This research note aims to enrich our understanding regarding the market valuation implications of financial reporting under an Integrated Reporting (IR) approach. In order to do so, we focus on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and we examine whether the value relevance of summary accounting information (i.e., book value of equity and earnings) of firms listed on the JSE has enhanced after the mandatory adoption of an IR approach under the King III Report. Our study can be seen as a response to the recent calls for a closer investigation of the usefulness of the new reporting trend for investors. More specifically, our study can be seen as a response to the stance taken by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework that the adoption of an IR approach improves the usefulness of financial reporting for investors. For our empirical tests we utilize a sample of 954 firm-year observations and employ a linear price-level model which associates a firm's market value of equity with its book value of equity and earnings. In line with the IIRC Framework's expectations, we find strong evidence of a sharp increase of the earnings' valuation coefficient. However, contrary to the Framework's stance, our results indicate a decline in the value relevance of net assets. Such a decline may be imputed to risks and/or unbooked liabilities that are revealed or measured more reliably after the introduction of an IR approach on the JSE. It should be noted, however, that despite its cause, the decline in the value relevance of net assets can be seen as a further argument in favor of the IIRC stance to assign equal importance to a wide range of "capitals," such as human, social and natural capital. We believe that our findings are of particular interest to a wide range of regulators, standards setters, practitioners, and academics but first and foremost to the JSE and IIRC.

The accounting treatment of purchased goodwill under IFRS has been severely criticized due to the extensive use of fair value accounting. The purpose of this study is to enrich the ongoing debate upon this issue by drawing attention to the market valuation implications of goodwill in a country outside the Anglo-Saxon accounting paradigm, where the application of fair value accounting has been seen as more problematic. The results indicate that, in the case of purchased goodwill, fair value accounting generates relevant accounting numbers but only in companies that comply highly with IFRS disclosure requirements.

Baboukardos D. (2017) Market valuation of greenhouse gas emissions under a mandatory reporting regime: evidence from the UK. Accounting Forum, Forthcoming.

The valuation relevance of environmental performance revisited: The valuation relevance of environmental performance revisited: The valuation relevance of environmental performance revisited: The valuation relevance of environmental performance revisited: The moderating role The moderating role The moderating role The moderating role of environmental provisions of environmental provisions of environmental provisions of environmental provisions

Recently, there has been increasing demand by stakeholders for firms to demonstrate how they create value within the context of their operating environment. Consequently, a new reporting approach, integrated reporting (IR), was conceptualised with its development linked to the firm's integrated thinking (IT). Yet very little is known about the effects of IT on firms' reporting decisions. Hence, we investigate whether IT influences firms' decision to publish an assured sustainability report. Using an international dataset, we find that IT is positively associated with sustainability reporting assurance. We also find that this association is moderated by the type of legal system such that for firms in code law countries, the IT effects are reduced.Nevertheless, the effects of IT remain strong, indicating that IT is important for reporting decisions regardless of the firm's contextual setting. These findings have implications for policymakers and organisations interested in promoting high-quality sustainability reporting.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine corporate disclosure of stakeholder-oriented actions on Twitter in response to COVID-19 during the pandemic outbreak and to empirically investigate whetherfirms’ social performance and their financial resilience impact on their engagement in, and communication of, stakeholder-oriented COVID-19 actions. Design/methodology/approach This study scrapes a sample of tweets communicated by major global listed firms between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 and identifies disclosures that mention firm engagement in stakeholder-oriented actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between firms’ social performance and the number of tweets they post about stakeholder-oriented COVID-19 actions. Further, firms’ financial resilience is examined as a moderating factor of this relationship. Findings The results show that firms with better social performance are more likely to engage in and, hence, communicate stakeholder-oriented actions for the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter. Moreover, it is evident that firms with better social performance communicate more stakeholder-oriented actions only when they belong to industries that have not been severely impacted by the pandemic. Originality/value This study has two important contributions. First, this study provides contemporary evidence of corporate disclosure of firms and their stakeholder-oriented actions on Twitter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the initial outbreak period. Second, it reveals insights into what characteristics drive firms to engage in costly corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, and promote them on social media, in a period characterized by high economic uncertainty.

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