ISO26000对我国企业社会责任信息披露的影响和启示

ISO26000是继SA8000之后的又一项重要的社会责任国际标准,其出台对全球社会责任运动具有重要的现实意义,也必将对我国企业社会责任的信息披露产生重大影响。鉴于我国企业社会责任信息披露仍存在诸多问题,笔者在学习了ISO26000的相关内容后,得出了我国可以从建立信息披露体系、界定信息披露范围和建立社会责任鉴证制度等方面来完善我国社会责任信息披露的启示。     

我国企业社会责任信息披露问题的探讨

企业披露社会责任信息是企业对所承担的社会责任情况的反映,本文通过对一些上市公司的调查对我国企业的社会责任信息披露现状进行分析,并对企业社会责任信息披露的内容、模式及构建企业社会责任信息披露机制提出了建议。     

关于我国企业社会责任会计信息披露问题的研究

当前社会责任会计信息的披露已成为全球领先企业的一种通行做法。目前,我国也有不少企业将其社会责任会计信息披露出来,但是由于发展时间不长,信息披露的各方面机制尚不健全,在实施过程中存在不少问题。基于此,本文就我国企业社会责任会计信息披露问题做简要的探索,首先概述了当前信息披露中存在的问题,然后根据这些问题提出相关的建议和对策,以期能够对我国企业社会责任信息的披露机制的建设有所助益。     

企业社会责任会计信息披露探讨

随着经济发展,政府及社会大众也逐渐开始关注企业的社会责任履行情况。本文在充分了解我国企业社会责任承担情况和对相关信息进行披露情况的基础上,探索适合我国企业自身特点的社会责任会计信息披露方法体系,建立健全社会责任会计信息披露制度和激励机制。     

我国上市公司社会责任信息披露制度实证研究

我国上市公司社会责任信息披露制度在推动上市公司披露社会责任信息方面发挥了积极的作用,但是在规则体系、制度内容、监管体制与机制等方面还存在着一定的问题,有待于改进和完善.当前,应将上市公司社会责任信息披露纳入法律规制的范围,健全上市公司社会责任信息披露制度的内容,加强上市公司社会责任信息披露的监管.     

企业社会责任信息披露问题的探讨

企业社会责任要求企业在追求经济效益的同时也要兼顾社会利益.为了使企业相关利益者了解企业是否履行了社会责任,企业必须披露有关社会责任信息.我国企业社会责任信息披露还处于初级阶段,缺乏企业社会责任信息披露的意识.因此,在进行企业社会责任信息披露时,应披露能源利用、环境保护、职工利益等方面的内容,并在年报附注中披露社会责任信息,编制企业社会责任白皮书等.     

商帮文化、正式制度与企业社会责任信息披露

目前我国企业社会责任信息披露数量和质量整体处于上升趋势，但仍有很大进步空间。本文以2008—2019年中国沪深A股上市公司为研究对象，使用企业办公地与商帮发源地之间的最小距离来衡量企业受商帮文化的影响程度，探讨商帮文化对企业社会责任信息披露的作用。研究结果表明，企业受商帮文化影响程度越大，企业社会责任信息披露水平越高。进一步研究发现，外部法制环境与内部公司治理这两种正式制度弱化了商帮文化与企业社会责任信息披露的正相关关系，表明正式制度与商帮文化对企业社会责任信息披露的影响存在替代关系。通过对商帮文化的进一步细分，发现相较于血缘为主的商帮，地缘为主的商帮文化更有利于提升企业社会责任信息披露水平。本文研究有助于让社会认识到传承中华传统文化的必要性，通过充分发挥文化等非正式制度的作用来促进企业承担和披露社会责任。     

我国上市公司社会责任报告的统计分析

长期以来,我国社会责任信息披披露散见于上市公司年报与大众媒体中,未见独立的上市公司社会责任报告。受此条件限制,国内对上市公司社会责任信息披露的研究样本一般来源于上市公司年报,少数单独研究社会责任报告的文章则样本容量太少,上述研究不可避免存在一些局限。2006年,宝钢公司发布我国第一份上市公司可持续发展报告报告,2006年3月国家电网发布我国第一份公司社会责任报告,此后有将近二十几家公司发布了独立的社会责任报告。进入2007、2008年,越来越多的上市公司开始发布独立的社会责任报告。这一趋势为我国社会责任信息披露提供了新的研究样本和视角。本文试图分析我国社会责任报告披露的制度背景,以2005-2007年我国上市公司社会责任报告作为研究样本,对社会责任报告披露的行业、时间、驱动因素、形式、结构、内容、质量等方面进行统计分析,总结我国社会责任报告披露的相关规律,最后提出相关政策建议。     

社会责任信息披露质量与融资约束——基于产权异质性的角度

2006年以来,监管部门陆续制定和出台了一系列与企业社会责任信息披露有关的政策和法规,要求上市公司披露企业社会责任报告。本文站在产权异质性的视角,全面分析了在不同的产权性质下,社会责任信息披露质量对融资约束的影响差异,进一步推动了社会责任信息披露与公司融资方面的研究,丰富了社会责任信息披露质量的研究。     

上市公司社会责任信息披露的问题及对策

本文通过对公司社会责任信息披露内容的界定,结合公司社会责任理论,分析我国上市公司社会责任信息披露现状和存在问题,在借鉴国内外理论成果和实务经验的基础上,提出了建立和完善企业社会责任信息披露的建议。     

海外企业社会责任信息披露研究综述及启示

研究发现，企业进行社会信息披露的外在驱动因素主要有两种：一是来自规章制度和立法的压力；二是来自投资者及其他利益相关者对企业社会责任信息的需求。而企业进行社会责任信息披露的内在影响因素主要有：成本和利益、战略、企业绩效、公司规模、行业属性等。当前国外企业社会责任信息披露实践和理论研究成果主要表现在企业社会责任信息披露能够给企业资本市场行为带来的利益，如较高的股价、较低的股票风险和较低的资本成本，而且，随着投资者对企业社会责任信息需求的增多，投资者关系的内涵也在扩展，与投资者沟通企业社会责任信息已成为国外企业的发展趋势。     

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.     

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.     

Does external assurance contribute to higher quality integrated reports?

This paper contributes to the literature on internal benefits and positive capital market effects of integrated reporting by examining whether or not external assurance acts as a driver of high quality integrated reports. It answers calls for additional research on integrated reporting practice and is also timely, given the current discussions by standard-setters, regulators and other stakeholders on the need for integrated reports to be subject to some form of external verification. The research shows that an increase in the number of elements of an integrated report being subject to external assurance is associated with higher quality reporting. This is especially true when the assurance services are provided by one of the Big 4. The assurance engagements which contribute most significantly to report quality are those covering disclosures dealing broadly with social and environmental sustainability and compliance with the AccountAbility principles of materiality, inclusivity and responsiveness. In turn, if the assurance of only these aspects of an integrated report already improves report quality, there is a clear need for guidance on how the assurance process can be expanded to ensure that all material disclosures are subject to, at least, some form of verification.     

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.     

The impact of CSR performance and CSR disclosure readability on investors’ earnings estimates

We investigate how the valence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and the readability of CSR disclosure impact investors’ earnings estimates. Ninety-seven part-time MBA students participate in an experiment, in which we manipulate the valence of CSR performance (positive versus neutral) and the readability of CSR reports (high versus low), while holding financial information constant. Our findings reveal that investors make more positive earnings estimates when CSR performance is positive. The readability level of CSR reports also influences investors’ decision-making process. Moreover, by using an eye-tracking device, we are able to observe investors’ different reading behaviours upon the different levels of readability.     

Shareholder election of CSR committee members and its effects on CSR performance

We examine the election of directors to corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees and whether shareholder votes influence CSR committee effectiveness. Our study is motivated by the importance that shareholders place on CSR and the responsibilities of the board in overseeing a firm's CSR practices. We find that CSR committee members receive greater shareholder support than other directors. We further find that among CSR committee members, those who are more experienced and skilled receive greater shareholder support. Furthermore, when a firm's CSR performance is poorer (better), CSR committee members receive lower (greater) shareholder support compared with other directors. Finally, we find that through voting, shareholders can increase the efficacy of the CSR committee, leading to improvements in CSR committee structure and performance. Overall, our results suggest that shareholders value the services and expertise of CSR committee members and hold them accountable for CSR performance. Shareholder votes are also effective in enhancing CSR performance.     

Differential Effects of Strong Corporate Governance on Both Professional and Voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility Activities of the Firm

ABSTRACT

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been of interest in the past decade, but prior studies have not investigated the relationship between strong corporate governance and types of CSR activities. This study introduces the concept of professional CSR activities (which means CSR activities pursued in a formal organizational structure over a long period) and voluntary CSR activities (which means CSR activities pursued tentatively and individually) and how strong corporate governance has differential effects on the two types of CSR activities. Our empirical results show that the stronger the corporate governance is, the more professional CSR activities are encouraged.     

Corporate social responsibility reporting: A comprehensive picture?

This study develops a content analysis framework that provides information on the comprehensiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, an important aspect of social and environmental accountability. Comprehensive reporting, as defined here, requires three types of information for each disclosed CSR item: (i) vision and goals, (ii) management approach, and (iii) performance indicators. The feasibility of the framework to assess the comprehensiveness of CSR reporting is demonstrated using the 2005 annual reports of a sample of publicly traded Belgian companies. The content analysis reveals a low level of comprehensive reporting. This finding complements those of prior studies on the completeness of CSR reporting and, therefore, feeds the debate regarding the extent to which CSR reporting can be considered a mechanism for discharging social and environmental accountability.     

Standalone CSR reporting by U.S. retail companies

We investigate first-time use of standalone CSR reporting in the U.S. retail industry. We find it is limited to publicly traded companies and that environmental rather than other social disclosures are most prominent. We document that firms focus on discussing CSR initiatives and programs as opposed to providing performance data, suggesting the reports are more about image enhancement than transparent accountability. We explore impacts of the choice to disclose, and our findings suggest that standalone CSR reporting by the retail companies appears to positively influence perceptions of company reputation, and may be leading to increased appeal to socially responsible investors.