摘要
This study investigates the impact of an accounting firm's providing both an annual report audit and environmental,social and govemance(ESG)report assurance on its audit quality.We find that when the same accounting firm is responsible for both the annual report audit and ESG report assurance,this does not compromise the accounting firm's independence.On the contrary,it enhances audit quality through knowledge spillover effects and increased investment in reputational capital.Additional evidence suggests that providing ESG report assurance also prompts the accounting firm to allocate more audit resources,thereby influencing audit quality.In cross-sectional results,consistent with expectations,we find that the knowledge spillover and reputational effects of ESGreport assurance are more pronounced for companies with weaker intemal controls,non-A+H share companies and companies receiving lower levels of analyst attention.Finally,we document that having the same accounting firm responsible for ESG report assurance and annual report audit increases audit fees and also contributes to enhanced firm value.This study comprehensively highlights the influence of ESG report assurance on audit quality,and its findings offer valuable insights into the economic consequences of ESG report assurance practices.
基金
financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.72402120,72432006 and 72372098)
the MOE Project of Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Science in University(No.22JJD790093)
the 111 Project(No.B18033)
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.2022110353)
the University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province(No.GXXT-2021-078)
the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of Anhui Provincial Department of Education(No.2022AH010041).
