دانلود رایگان مقاله تضعیف عدم تقارن اطلاعات از طریق تضمین پایداری: نقش حسابداران و سطوح اطمینان

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to examine the usefulness of sustainability reporting in reducing information asymmetry as result of lower dispersion and higher accuracy in financial analysts’ earnings forecasts. The empirical results from an international sample of listed companies indicate that the disclosure of sustainability information alone is not sufficient in this regard as our findings indicate that information asymmetry is reduced to a greater when such information is assured, supporting the value relevance role of sustainability reporting and assurance. In addition, the empirical findings suggest differences in terms of assurance attributes (provider and level of engagement) and such differences are even more relevant when controlling the institutional context. Assurance is highly appreciated by investors in more stakeholder-oriented countries; however, in more shareholderoriented environments, assurance affects information asymmetries only when it is provided by accounting professionals who also report a “reasonable” opinion.

7. Conclusions

This research is a first attempt to analyze the role of sustainability assurance in reducing information asymmetry, proxied by analysts’ forecast accuracy. Using a sample of international listed companies for the period 2007–2014, we find that sustainability reporting reduces information asymmetry when such information is assured, when assurance is provided by accounting professionals and when practitioners report a reasonable/high level of opinion concerning the sustainability report. Overall, sustainability assurance is a valuable tool for improving the accuracy and credibility of sustainability information, thus increasing the analysts’ ability to predict future cash flows.