This PhD paper investigates a) the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 on earnings quality, b) the joint effect of financial crisis of 2008 and investor protection on audit quality, c) the joint effect of audit quality and investor protection on earnings quality and d) the cost of capital and the changes of audit quality and earnings quality influencing on it due to financial crisis of 2008 in publicly listed firms in advanced countries as per level of investor protection. The sample is categorized into three clusters. Cluster 1 is referred as outsider economies with strong outsider protection and legal enforcement and clusters 2 and 3 are referred as insider economies with better and weaker legal enforcement systems respectively. Using linear regression analysis, 137.091 firm-years observations are analyzed, the earnings quality is examined by using 10 different measures (conservatism, value relevance, accruals quality, earnings persistence, earnings predictability, loss avoidance analysis and earnings smoothness), the audit quality is examined by using 6 different measures (audit fees, modified audit report opinion, auditor switch, status of audit firm, existence of audit committee and demand for auditing), the investor protection is examined by using 8 different metrics adopted from World Economic Forum (property rights, judicial independence, transparency of government policymaking, strength of auditing and reporting standards, efficacy of corporate boards, protection of minority shareholders' interests, strength of investor protection and legal rights index), and the cost of equity capital under constant growth model introduced by Palea (2007) and under PEG ratio method introduced by Easton (2004) is examined.The results are mixed among clusters and research periods. Specifically, first, the results show that during the financial crisis, earnings quality is decreased. However, this deterioration on earnings quality appears to be more severe in clusters 2 and 3 Table of contentsAcknowledgments …………………………………………………………………… i

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Using the measure of uncertainty, i.e., the World Economic Policy Uncertainty Index (WUI) developed by Ahir et al. (2018), this study analyses the effect of uncertainty on carbon dioxide emission reporting and performance. The methodological approach uses the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), utilising a comprehensive set of 604 firms that are obtained from the Fortune Global 500 list and covering the period 2005–2020. We demonstrate that WUI positively influences carbon dioxide emission reporting and negatively influences carbon dioxide emission reporting in order to mitigate the negative effects of uncertainty and increase firm trust by engaging in more sustainable practices. Additionally, our findings illustrate that carbon dioxide emission reporting is greater in firms operating in emissions-intensive industries in order to strengthen investors’ confidence and trust, especially during periods of high WUI. Finally, the study finds that higher emitters have lower carbon dioxide emission performance due to political and social pressures on these firms to incorporate environmental considerations, especially during periods of high WUI. Particularly for the regulatory body and the industry association when creating improved legislation and recommendations on environmental and social reports relating carbon emission reporting and performance, our empirical findings should have urgent practical ramifications.