Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether Covid-19 related information is associated with a higher level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between Covid-19 and the performance disclosure by using three governance mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach The authors use quantitative content analysis. The authors applied an automated textual analysis technique to measure the level of Covid-19 information and performance disclosure for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms. Findings The authors found a significant positive relationship between the Covid-19 disclosure and the firm performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors also find that both board independence and gender diversity moderate the relationship between the Covid-19 related information and the level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors further run a robustness analysis, which confirms the main results. Practical implications The finding is beneficial for the regulatory setters to better understand whether firms provide generic or meaningful Covid-19 information linked to the firm’s performance. The unique findings of this paper are relevant to regulators, governments, management, shareholders and academics. Originality/value The authors contribute to the literature in a unique and core research area not researched previously. The paper links the Covid-19 disclosure with the firm performance from the corporate narrative perspective. The paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship by considering three main mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.

This paper provides a unique COVID-19 disclosure measurement and investigates the association between the level of COVID-19 disclosure and uncertainty within annual reports for UK FTSE-All share non-financial firms. We used automated textual analysis to score the sampled annual reports. The results show that the level of COVID-19 disclosure varies from industry to industry. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between COVID-19 disclosure and uncertainty in annual reports. Firms with larger boards exhibit more significant uncertainty in annual reports with COVID-19 disclosure. However, the significance of uncertainty in annual reports with COVID-19 disclosure remains at the same level with different board independence percentages. The unique findings of this paper are extremely relevant to governments, shareholders, policymakers, suppliers, and creditors.

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The world is constantly changing, and with an evolving global environmental crisis, there is a growing trend of Corporate Social Responsibility, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure initiatives. The final report on the new E.U. taxonomy for sustainable activities was released in 2020, making ESG disclosure more relevant. This paper investigates the effects of ESG initiatives on the financial performance of Norwegian listed companies from 2010 to 2019. ESG is measured through the Thomson Reuters Eikon ESG disclosure score and financial performance through ROA and Tobin’s Q. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this relationship has been investigated in Norway. Using panel data regression analysis and two proxies for the dependent variable (financial performance), the results of this study are mixed. In particular, findings suggest a strong significant relationship between ESG initiatives and financial performance. More specifically, the regression model, with ROA as the dependent variable, suggests that ESG initiatives have a clear negative impact. On the other hand, the variable Tobin’s Q increases when ESG increases. This could be explained by the different horizons of the measures and other factors affecting the business environment.

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has been adding pressures on companies to commit to their social and ethical responsibilities. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is the main tool through which companies communicate their social behaviour and the need for credible information is censorious during the crisis. This paper aims to measure the level of COVID-19 disclosures in CSR reports by using an automated textual analysis technique based on a sample of UK companies and investigate whether the level of disclosure is enhanced for companies that subject their CSR reports to an assurance process. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consists of FTSE All-share non-financial listed companies. The authors use a computer-aided textual analysis, and we use a bag of words to capture COVID-related information in the CSR section of the firm’s annual reports. Findings The results suggest that the existence of independent external assurance is significantly and positively associated with the provision of COVID-19 information in CSR reports. The authors also find that when assurance is provided by Big 4 accountancy firms, the disclosure of COVID-related information is enhanced. Furthermore, large companies are more likely to disclose COVID-related information in their CSR reports that are externally assured from top-tier accountancy firms, suggesting that assurance could be a burden for smaller firms. Overall, the findings suggest that assurance on CSR reports provides an “insurance-like” protection that mitigates the risks and signals the management’s ethical behaviour during the pandemic. Practical implications The study approach helps to assess the level of corporate engagement with COVID-19 practices and the extent of related disclosures in CSR reports based on the COVID-19 Secure Guidelines published by the UK government. This helps to emphasise how companies engage and communicate COVID-19-related information to stakeholders through CSR reports and ensure a safe working environment during this pandemic. Managers will need to assess the costs and benefits of purchasing assurance on CSR disclosures, giving the ethical signal that assurance sends to the market and protection that it covers during the crisis. Originality/value This paper provides a shred of unique evidence of the impact of the existence of external assurance and the type of assurer on the disclosure of COVID-related information in CSR reports. To the best of authors’ knowledge, no study has yet investigated the corporate disclosure on an unforeseen event in CSR reports and the role of CSR assurance in this respect.