IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ajarpp/ajar-12-2021-0263.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financial reporting quality, industrial revolution 4.0 and social well-being among Malaysian public companies

Author

Listed:
  • Wan Adibah Wan Ismail
  • Marziana Madah Marzuki
  • Nor Asma Lode

Abstract

Purpose - This study examines the relationship between financial reporting quality, Industrial Revolution 4.0 and social well-being of stakeholders among public companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - The sample of the study includes 232 firm-year observations of Malaysian publicly listed companies from 2013 to 2017. Social well-being is measured using social pillar scores from the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data provided by Refinitiv. The study identified companies as an adopter of IR 4.0 based on their disclosure on the use of autonomous robots, simulation, cloud, horizontal and vertical system integration, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, augmented reality and big data analytics in their financial reports. Financial reporting quality is measured using discretionary accruals. Findings - This study found that financial reporting quality and IR 4.0 are related to social well-being, particularly the workforce. These results imply that companies with higher adoption of IR 4.0 are more likely to provide more information concerning job satisfaction, a healthy and safe workplace, maintaining diversity, equal and development opportunities for its workforce. Furthermore, the results show that firms with lower discretionary accruals (i.e. higher quality of financial reporting) are more likely to provide more information about social well-being. The results are robust even after addressing endogeneity issues. Research limitations/implications - This research contributes new insights into the role of financial reporting quality and IR 4.0 in enhancing social well-being in Malaysia. These findings offer valuable input for regulators striving to advance the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Practical implications - This study carries substantial practical implications for policymakers and businesses alike. It underscores the importance of embracing IR 4.0 technologies and integrating them into strategic planning to foster social well-being. These insights can guide policymakers in shaping economic strategies and assist businesses in prioritizing financial reporting quality while engaging stakeholders to promote social well-being. Originality/value - This is the first study to investigate the combined relationship of financial reporting quality and IR4.0 on social well-being, which provides valuable evidence in this novel domain. While previous studies have primarily explored the relationship of IR4.0 on sustainability from an environmental and human resource perspective, this study sheds light on the specific dimension of social well-being, hence promoting sustainable development goals by the United Nations in 2030.

Suggested Citation

  • Wan Adibah Wan Ismail & Marziana Madah Marzuki & Nor Asma Lode, 2024. "Financial reporting quality, industrial revolution 4.0 and social well-being among Malaysian public companies," Asian Journal of Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 294-308, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:ajarpp:ajar-12-2021-0263
    DOI: 10.1108/AJAR-12-2021-0263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AJAR-12-2021-0263/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AJAR-12-2021-0263/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/AJAR-12-2021-0263?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
    ---><---

    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:eme:ajarpp:ajar-12-2021-0263. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.