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Purpose: Previous studies on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance (TA) have found inconclusive results. Academics have suggested deepening our understanding of this relationship. Although a few studies have responded to this call, research toward moderating variables is still nascent. The purpose of this study is to analyze the moderating role of economic freedom (EF) and its interaction with power distance (PD) on the relationship between CSR and TA. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of 3,866 publicly listed firms from 44 countries over the period 2010–2018, the authors use multivariate regressions techniques to investigate whether and how EF moderates the relationship between CRS and TA and how PD influences this effect. Findings: Findings indicate that the potentially positive relationship between CSR and TA is weaker for firms in institutional environments with higher EF. Moreover, we find that this moderating effect is stronger when PD is lower. Practical implications: This study has important implications. It offers insights for managers to reflect on their CSR and taxation practices, and for policymakers to consider the institutional conditions that facilitate corporations' social and tax-responsible behavior. These findings indicate the necessity of integrating cultural, regulatory and collaborative elements to observe corporations engaged in social and tax-responsible behavior. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the moderating effect of EF on the relationship between CSR and TA, and its interaction with PD. Moreover, our sample includes firms based in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Oceania, facilitating the study of EF and PD's broad diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to conduct a review and analysis of the literature on Shariah audit compliance by examining the difference between internal and external auditors, the scope of internal Shariah audits and the qualification of Shariah auditors. Design/methodology/approach: The current study used content analysis and the descriptive approach to achieve the main objective of the study. To ensure that Islamic Financial Institutions' (IFIs) practices preserve Shariah principles and values when providing Shariah-compliant products and services, this audit will be used to supervise and monitor the operations of IFIs. The main goal of Shariah compliance auditing is to protect the interests of IFIs stakeholders, including account holders, shareholders, creditors, management and employees, as well as the general public while ensuring that the mechanisms of checks and balances in place are appropriate and tailored to the goals and missions of its establishment following the Maqasid Al-Shariah. Findings: The findings of this study attempt to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding Shariah audit compliance by advising IFIs on the value of Shariah compliance auditing in addressing the needs of its stakeholders. As a result, the benefits of Shariah compliance audits will be maximized, and future legislative changes will be implemented to reduce or completely remove the risk of Shariah's failure to comply. Practical implications: This research advises IFIs on the usefulness of Shariah compliance auditing in addressing the demands of its stakeholders to add to the body of knowledge on Shariah audit compliance. Moreover, all parties involved to take action to reduce the gap that will significantly affect stakeholders' confidence, particularly concerning the Shariah compliance of the IFIs' products and services on their operations and activities. Originality/value: The advantages of Shariah compliance audits will thus be maximized, and future regulatory improvements will be made to lessen or eliminate the danger of Shariah noncompliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether qualitative disclosure in tax footnotes affects the market valuation of tax avoidance activities. We predict that more disclosures in tax footnotes mitigate investors' concerns over the agency risk of managers engaging in potentially illegal tax avoidance and improve the transparency of firm performance, thus increasing firm valuation. Consistent with the prediction, we find that the market valuation of tax avoidance increases when firms' tax footnotes disclose more qualitative information related to their tax avoidance activities. We provide several tests to show mechanisms underlying our main findings and mitigate concerns about alternative explanations. Overall, our study suggests that the tax-related disclosures in tax footnotes are useful for investors assessing the value of tax avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that analyst behavior changes in response to a randomly assigned shock that exogenously varies the timeliness and cost of accessing mandatory disclosures in the cross-section of investors: analysts reduce coverage and issue less optimistic, more accurate, less bold, and less informative forecasts. Our evidence indicates that analysts reduce a strategic component of their behavior: the changes are stronger among analysts with more strategic incentives like affiliated or retail-focused analysts. We conclude that mandatory disclosure can substitute for analyst information production, which is constrained by investors' ability to verify forecasts using corporate filings. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability concept embraces a wide scope of linked practices: green thinking, sustainability informational and management assurance, ESG reporting and scoring, responsible and impact investment, stability measurements, and others. Significantly expanding beneficiary's and stakeholders' circle needs information to build and implement a policy providing ESG values creation and meeting their requirements in relevant sustainable agenda. This is why it is important to create a transparent information landscape and to shape new highlights in management and decision-making. The article is aimed at exploring specific ways to transform information and management practices, primarily accounting, ESG-reporting, analysis, and assurance to create a transparent information environment for sustainability.

The complexity of taxes has been widely discussed in the literature and can be defined and measured in various ways depending on one’s perspective. Institutions play a crucial role in shaping the strategic environment and understanding them is crucial in understanding the policy process. When designing taxes, it is vital to consider how institutions influence tax complexity. In this empirical study, we take an institutional approach to examine what extent the institutional quality supports the tax simplification process. Using the system generalised method of moments (system GMM) for a dynamic panel of 88 countries, we show that higher institutional quality seems to be associated with a lower degree of tax complexity, regardless of income levels and legal origins. These findings are robustly consistent across a variety of specifications and institutional measurements. To that end, we make policy recommendations on tax administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) mandate on the quality of financial reporting produced mixed findings. Several researchers showed that the IFRS mandate depresses earnings management since it improves comparability, and the principle-based approach offers limited alternatives for managers in reporting. Others have shown that it provides flexibility for managers in institutionally and legally weak countries. We examine whether the IFRS mandate depresses earnings management practices in South Africa. Using a sample of 206 firms listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) from 2000 to 2010, our findings show that the IFRS mandate significantly reduces earnings management. Our findings contribute to the ongoing discussion about whether high-quality standards effectively mitigate earnings management practices and protect stakeholder rights in developing countries.

This article aims to analyse the asset-backing risk of stablecoins, focusing on international accounting standards, classification criteria, and auditing standards and using Tether as a case study. It examines Tether’s issuance, backing, controls, ratios, and regulations to assess risk transmission and mitigation. The results suggest a need for unified and strengthened accounting and auditing standards to enhance user confidence. Liquidity, solvency, and debt ratios were applied to Tether’s balance sheets; while Tether has made efforts to increase its transparency, and although it possesses highly liquid assets, challenges remain regarding its liquidity, solvency, and debt. An independent auditors’ valuation is crucial for investor confidence, demonstrating that more specific regulations are required for stablecoins. Future research should explore other stablecoins to comprehensively understand the accounting and auditing challenges in the field.

This study examines how regulatory policy impacts the complex relationship between bank risk-taking and the predicted probability of a systemic banking crisis in 54 African countries for the period, 2004–2020. The empirical evidence is based on the instrumental variable probit panel regressions. The study found a non-linear U-shaped relationship between bank risk-taking and the probability of a systemic banking crisis. The study shows that a systemic banking crisis is likely to occur when the monotonically increasing levels of risk-taking of banks exceed thresholds of 0.015 and 0.79. The study also found that the thresholds of risk-taking in countries with stringent regulatory policies are relatively greater in countries operating in low regulatory policy regimes. In light of the conditional marginal effects, the study provides evidence to support that regulatory policy amplifies and augments the negative linear impact of risk-taking on the predicted probability of a systemic banking crisis. This is relevant to policymakers because the established conditional effects imply that regulatory policy is a sufficient complementary condition for shaping the negative effect of bank risk-taking and systemic banking crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission's mandated CEO pay ratio is a simple, but salient, metric that could resonate with employees given it focuses on their compensation. Reporting a relatively or surprisingly high ratio reduces employee perceptions of their pay, views of the CEO, and hampers productivity growth. Employee pay satisfaction drops after disclosing a high ratio even if their wages were previously disclosed and when the pay ratio disclosure adds little new information. Disclosures by firms with a high ratio contain more discretionary language to explain the ratio or portray employee relations positively and are more likely to be covered by the media. However, neither information source substantially alters the employee response to a salient ratio. Our work illustrates that requiring firms to disclose a salient metric can have unintended consequences on employees and suggests caution in requiring firms to report simplified Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics that are inherently multifaceted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green innovation can achieve a win–win situation of economic growth and environmental protection. This paper examines whether and how mixed ownership reform affects green innovation in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Our findings show that mixed ownership reform can significantly stimulate green innovation in SOEs. The baseline results continue to hold after a series of robustness checks. We also present two underlying mechanisms of this interplay: mitigating financing constraints by introducing capital from non-state shareholders, namely, capital effect, and reducing agency conflicts by allowing non-state shareholders for executive appointment, namely, governance effect. Further analyses show that mixed ownership reform leads to an increase in both green innovation quantity and quality. This stimulating effect is more pronounced for enterprises in heavy-polluting and high-tech industries. This paper provides a comprehensive framework that integrates the resource-based view with agency theory and casts new light on how to stimulate green innovation in SOEs by highlighting the role of ownership structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review empirical research on the relationship between institutional ownership (IO) and board governance (85 studies). Design/methodology/approach: Based on agency and upper echelons theory, the heterogeneous monitoring function of specific types and the nature of institutional investors on board composition, compensation and chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics will be focused. Findings: The author found that most studies have referred to archival studies, analyzed the impact of board governance on IO, focused on CEO characteristics, neglected IO heterogeneity and advanced regression models to address endogeneity concerns. In line with the theoretical framework, the relationship between total IO and board governance is heterogeneous. However, specific types such as foreign, dedicated and pressure-resistant institutions represent active monitoring tools and push for increased board governance. Research limitations/implications: The author provided useful recommendations for future research from a content and methodological perspective, e.g. the need for analyzing the impact of IO on sustainable board governance and other characteristics of top management team members, e.g. the chief financial officer. Practical implications: As many regulatory bodies implemented regulations to promote shareholder rights and board governance, this literature review highlights the connections of both corporate governance mechanisms. Managers should conduct a careful and timely investor analysis and change the composition and compensation of the board of directors in line with institutional investors' preferences. Originality/value: This analysis makes useful contributions to prior research by focusing on IO and board governance, whereas the author structured the heterogeneous variables and results within the structured literature review. The authors guides researchers, regulatory bodies and business practice in this corporate governance topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tax audits are a necessary component of the tax system, but policymakers and others have expressed concerns about their potentially adverse real effects. Understanding the causal effects of tax audits has been hampered by lack of data and because typically tax audits are not randomly assigned. We use administrative data from random tax audits of small businesses to examine the real effects of being subject to a tax audit. We find that audited firms are more likely to go out of business following the audit. The effect is concentrated in firms that underreport their taxes, although we find some evidence that the administrative costs of an audit also negatively affect firm survival. Among firms that continue as going concerns, we find evidence that audits have adverse effects on future revenues but no effect on future wages, employment, or investment. Finally, we find that tax audits have side benefits, causing firms to make changes to improve their tax efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]