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Sustainability Development and the Quality of Assurance Reports: Empirical Evidence

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  • Ana Zorio
  • Maria A. García‐Benau
  • Laura Sierra

Abstract

There is a rising trend among companies to publish their sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Assurance of these reports is a valuable voluntary tool to provide them with higher credibility. Nonetheless, the quality of assurance reports differs in practice and the objective of this paper is to provide evidence in this new area of research. Indeed, we are pioneers in developing an index to measure the quality of assurance reports. We choose the Spanish setting because it is the worldwide leading country as regards CSR reporting (KPMG, 2011; Sierra et al., 2012). We have found evidence on the determinants for CSR reporting posited by existing literature that have an impact on (a) the decision of companies to publish their CSR reports, (b) the decision to assure the CSR report or not and (c) the decision to hire the assurance services from an auditor or a consultant and the subsequent quality of the assurance report. Last but not least, our results from a sample of 161 CSR assurance reports evidence that assurance reports are of fairly acceptable quality, according to the index proposed. Furthermore, the value of the quality index is significantly higher if the assurance services are provided by an auditor (as opposed to a consultant) and if the CSR reporting company is larger. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Zorio & Maria A. García‐Benau & Laura Sierra, 2013. "Sustainability Development and the Quality of Assurance Reports: Empirical Evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(7), pages 484-500, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:22:y:2013:i:7:p:484-500
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1764
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    Cited by:

    1. Simeth, Nagihan, 2022. "The value of external reviews in the secondary green bond market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
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    3. Camelia Oprean-Stan & Ionica Oncioiu & Iulia Cristina Iuga & Sebastian Stan, 2020. "Impact of Sustainability Reporting and Inadequate Management of ESG Factors on Corporate Performance and Sustainable Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-31, October.
    4. Genevé Richard & Elza Odendaal, 2020. "Integrated reporting assurance practices—a study of South African firms," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(4), pages 245-266, December.
    5. Bradbury, Michael & Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility committees and the use of corporate social responsibility assurance services," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
    6. Elbardan, Hany & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "CSR reporting, assurance, and firm value and risk: The moderating effects of CSR committees and executive compensation," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    7. Emiliano Ruiz‐Barbadillo & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero, 2020. "What impact do countries have on levels of sustainability assurance? A complementary‐substitutive perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2329-2341, September.
    8. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2020. "Drivers of the CSR report assurance quality: Credibility and consistency for stakeholder engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2530-2547, November.
    9. Binh Bui & Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Mahbub Zaman, 2021. "Climate change mitigation: Carbon assurance and reporting integrity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3839-3853, December.
    10. Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Nicola Raimo & Víctor Amor-Esteban & Filippo Vitolla, 2023. "Board committees and non-financial information assurance services," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 1-42, March.
    11. Kılıç, Merve & Kuzey, Cemil & Uyar, Ali, 2021. "An international investigation on assurance of integrated reports: Institutions, assurance quality, and assurers," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    12. Anna Bartoszewicz & Anna Rutkowska-Ziarko, 2021. "Practice of Non-Financial Reports Assurance Services in the Polish Audit Market—The Range, Limits and Prospects for the Future," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-23, October.
    13. Carmelo Reverte, 2021. "Do investors value the voluntary assurance of sustainability information? Evidence from the Spanish stock market," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 793-809, September.
    14. Teresa Eugénio & Sónia Gomes & Manuel Castelo Branco & Ana Isabel Morais, 2022. "Non-Financial Reporting and Assurance: A New Opportunity for Auditors? Evidence from Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    15. Jolanta Wisniewska & Joanna Gorka, 2021. "A Model on the Decision to Conduct Independent Verification of CSR Data: The Case of Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2B), pages 189-212.

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