Suchergebnisse

Companies disclosing nonfinancial information through sustainability reporting practices provide markets with data on their social, environmental, and governance performance. The quality of sustainability reporting is much discussed in the literature because this quality affects factors such as the credibility of accountability and building stakeholders&rsquo ; trust in the company. Nonetheless, the concept of quality is multidimensional, and empirical evidence relating to the quality of sustainability reporting presents different findings. Regulations on mandatory nonfinancial disclosure (NFD) open new perspectives for research on sustainability reporting quality (SRQ). This study explored the effect of introducing mandatory NFD on SRQ by focusing on the effects of new legislation (Directive 2014/95/EU) introduced in Italy and Germany. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of Italian and German companies in the top lists of stock exchanges. Sustainability reporting practices of one year before (2016) and one year after (2017) the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU were compared. The results of 132 observations demonstrated that the quality of sustainability reporting increased after implementation of the law on mandatory NFD. Further, the effect of the law seemed to reduce the differences in SRQ of the two countries before the introduction of mandatory NFD. The results suggested that obligatoriness of NFD affects SRQ together with other relevant determinants focused on by previous research (e.g., company size and industry type).

Companies disclosing nonfinancial information through sustainability reporting practices provide markets with data on their social, environmental, and governance performance. The quality of sustainability reporting is much discussed in the literature because this quality affects factors such as the credibility of accountability and building stakeholders' trust in the company. Nonetheless, the concept of quality is multidimensional, and empirical evidence relating to the quality of sustainability reporting presents different findings. Regulations on mandatory nonfinancial disclosure (NFD) open new perspectives for research on sustainability reporting quality (SRQ). This study explored the effect of introducing mandatory NFD on SRQ by focusing on the effects of new legislation (Directive 2014/95/EU) introduced in Italy and Germany. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of Italian and German companies in the top lists of stock exchanges. Sustainability reporting practices of one year before (2016) and one year after (2017) the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU were compared. The results of 132 observations demonstrated that the quality of sustainability reporting increased after implementation of the law on mandatory NFD. Further, the effect of the law seemed to reduce the differences in SRQ of the two countries before the introduction of mandatory NFD. The results suggested that obligatoriness of NFD affects SRQ together with other relevant determinants focused on by previous research (e.g., company size and industry type).

With its Global Compact, the United Nations (UN) called companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, while settling and pursuing the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving SDGs in business reporting is part of the lively debate in the literature about the ability of nonfinancial reporting in providing stakeholders with useful and value-relevant information about companies&rsquo ; behaviors. This paper intends to address this issue in the aftermath of the recent European Union EU policy (Directive 95/2014/EU) of mandating companies to disclose nonfinancial information (NFI) according to some of the SDGs matters. To this end, the Italian context was analyzed, and main findings provide some early evidence of the absence of association between NFI and financial/market performance. At the same time, the positive association between companies&rsquo ; Beta factor and size and NFI is supported. This implies that stakeholders still do not appreciate NFI reported according to the new rules and probably that more time is needed to assess the possible advantages of an improved regulation about NFI. However, results show that larger companies and/or companies with higher risk profiles (Beta) have already started to improve their NFI.

AbstractThis research represents a preliminary analysis of the nonfinancial risk disclosure and the first after the introduction of the European directive. Using a content analysis, the level of nonfinancial risk disclosure after the introduction of the Directive 2014/95/EU on nonfinancial information has been investigated. Moreover, in order to understand the effectiveness of nonfinancial risk management, the outlook orientation (past, present, and future) and the approach to risk (positive, negative, and neutral) have been examined. The results show how the level of nonfinancial risk disclosure in Italian companies is better than before the introduction of the directive and also still based on the past and present perspective, rather than the future one.

AbstractIn recent years, greater attention has been paid to sustainability issues. Companies have received increasing pressure from stakeholders to adopt sustainable behavior and provide an adequate representation of sustainability practices. Nonfinancial disclosure has thus taken on a crucial role. In the academic field, several researchers have analyzed the effects of nonfinancial disclosure. However, limited attention has been paid to the impact of nonfinancial information on the cost of debt. This study aims at bridging this gap by analyzing the effect of ESG disclosure on the cost of debt. The fixed effects analysis conducted on a sample of 8264 observations (an unbalanced panel data of 919 firms for the period 2010–2019), shows a negative effect of the ESG disclosure on the cost of debt financing. The results demonstrate that companies with greater levels of transparency in the dissemination of ESG information benefit from accessing third party financial resources at better conditions.