IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ausact/v27y2017i4p400-420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on CSR Disclosure: An Analysis of Australian Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Ranjith Appuhami
  • Shamim Tashakor

Abstract

This study examines the influence of audit committee (AC) characteristics on voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the corporate annual reports of Australian listed firms. It develops hypotheses about the relationship between voluntary CSR disclosure and AC characteristics such as size, frequency of meetings, independence, independent chair, financial expertise and gender diversity. Using multiple regression analysis on data collected from the corporate annual reports of 300 listed firms, the study finds that AC characteristics such as size, frequency of meetings, committee independence and gender diversity have a significant positive influence on the level of CSR disclosure. However, there is no evidence that AC characteristics such as independent chair and members’ financial expertise affect CSR disclosure in Australian firms. Based on an additional analysis, the study also sheds some light on the effect of AC characteristics on environmental disclosure. The findings of this study may be of particular interest to regulators, shareholders, investment analysts and managers in assessing CSR disclosure in annual reports, and in strengthening the monitoring and oversight role of ACs.

Suggested Citation

  • Ranjith Appuhami & Shamim Tashakor, 2017. "The Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on CSR Disclosure: An Analysis of Australian Firms," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 27(4), pages 400-420, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:27:y:2017:i:4:p:400-420
    DOI: 10.1111/auar.12170
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/auar.12170
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/auar.12170?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lois Munro & Sherrena Buckby, 2008. "Audit Committee Regulation in Australia: How Far Have We Come?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 18(4), pages 310-323, December.
    2. Philip Brown & Ann Tarca, 2012. "Ten Years of IFRS: Practitioners’ Comments and Suggestions for Research," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 22(4), pages 319-330, December.
    3. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    4. Leftwich, Rw & Watts, Rl & Zimmerman, Jl, 1981. "Voluntary Corporate Disclosure - The Case Of Interim Reporting," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19, pages 50-77.
    5. Musa Mangena & Venancio Tauringana, 2007. "Corporate Compliance with Non-Mandatory Statements of Best Practice: The Case of the ASB Statement on Interim Reports," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 399-427.
    6. Gerry Gallery & Emerson Cooper & John Sweeting, 2008. "Corporate Disclosure Quality: Lessons from Australian Companies on the Impact of Adopting International Financial Reporting Standards," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 18(3), pages 257-273, September.
    7. Cowen, Scott S. & Ferreri, Linda B. & Parker, Lee D., 1987. "The impact of corporate characteristics on social responsibility disclosure: A typology and frequency-based analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 111-122, March.
    8. Musa Mangena & Richard Pike, 2005. "The effect of audit committee shareholding, financial expertise and size on interim financial disclosures," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 327-349.
    9. Mark S. Beasley & Steven E. Salterio, 2001. "The Relationship between Board Characteristics and Voluntary Improvements in Audit Committee Composition and Experience," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 539-570, December.
    10. Noel Brown & Craig Deegan, 1998. "The public disclosure of environmental performance information—a dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 21-41.
    11. Nives Botica Redmayne & Fawzi Laswad, 2013. "An Assessment of the Impact of IFRS Adoption on Public Sector Audit Fees and Audit Effort – Some Evidence of the Transition Costs on Changes in Reporting Regimes," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 23(1), pages 88-99, March.
    12. Ronald J. Burke, 1997. "Women Directors: Selection, Acceptance and Benefits of Board Membership," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 118-125, July.
    13. David Aboody & Baruch Lev, 2000. "Information Asymmetry, R&D, and Insider Gains," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2747-2766, December.
    14. R. G. Walker, 2004. "Gaps in Guidelines on Audit Committees," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 40(2), pages 157-192, June.
    15. Won Sil Kang & Alan Kilgore & Sue Wright, 2011. "The effectiveness of audit committees for low- and mid-cap firms," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(7), pages 623-650, July.
    16. Siri Terjesen & Val Singh, 2008. "Female Presence on Corporate Boards: A Multi-Country Study of Environmental Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(1), pages 55-63, November.
    17. Elizabeth Carson, 2002. "Factors Associated with the Development of Board Sub–committees," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 4-18, January.
    18. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    19. Jing Li & Richard Pike & Roszaini Haniffa, 2008. "Intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance structure in UK firms," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 137-159.
    20. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    21. Husam Aldamen & Keith Duncan & Simone Kelly & Ray McNamara & Stephan Nagel, 2012. "Audit committee characteristics and firm performance during the global financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52(4), pages 971-1000, December.
    22. Kelton, Andrea S. & Yang, Ya-wen, 2008. "The impact of corporate governance on Internet financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 62-87.
    23. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    24. Irene Karamanou & Nikos Vafeas, 2005. "The Association between Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, and Management Earnings Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 453-486, June.
    25. Bhimani, Alnoor & Soonawalla, Kazbi, 2005. "From conformance to performance: The corporate responsibilities continuum," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 165-174.
    26. Rob Gray & Mohammed Javad & David M. Power & C. Donald Sinclair, 2001. "Social and Environmental Disclosure and Corporate Characteristics: A Research Note and Extension," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3-4), pages 327-356.
    27. Nicholas van der Walt & Coral Ingley, 2003. "Board Dynamics and the Influence of Professional Background, Gender and Ethnic Diversity of Directors," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 218-234, July.
    28. R.M. Haniffa & T. E. Cooke, 2002. "Culture, Corporate Governance and Disclosure in Malaysian Corporations," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 38(3), pages 317-349, October.
    29. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    30. Agrawal, Anup & Chadha, Sahiba, 2005. "Corporate Governance and Accounting Scandals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 371-406, October.
    31. Caspar Rose, 2007. "Does female board representation influence firm performance? The Danish evidence," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 404-413, March.
    32. Charles H. Cho & Giovanna Michelon & Dennis M. Patten & Robin W. Roberts, 2015. "CSR disclosure: the more things change…?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 14-35, January.
    33. Arnt Verriest & Ann Gaeremynck & Daniel B. Thornton, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Governance on IFRS Adoption Choices," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 39-77, May.
    34. Joseph V. Carcello & Terry L. Neal, 2003. "Audit Committee Independence and Disclosure: choice for financially distressed firms," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(4), pages 289-299, October.
    35. David A. Carter & Betty J. Simkins & W. Gary Simpson, 2003. "Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 38(1), pages 33-53, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Jing & Mangena, Musa & Pike, Richard, 2012. "The effect of audit committee characteristics on intellectual capital disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 98-110.
    2. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, June.
    3. Michael Seamer, 2014. "Does Effective Corporate Facilitate Continuous Market Disclosure?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 24(2), pages 111-126, June.
    4. Muttanachai Suttipun, 2021. "The influence of board composition on environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure of Thai listed companies," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(4), pages 391-402, December.
    5. Hidaya Lawati & Khaled Hussainey & Roza Sagitova, 2021. "Disclosure quality vis-à-vis disclosure quantity: Does audit committee matter in Omani financial institutions?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 557-594, August.
    6. Aladdin Dwekat & Elies Seguí‐Mas & Guillermina Tormo‐Carbó & Pedro Carmona, 2020. "Corporate Governance Configurations and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Audit Committee and Board characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2879-2892, November.
    7. Daniel Kouloukoui & Sônia Maria da Silva Gomes & Marcia Mara de Oliveira Marinho & Ednildo Andrade Torres & Asher Kiperstok & Pieter de Jong, 2018. "Disclosure of climate risk information by the world’s largest companies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 1251-1279, December.
    8. Luminita Enache & Antonio Parbonetti & Anup Srivastava, 2020. "Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 541-577, August.
    9. Ahmadi, Ali & Nakaa, Nejia & Bouri, Abdelfettah, 2018. "Chief Executive Officer attributes, board structures, gender diversity and firm performance among French CAC 40 listed firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 218-226.
    10. Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & Frías Aceituno, José V. & García Rubio, Raquel, 2014. "El consejo de administración y las memorias de sostenibilidad," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-16.
    11. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1168-1188, September.
    12. Mehdi Nekhili & Hayette Gatfaoui, 2013. "Are Demographic Attributes and Firm Characteristics Drivers of Gender Diversity? Investigating Women’s Positions on French Boards of Directors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 227-249, December.
    13. Hichem Khlif & Kamran Ahmed & Mohsen Souissi, 2017. "Ownership structure and voluntary disclosure: A synthesis of empirical studies," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(3), pages 376-403, August.
    14. Ujkan Bajra & Simon Cadez, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Governance Quality on Earnings Management: Evidence from European Companies Cross†listed in the US," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(2), pages 152-166, June.
    15. Bowo Setiyono & Amine Tarazi, 2018. "Does Diversity of Bank Board Members Affect Performance and Risk? Evidence from an Emerging Market," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: Belén Díaz Díaz & Samuel O. Idowu & Philip Molyneux (ed.), Corporate Governance in Banking and Investor Protection, chapter 0, pages 185-218, Springer.
    16. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Scapin, Mariano, 2017. "The monitoring role of female directors over accounting quality," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 651-668.
    17. Dalilawati Zainal & Norhayah Zulkifli & Zakiah Saleh, 2013. "Corporate Board Diversity in Malaysia: A Longitudinal Analysis of Gender and Nationality Diversity," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 136-148, January.
    18. DeBoskey, D.G. & Luo, Yan & Wang, Jeff J., 2018. "Do specialized board committees impact the transparency of corporate political disclosure? Evidence from S&P 500 companies," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 8-19.
    19. Giovanna Michelon & Antonio Parbonetti, 2012. "The effect of corporate governance on sustainability disclosure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 477-509, August.
    20. Balachandran, Balasingham & Faff, Robert, 2015. "Corporate governance, firm value and risk: Past, present, and future," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 1-12.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:27:y:2017:i:4:p:400-420. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1035-6908 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.