The assurance market of sustainability reports: What do accounting firms do?

Souto, Belén Fernández-Feijóo; Romero, Silvia; Ruiz, Silvia

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.157

Cited by 45 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…6 The initial sample included 26,865 companies registered with CDP data from 2010 to 2014. This is consistent with our prediction and previous CSR assurance studies (Fernandez-Feijoo, Romero, & Ruiz, 2016;Martínez-Ferrero & García-Sánchez, 2017;Perego & Kolk, 2012;Pflugrath et al, 2011;Simnett et al, 2009). Another 5,919 companies were eliminated because of missing data.…”

Section: Samplesupporting

confidence: 94%

“…Firms that are exposed to more social and environmental risk, such as those in the material, industrial, energy, and financial sectors, 7 are more likely to choose accounting firms as their assurance provider (15.94%, 19.32%, 6.47%, 19.75%, respectively), with a subsequent need to increase the credibility of such information due to greater political and social pressures compared to retail, health, and communication. This is consistent with our prediction and previous CSR assurance studies (Fernandez-Feijoo, Romero, & Ruiz, 2016;Martínez-Ferrero & García-Sánchez, 2017;Perego & Kolk, 2012;Pflugrath et al, 2011;Simnett et al, 2009). Note.…”

Section: Samplesupporting

confidence: 94%

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Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

2020

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This study investigates corporate incentives for the choice of assurance providers of accounting firms versus nonaccounting firms. Based on an international sample of 3,635 firm-year observations for the period of 2010-2014, we find that firms subject to greater legitimacy and stakeholder pressure (e.g., those with higher carbon emissions in countries with stringent climate protection and stakeholder-orientation) are more likely to choose accounting firms as their assurance provider. We also find supporting evidence that firms with a desire to improve carbon management mechanisms (e.g., firms that adopt carbon reduction incentives with higher carbon transparency) show a tendency to choose consulting firms specializing in climate change management. The overall findings suggest that the choice of assurance provider is a strategic decision, which aligns with a firm's overall corporate social responsibility goal. Our results should help practitioners, managers, and regulators understand the emerging audit practice and market.

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Section: Samplesupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Samplesupporting

confidence: 94%

Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

2020

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“…Control variables such as size, age and sustainability sensitive industry sectors were introduced in line with the relevant literature in the field regarding sustainable reporting [31,34,87,88]. Company size influences the capacity to enter commercial and financial markets [84], as well as the risk level as perceived by investors, with effect on cost of capital [89].…”

Section: Firm Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Is Sustainability Reporting a Business Strategy for Firm’s Growth? Empirical Study on the Romanian Capital Market

et al. 2019

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This study analyzed the impact of sustainability reporting on firms' growth as a result of adopting an environmentally and socially responsible behavior. The information published by companies listed on the main section of the Bucharest Stock Exchange during a period spanning six financial years (2012-2017) was used to assess the influence exerted by the conduct of activities related to sustainability; the integrated reporting of economic, social and environmental protection information; and the quality of published reports on certain indicators relevant to appreciating a firm's growth (price-to-book ratio, sales growth and cost of capital). The results obtained indicate a low influence of sustainable reporting on a firm's growth indicators. Current and potential investors, lenders and business partners interpret sustainability reporting as insufficiently documented and as having a low capacity for integration within the decision-making process. However, significant dependency relationships were identified, and particularized on various connections without following a correlation pattern between a firm's growth directions and the indicators of sustainability reporting. The results remain robust even after the introduction of certain control variables, such as sustainability sensitive industry sectors, company size and age, or increase of investments. Our paper sets out to contribute to expanding the specialty literature by highlighting the involvement of sustainable reporting as a factor in optimizing firms' growth strategies and, at a methodological level, by using a quantile regression.

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“…This is probably because the Big 4 firms leverage their network of auditing clients to provide SR assurance to those same clients (Fernandez-Feijoo et al 2016). This behaviour assumes that the Big 4 exploit the techniques employed by financial audit processes to influence the SR assurance (Mock et al 2007).…”

Section: Hypothesis 2 (Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Provider’s Approach to the Assurance Market of Sustainability Reports in Spain

Ogando

Blanco

Souto

2018

Administrative Sciences

Self Cite

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Abstract:The assurance of sustainability reports faces significant challenges that arise from the characteristics of sustainability information and the regulatory context in which it is developed. This recently growing service has favoured the creation of a rapidly evolving market, a complex professional field in its early stages of development and study. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether the use of international standards or the profile of the provider performing the service affects assurance process and quality. To this end, we applied a novel methodology for this field: a survey through written questionnaires. The use of a primary information source allows us to gain insight into the topic, beyond other visible aspects often used in previous literature (e.g., assurance statement contents). We tested our hypotheses on a sample of Spanish accounting and consulting firms. Our results show that neither the use of international standards nor the provider's professional background has any effect on assurance process and assurance quality. However, the way the professional perceives the developed service does have an impact on quality.

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The assurance market of sustainability reports: What do accounting firms do?

Cited by 45 publications

References 44 publications

Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

Is Sustainability Reporting a Business Strategy for Firm’s Growth? Empirical Study on the Romanian Capital Market

A Provider’s Approach to the Assurance Market of Sustainability Reports in Spain

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