CEOs Accounting Background and ESG Disclosure: Empirical Evidence of Indonesian Listed Companies

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to provide empirical evidence that educational background and accounting experience of CEOs have a relationship with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Data was gathered from all listed companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2020. 533 firms that published sustainability reports were selected as the sample for the research. The results indicate that CEOs with an educational background in accounting and work experience in accounting field, especially those who have worked at BIG4 accounting firms, have a significantly positive relationship with ESG disclosure. This means that CEOs who are well-versed in accounting are more sensitive to environmental issues and therefore, more likely to disclose more information about ESG. The findings suggest that CEOs with an accounting background are more environmentally conscious and can play a crucial role in expanding ESG disclosure.

Sustained or Not: Does Intellectual Capital Strengthen CEOs and Independent Commissioners on the Sustainability of Their Companies?

“…of the 60 observational data on CEO characteristics in this study have an educational background in economics and business, indicating that the CEO's education encourages the quality of sustainability report disclosures.The results of this research are supported by [63], who explains that CEOs with an educational background in economics and business can comprehensively sustain company management because they have basic knowledge contained in business strategy on their educational curriculum. In this regard, a CEO with knowledge in the fields of economics and business can drive the company's strategy sustainably and communicate it well to stakeholders [27].…”

“…Aparts from that, [63] explain the ability to manage a company comprehensively and sustainably as a basic knowledge in the educational curriculum in the economics and finance environment. In this regard, this research used the nominal scale as 1 for CEOs with an educational background in economics and business and 0 otherwise following [27,63]. Thus, this research create hypothesis that:…”

The Influence of CEO Characteristics On Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Strategies In Non-Financial Sector Companies Listed On The Indonesian Stock Ex-change (IDX)

“…Meanwhile, Lazareva's (2022) study emphasizes that the CEO's education level can influence the company's strategic decisions related to social and environmental responsibility. The study of Oehoedoe et al (2023) also supports this finding by showing that CEOs who have higher education tend to be more aware of the environmental and social challenges facing companies, and therefore, tend to adopt more sustainable practices. Thus, an in-depth understanding of the relationship between CEO education level and corporate ESG performance is not only important for shaping sustainable business strategies, but also for strengthening commitment to social and environmental responsibility in an increasingly sustainable global economy.…”

CEO Characteristics: Navigating Accounting Conservatism Via Technology And Information Investment

“…One particularly intriguing avenue of inquiry lies in the realm of CEO characteristics, encompassing the educational background and gender of these corporate leaders. CEOs with an accounting background exhibit a heightened sensitivity to their companies' critical financial issues (Ghardallou et al, 2020;Oehoedoe et al, 2023). Paradoxically, (Hu et al, 2017) propose that CEOs with such backgrounds tend to display lower levels of accounting conservatism.…”