional, firm or group level) are driving getting an Assurance or a GRI application level, like CSR disclosure decisions linked with credibility and usefulness of the information disclosed, in the particular context of energy companies. Previous evidence is scarce and does not jointly consider all levels of CG mechanisms. Our sample is composed by 176 energy companies worldwide which currently report about CSR through a sustainability report. On the basis of our findings, we could support the idea that the credibility of the CSR report of the utilities companies will be greater if the company listed in a Relation-Based country has an Assurance report. In addition, those companies that have a concentrated ownership and the fewer insiders sitting in the BoD present more probabilities of having an Assurance. Moreover, the usefulness of the CSR information provided by this kind of firms will be higher, the greater the efficiency of the BoD will be. The enhancement of the credibility and the usefulness of the information reported is essential for companies involved in this sector due to the frequent claim of window-dressing behaviours.     

What explains variation in voluntary disclosure? A study of the annual reports of corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange

The demand for information and transparency from listed corporations has recently increased. In spite of an increased demand for mandatory disclosures from regulators, corporations choose to voluntarily disclose additional information in order to satisfy demands from the capital market. However, the extent and content of information in those voluntary disclosures vary across corporations. The aim of this study is to explain the variation in the content of information in voluntary disclosures by listed corporations. The analyses are based on data collected from 431 annual reports from corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the years 2002 and 2005. The findings support explanations from agency theory and positive accounting theory that size and the debt ratio are positively correlated with the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Corporations with a high share of management ownership disclosed less information than corporations with a low share of management ownership. The study also shows that variations in voluntary disclosures can be explained by factors derived from institutional theory and ‘international capital market pressures’. The results indicate that foreign ownership and international listing to some extent have a positive effect on the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Industry was another factor that had a significant influence on voluntary disclosures. One important finding is that regulation to some extent can stimulate voluntary disclosures; our results did not indicate an ‘unintended chilling effect’ due to too much regulation. In general, the corporations disclosed more voluntary information after the introduction of IFRS.     

Corporate social responsibility reporting and firm performance: evidence from China

A series of product safety and child labor scandals in the mid-2000s aroused global concerns over business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China. The general public expects companies to be socially responsible and to look beyond the maximizing of profits. In this study, we examine the relationship between the issuance of CSR reports and performance, in terms of accounting income, market return, and growth by firms listed in China in 2008–2009. We find that the historical performance of firms has significant and positive effects on the issuance of standalone CSR reports. There is also a positive correlation between current CSR disclosures and subsequent performance. Finally, we find that corporate donations are positively associated with improved performance in the following year. Our results support the view that CSR is a useful business strategy even in a developing country such as China. We call for government authorities in emerging markets to advocate CSR practices and for the market participants to change their perception of and attitude towards CSR.     

Income determination for corporate tax purposes using IFRS as a starting point: evidence for listed companies within Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands

The internationalisation of financial accounting and the European Commission’s ambition to harmonise corporate taxation have raised the question whether IFRS accounts could be used for tax purposes. In order to quantify the effects of an IFRS-based taxation on corporate tax burdens in different EU member states, we estimate firms’ tax equity using notes on income taxes in IFRS financial statements of companies listed in Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands. The difference between estimated tax equity and IFRS-equity, adjusted for the effect resulting from the recognition of deferred taxes, shows the effect of using IFRS as a tax base on the present value of corporate taxes. We find that estimated tax equity is mostly lower than IFRS-equity, indicating that an IFRS-based taxation would often increase the present value of corporate taxes. The median of estimated tax equity is 5.6 % (Austria), 6.4 % (Germany) and 9.0 % (The Netherlands) below IFRS-equity. However, an IFRS-based taxation does not always induce higher equity as often argued in the literature. In 307 of 1,113 totally analysed firm-years, estimated tax equity exceeds IFRS-equity. To find a further estimation for the effects of tax base reforms we also approximate the total stock of unused tax losses and the amount of useable tax losses. We find that deferred tax assets for unused tax losses are depreciated to a substantial extent.     

Corporate and managerial characteristics as drivers of social responsibility disclosure by state-owned enterprises

The public administration sector, including state owned enterprises (SOEs), has developed various types of information disclosure practice, in response to stakeholders’ demands, in parallel with developments in the private sector. This paper analyses the corporate social responsibility (CSR) information disclosed by SOEs and the influence exerted by the characteristics of the SOEs themselves (size, industry sector, degree of government ownership and number of years in operation) and by those of their managers (age, gender, CSR education profile and CSR responsibilities in the workplace). To do so, an index of CSR information disclosure was created, based on the responses made to a questionnaire in this respect. An empirical regression model was then applied to test and categorise the factors analysed. According to the results obtained, the size and sector of the SOE, together with the manager’s CSR responsibilities, are the factors that most significantly affect the online disclosure of CSR information.     

Zur Zeitwertbilanzierung latenter Steuern in der internationalen Rechnungslegung

The significance of deferred taxes was increased by the introduction of international financial reporting standards. However, the usefulness of the information provided by interperiod tax allocation is regarded with skepticism by researchers and practitioners alike. This is largely due to the overestimation of the book value of non-current deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets as the present value of these items is disregarded. The IASB refuses to discount deferred taxes even though this would comply with the underlying asset-liability-concept. The IASB justifies the ban on discounting deferred taxes by the ??supposed?? high complexity; hence, cost-benefit considerations. The paper at hand analyses critical issues regarding the determination of the present value of deferred taxes. An approach for determining the maturity of deferred taxes, a risk-adequate discount rate and an approach for the derivation of a feasible net present value calculation are proposed. It is shown that discounting of deferred taxes is generally possible without resulting in more complex estimations than in those of other accounting areas. Despite the inevitable discretion management has in estimating the present value, it is still possible to represent such information faithfully so that the relevant information is useful to external users.