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Assurance on Corporate Governance Reports in Spain: Towards an Enhanced Accountability or a New Form of Public Relations?

Author

Listed:
  • Elies Seguí-Mas

    (Centre of Business Management Research (CEGEA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Helena-María Bollas-Araya

    (Faculty of Business Administration and Management (FADE), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Fernando Polo-Garrido

    (Centre of Business Management Research (CEGEA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Financial scandals have highlighted the need for greater corporate transparency. Thus, corporate governance has emerged as an instrument for corporations to fulfil their social responsibility by offering more reliable information to their stakeholders. In this sense, the corporate governance report has become one of the leading mechanisms of business reporting to attend the growing need for reliable information by users. External and independent assurance of corporate governance reports is a tool to reduce potential risk derived from malpractices. However, within the Spanish context, there is a few number of listed companies who assure their corporate governance reports, and some of them have been shaken by corporate malpractices and financial scandals. This work tries to offer a critical appraisal of current corporate governance of assurance statements in Spain, developing a research strategy based on the case-study. Thus, by analysing assurance on corporate governance reports in three Spanish listed companies, we identify strengths and weaknesses of an unusual assurance process. Obviously, because of the recent scandals occurred in the analysed companies, we raise a particular concern about the potential managerial capture of this activity. Without real changes in governance mechanisms, the corporate governance assurance could amount to little more than a public relations activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Elies Seguí-Mas & Helena-María Bollas-Araya & Fernando Polo-Garrido, 2018. "Assurance on Corporate Governance Reports in Spain: Towards an Enhanced Accountability or a New Form of Public Relations?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-12, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:32-:d:156444
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ionela Munteanu & Adriana Grigorescu & Elena Condrea & Elena Pelinescu, 2020. "Convergent Insights for Sustainable Development and Ethical Cohesion: An Empirical Study on Corporate Governance in Romanian Public Entities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Charl de Villiers & Ruth Dimes, 2021. "Determinants, mechanisms and consequences of corporate governance reporting: a research framework," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 7-26, March.
    3. Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility Performance, Disclosure and Assurance: Introduction to the Special Issue of Administrative Sciences," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-6, September.
    4. Estibaliz Goicoechea & Fernando Gómez-Bezares & José Vicente Ugarte, 2019. "Integrated Reporting Assurance: Perceptions of Auditors and Users in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, January.

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