Corporate social responsibility and the assessment by auditors of the risk of material misstatement

This paper investigates whether, and how, firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance influences the auditor's assessment of the risk of material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, at the financial statement level by analysing their pricing decision (i.e., audit fees). Using a panel data set of 12,330 firms from 28 countries over the period 2003–2012 and different measures of CSR performance, we find a U‐shaped relationship between firms’ CSR performance and audit fees. This result suggests that there is an optimal level of CSR performance that minimizes the auditor's assessment of the risk of material misstatement, which in turn lowers the need for greater auditor effort; that is why auditors charge firms significantly less when their CSR performance is at the optimal level. Finally, we also show that the optimal level of CSR performance varies with the degree of environmental dynamism, ownership concentration and leverage.     

Mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and dividend payouts: evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment

Employing the enactment of a regulation that mandates a subset of firms to disclose their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as a quasi‐natural experiment, we find that mandatory CSR disclosure reduces firms’ dividend payouts significantly. Further analyses indicate that the negative relation is more pronounced for firms with weaker corporate governance mechanisms, where shareholders lack of effective tools to protect themselves against pressures from stakeholders, and a shift of relative power towards stakeholders is more likely to occur. Our paper provides a specific channel through which mandatory CSR disclosure benefits stakeholders at the expense of shareholders.     

The relationship between corporate social responsibility,financial misstatements and SEC enforcement actions

This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), financial misstatements and SEC enforcement actions. We find that firms with higher CSR are less likely to receive SEC enforcement actions for financial misstatements. Drawing on insights from stakeholder theory and the reputational literature, we identify two channels underpinning this relationship: (i) firms with higher CSR are less likely to engage in financial misstatements and (ii) the reputational effect of CSR reduces the likelihood of SEC enforcement actions. We find empirical evidence consistent with both channels.     

Determinants and consequences of voluntary corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from private firms

We examine whether and how private firms differ from public firms in determining corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure policies. We document that private firms are less likely to issue CSR reports compared with their public peers. Adopting a bivariate probit model that accommodates partial observability, we find that the effect is mainly driven by a supply-side force rather than a demand-side force. From a debtholder-oriented perspective, while public firms enjoy more favorable credit ratings and a lower cost of debt due to CSR disclosure, private firms do not reap similar benefits from CSR disclosure. Corporate governance and CSR assurance alleviate debtholders' concern on private firms’ engagements in CSR.     

Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility

Using the firm-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings of Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini, we find that firms score higher on CSR when they have Democratic rather than Republican founders, CEOs, and directors, and when they are headquartered in Democratic rather than Republican-leaning states. Democratic-leaning firms spend $20 million more on CSR than Republican-leaning firms ($80 million more within the sample of S&P 500 firms), or roughly 10% of net income. We find no evidence that firms recover these expenditures through increased sales. Indeed, increases in firm CSR ratings are associated with negative future stock returns and declines in firm ROA, suggesting that any benefits to stakeholders from social responsibility come at the direct expense of firm value.     

Stock repurchasing and corporate social responsibility

Stock repurchases are controversial. Researchers often view the positive association between free cash flow and the volume of the stock repurchases to be in the shareholders’ interest and the positive association between executive options and stock repurchases to be in the managers’ interest. Using firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings as a measure of ethical culture—one that increases the cost of self-serving behavior for managers— we examine whether a firm’s CSR rating is related to its stock repurchase decisions. Although the baseline regression shows a positive association between CSR and repurchases, we find that CSR amplifies the positive association between free cash flow and stock repurchases and lessens the positive association between executive options and stock repurchases. These results indicate that ethical culture might play a role in repurchase decisions: it may encourage repurchases aligned with shareholders’ interests and discourage those primarily in managers’ interest. Furthermore, we also find that high CSR firms are associated with a greater completion rate of announced repurchase programs and receive more favorable stock market reaction to their repurchase announcements.     

Excess insider control and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from dual-class firms

We investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of firms with a dual-class share structure. Dual-class firms, which represent a fast-growing segment of the U.S. capital market, violate the "one share, one vote" principle by giving corporate insiders control in excess of their economic interest in the firm. We observe a negative association of excess insider control and firms’ CSR performance, primarily with respect to the community- and employee-related dimensions of CSR. Extended analyses reveal that this negative association is mitigated by high financial resource availability. Consistent with a trade-off between corporate spending on CSR or on benefits for insiders, we also observe a negative association between CSR performance and executive pay in dual-class firms. Taken together, these extended analyses are consistent with self-interested behavior of entrenched insiders who, unless resources are abundant, appear to reduce CSR activities to maintain resources available for their personal benefit. While the exposure to risks engendered by a dual-class equity structure may be reflected in the share price, our findings draw attention to an externality: diminished CSR performance affects not just shareholders, but all stakeholders.     

Corporate social responsibility committees and the use of corporate social responsibility assurance services

This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees associate with the external assurance of CSR reports. Specifically, we consider the presence and effectiveness of CSR committees. Using a sample of Australian firms over the period 2004–2016, we show the mere presence of a CSR committee is not related to the external assurance of CSR. However, CSR committee effectiveness is positively related. In addition, firms with higher CSR committee effectiveness are more likely to seek external assurance provided by the Big4 accountancy firms and acquire financial audit and CSR assurance services from the same provider. Taken together, CSR committee effectiveness plays an active role in CSR assurance services. Our results are particularly relevant to those with interests in understanding the demand and choice of external CSR assurance services, as well as the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on these services.     

Stock market restrictions and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from IPO suspension in China

Improving corporate social responsibility (CSR) requires not only the efforts of firms themselves but also the support of the appropriate institutional environment. This paper assesses whether access to the stock market can promote firms’ CSR. Using China’s suspension of IPOs in 2012–2014, we find that firms affected by the suspension show lower CSR in their listing year. The later listing after the suspension ends, the greater reduction in CSR. Moreover, the effect of the IPO suspension is more serious for firms with financial constraints than for non-financially constrained firms. Furthermore, we show that the IPO suspension has an adverse impact on firms’ liquidity and profitability. When this suspension ends, firms’ CSR activities recover within 1–2 years. Overall, our conclusion enriches the literature on the factors influencing CSR and provides firm-level evidence of the adverse impact of an IPO suspension.     

The real effects of corporate fraud: evidence from class action lawsuits

Using a sample of lawsuit firms from 1996 to 2009, this study examines whether fraud revelation through shareholder class action affects corporate financing and investment policies. We predict that revelation of fraud damages defendant firms' reputation and undermines credibility of their financial disclosure. As a result, such firms experience difficulty in financing and reduce investment accordingly. Consistent with our prediction, we find that fraud‐committing firms experience a decline in total financing (total investment) by 1.5 per cent (0.8 per cent) of total assets after fraud revelation. Difference‐in‐differences analyses reinforce our main findings. The impact is more pronounced for firms with lower inherent fraud incidence.     

Corporate social responsibility performance,financial distress and firm life cycle: evidence from Australia

This study examines the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and financial distress and additionally the moderating impact of firm life cycle stages on that association. Based on a sample of 651 publicly listed Australian firm‐years’ data covering the 2007–2013 period, our regression results show that positive CSR activity significantly reduces financial distress of the firm. In addition, the negative association between positive CSR performance and financial distress is more pronounced for firms in mature life cycle stages. Our results are robust to alternative proxy measures of financial distress, CSR performance and life cycle stages.     

Does corporate social responsibility help the survivorship of SMEs and large firms?

Using a sample of 2480 firms from 51 countries covering the period 2010–2015, we find that firms with more effective corporate governance mechanisms are more likely to be more engaged in CSR. Consistent with the stakeholder theory and the conflict resolution model, this result suggests that managers adopt effective governance mechanisms together with CSR engagement in an attempt to mitigate conflicts among stakeholders. Moreover, after controlling for endogeneity and simultaneity issues, we find that both CSR engagement and corporate governance mechanisms have a significantly negative influence on the firms' risk of financial distress measured by the Altman et al. model (1995). Our results also show that the favorable influence of CSR on the firms' capability of survivorship is more pronounced in SMEs than in large firms.     

Fraudulent financial reporting in China: Evidence from corporate renaming

Using a sample of listed Chinese companies during 2010–2019, we examine whether corporate renaming is associated with fraudulent financial reporting. We find that companies that change their corporate names without making underlying changes to business fundamentals are more likely to commit financial reporting fraud. The positive association between corporate renaming and financial reporting fraud is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises and companies with a lower ownership concentration. There is further evidence that corporate renaming is more likely to be associated with disclosure-related fraud (e.g., failure to disclose or delayed disclosure) and that the likelihood of fraudulent behavior increases with the frequency of corporate renaming. Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence of a new red flag for regulators and investors investigating financial fraud. This study is timely and has policy implications for market regulators hoping to establish and improve emerging capital markets in which the information environment is generally considered weak and opaque.     

Capital market liberalisation and voluntary corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

This paper investigates the impact of the Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHSC) scheme on voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in China. Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) design, we find that companies that participate in the SHSC scheme are more inclined to voluntarily issue CSR reports. This effect is more pronounced for companies that have limited access to international markets and those with weak corporate governance. Additional analyses show that SHSC-connected firms also produce higher quality CSR reports and achieve a better CSR performance. Our findings imply that capital market liberalisation promotes voluntary corporate disclosure for investors.     

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility: The Indian experience

The question we raise is what to do when companies fail to keep pace with societal expectations with respect to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). The response of the Indian government was to make it mandatory for large corporations to spend funds on CSR activities. In this paper, we investigate the success of this legislation both for the companies and the intended beneficiaries. We find that the impact of the legislation has fallen short of expectations both in terms of the volume of CSR expenditure generated and the activities to which it has been directed. In particular, we find that the legislation has had a negative corporate profitability which can impact on the willingness of companies to spend in this area. We conclude that greater care must be taken when implementing mandatory CSR if it is to be effective.     

The dark side of marital leadership: Evidence from China

Using a unique dataset of Chinese private firms, we find that marital leadership is associated with higher propensity for financial fraud. We examine the potential economic mechanisms that lead to this result, finding that weak internal supervision and inefficient decision-making provide crucial linkages between marital leadership and financial fraud. However, well-functioning corporate governance mechanisms reduce the negative effects of marital leadership. Our findings provide important empirical evidence for the effect of family involvement in corporate governance and contribute to the literature on the determinants of financial fraud in listed firms.     

Corporate social responsibility and degrees of operating and financial leverage

We examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms’ degrees of operating (DOL) and financial leverage (DFL). Combining the enlightened value maximizing and capital structure theories, we hypothesize that CSR as firms’ strategic choice to internalize the cost from implicit contracts between the firms and their non-investing stakeholders affects firms’ operating and financial leverage. We find empirical evidence that CSR and CSR strengths are positively (negatively) related to firms’ DOL (DFL). CSR concerns are positively related firms’ DOL and DFL. We also document that CSR is positively related to firms’ operating cost and we find evidence that CSR acts as a substitute for corporate debt tax shield when firms’ financial leverage is low.     

Corporate social responsibility orientation and textual features of financial disclosures

This paper examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation and textual attributes of financial disclosures. Using a large U.S. sample from 1999 to 2017, we find that firms with high CSR orientation provide more readable disclosures and use a less ambiguous tone in their annual reports. These findings are consistent with the notion that managers in CSR-conscious firms adhere to high ethical standards and commit to improving the transparency of their firms' financial disclosures. Our results are robust to alternative measures of readability and CSR performance, potential endogeneity, and sampling methods. Moreover, in a cross-sectional analysis, we show that the impact of CSR on corporate readability/tone ambiguity is more pronounced for firms with weak corporate governance. Overall, the results suggest that CSR serves as a substitute for traditional corporate governance mechanisms to ensure transparent disclosure.     

Corporate Fraud and Corporate Bond Costs: Evidence from China

This study investigates the relationship between corporate fraud and four typical components of costs associated with corporate bonds. Based on data from a booming corporate bond market in China, we confirm that fraudulent issuers have higher corporate bond costs. Specifically, they are more likely to push upward price revisions, pay higher issue fees and coupon spreads, and encounter larger underpricing after issuance. Moreover, we demonstrate that severe corporate fraud is also significantly related to the costs of corporate bonds. Furthermore, we find that investors pay more attention to fraud in accounting information and disclosure. These results remain robust to a strand of endogeneity and through the robustness tests. In additional research, we find that bonds issued by fraudulent firms tend to receive lower ratings and show inferior performance after issuance. We also demonstrate that the effects of corporate fraud on bond costs erode as time passes, although the mitigation speed is slow. Finally, we find that hiring reputable financial intermediaries can partially mitigate the negative effects of corporate fraud.     

A Textual Analysis of US Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

We employ computer-based textual analysis to examine disclosure patterns for a sample of US corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports from the period 2002–2016. Starting from 466 features commonly used in computational linguistics, our results show that the linguistics or disclosure patterns in CSR reports can be used to accurately predict the actual CSR performance type of CSR reporters. Specifically, we find that the two most commonly used disclosure characteristics, number of words and number of sentences, alone can be used to predict reporting firms’ CSR performance type with 81% accuracy. The accuracy of prediction increases to 96% when the top 50 linguistics features most relevant to firms’ CSR performance are included in the prediction model. In addition, we find that the linguistic features of CSR disclosure identified by our study are incrementally value relevant to investors even after controlling for the actual CSR performance score from the professional CSR rating agencies. This finding suggests that the linguistic features of CSR disclosure can be an important venue for capital market participants in evaluating firms’ CSR performance type, especially when professional CSR performance ratings are not available.