Assurance Services for Sustainability Reports: Standards and Empirical Evidence

Manetti, Giacomo; Becatti, Lucia

doi:10.1007/s10551-008-9809-x

Cited by 249 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

128

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…in the absence of standardized and mandatory audit of such information, companies can report irrelevant information in order to project a desirable and transparent image), neither that it means that companies have successfully discharged their accountability (Roberts, 2009). In the absence of any regulatory requirements (Manetti & Becatti, 2009), the GRI provided the first set of guidelines that not only allowed the comparison of reporting practices by companies around the globe but also challenged companies to report on a range of negative practices by setting clear guidelines. The GRI guidelines are now regarded as 'the de facto global standard' for sustainability reporting by the leading global companies (Hahn & Lülfs, 2014;KPMG, 2011KPMG, , 2013 and are commonly used by researchers in the field of sustainability reporting.…”

Section: Sustainable Hrm and Corporate Sustainability Reportingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reporting on sustainability and HRM: a comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies

Ehnert

Parsa

Roper

et al. 2015

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

371

279

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As a response to the growing public awareness on the importance of organisational contributions to sustainable development, there is an increased incentive for corporations to report on their sustainability activities. In parallel with this has been the development of 'Sustainable HRM' which embraces a growing body of practitioner and academic literature connecting the notions of corporate sustainability to HRM. The aim of this article is to analyse corporate sustainability reporting amongst the world's largest companies and to assess the HRM aspects of sustainability within these reports in comparison to environmental aspects of sustainable management and whether organisational attributes -principally country-of-origin -influences the reporting of such practices. A focus in this article is the extent to which the reporting of various aspects of sustainability may reflect dominant models of corporate governance in the country in which a company is headquartered. The findings suggest, first and against expectations, that the overall disclosure on HRM-related performance is not lower than that on environmental performance. Second, companies report more on their internal workforce compared to their external workforce. Finally, international differences, in particular those between companies headquartered in liberal market economies and coordinated market economies, are not as apparent as expected.

show abstract

Section: Sustainable Hrm and Corporate Sustainability Reportingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reporting on sustainability and HRM: a comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies

Ehnert

Parsa

Roper

et al. 2015

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

371

279

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As such, choosing a preferred carbon emissions assurance provider is not a simple decision, as accounting and nonaccounting firms each provide specific attributes toward carbon assurance (Green & Taylor, 2013;Huggins et al, 2011;Olson, 2010;Simnett et al, 2009). The scope of assurance, as well as the criteria for assuring bodies and the level of assurance, may vary considerably across firms and jurisdictions (Deegan et al, 2006;Manetti & Becatti, 2009;O'Dwyer & Owen, 2007).…”

Section: Research Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigates corporate incentives for the choice of assurance providers of accounting firms versus nonaccounting firms. Based on an international sample of 3,635 firm-year observations for the period of 2010-2014, we find that firms subject to greater legitimacy and stakeholder pressure (e.g., those with higher carbon emissions in countries with stringent climate protection and stakeholder-orientation) are more likely to choose accounting firms as their assurance provider. We also find supporting evidence that firms with a desire to improve carbon management mechanisms (e.g., firms that adopt carbon reduction incentives with higher carbon transparency) show a tendency to choose consulting firms specializing in climate change management. The overall findings suggest that the choice of assurance provider is a strategic decision, which aligns with a firm's overall corporate social responsibility goal. Our results should help practitioners, managers, and regulators understand the emerging audit practice and market.

show abstract

“…However, the dramatic growth of sustainability reports has not been accompanied by an increase in public confidence (Dando & Swift, 2003) due to the feeling of a lack of consistency and completeness of sustainability reports (Adams & Evans, 2004;Manetti & Becatti, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability assurance and cost of capital: Does assurance impact on credibility of corporate social responsibility information?

Martínez‐Ferrero

García‐Sánchez

2017

Business Ethics: A European Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper aims to examine the credibility value of sustainability assurance and the type of assurance provider on cost of capital. A large sample of international companies from the period 2007–2014 was used to develop our models of analysis. We find a greater decrease in cost of capital for companies that publish and assure their social and environmental reports. Thus, voluntary sustainability disclosures decrease the cost of capital. However, companies also have the opportunity to reinforce this decrease by providing an assurance statement, so increasing the credibility of corporate social responsibility information. In addition, the decrease in the cost of capital is significantly higher when such assurance is provided by a top‐tier accountancy firm instead of by engineering or consultancy firms; this result supports also the reputational capital of accountancy firms.

show abstract

Assurance Services for Sustainability Reports: Standards and Empirical Evidence

Cited by 249 publications

References 14 publications

Reporting on sustainability and HRM: a comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies

Reporting on sustainability and HRM: a comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies

Corporate choice of providers of voluntary carbon assurance

Sustainability assurance and cost of capital: Does assurance impact on credibility of corporate social responsibility information?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About