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Businesses are now under more pressure from society, legislatures, and other stakeholders to act responsibly since there is a deeper understanding of how businesses affect society globally. Whether a company environmental policy is actively pursued or passively approved, boards are ultimately in charge of it. Hence, the aim of the study is to investigate the influence of the board of directors’ characteristics, namely board size, meetings, independence, gender diversity, and qualification, on environmental disclosure. The study covers all listed manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for the years 2018–2022. The study expects that the board of directors’ characteristics should have a significant impact on enhancing the environmental disclosure. The finding of the study will add a vital contribution to the literature as it is the first study to be conducted in a developing country, such as Bahrain, where no study has yet been conducted there. The finding will help different parties, for example, policy makers, regulators, and shareholders as well as managers on the effect of the board of directors on the level of high quality in environmental disclosure that will build a good reputation for companies.

The paper investigates the dynamic relationship between oil prices, the USA dollar exchange rate and the Saudi stock market index.

The authors perform a novel dynamic simulated the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) on weekly data from 2010 to 2021.

The authors' work reveals three main results: First, a cointegration relationship exists between oil prices and the Saudi stock market index. Second, the Saudi stock market is strongly affected by fluctuations in oil prices in both the short and long run. Third, the exchange rate of the USA dollar has a slight influence on the movements of the Saudi stock market. The simulations show that the Saudi stock market index has a long-run upward trend after an oil price shock, while the dollar index rises moderately after a similar shock. Moreover, the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a significant decline in the Saudi stock market index, particularly the substantial drop in oil prices.

These findings encourage domestic and foreign investors to benefit from an upward trend in oil prices, especially after the opening of the Saudi market to foreign investment. On the other hand, it raises questions about the Saudi economy's dependence on oil as the sole vehicle for output growth. It highlights the urgent need for diversification and productivity growth in the non-oil sector and other renewable natural resources to increase Saudi competitiveness.

The novelty of the research lies in the following. First, the authors apply one of the latest developments in time-series modeling techniques. This dynamic ARDL simulation model provides a worthwhile alternative way to explore dynamic correlations in the short and long run and assess the choc effects. Secondly, the study would enable us to track the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on the Saudi stock market.

This study aims at exploring the nexus between herding behavior and the spillover effect in G7 and BRICS stock markets.

The authors used the dynamic connectedness approach TVP-VAR model of Antonakakis et al. (2019) to capture the spillovers across different markets. Moreover, to explore herding behavior, the authors used a modified version of the CSAD measure of Chang et al. (2000) including extreme market movements. Finally, to study the link between these two phenomena, the authors estimated a DCC-GARCH model.

The results show that herding behavior exists in the American market and some BRICS markets. Furthermore, spillover between G7 and BRICS increases in times of crisis. Moreover, the authors find a dynamic conditional correlation between herding behavior and spillovers both in the short and long run. The authors conclude that in times of crisis, the transmission of shocks between markets is more frequent, fuelling uncertainty and pushing investors to suppress their own beliefs and follow the general market trends.

This paper uses the TVP-VAR model to explore the spillover effect and the DCC-GARCH model to explore the connectedness between herding behavior and the spillover effect in G7 and BRICS countries in both the short and long run.

We develop a conceptual framework as a basis for thinking about the impact of extractive industries and emancipatory potential of alternative accounts. We then review selected alternative accounts literature on some contemporary issues surrounding the extractive industries and identify opportunities for accounting, auditing, and accountability research. We also provide an overview of the other contributions in this special issue.

Drawing on alternative accounts from the popular and social media as well as the alternative accounting literature, this primarily discursive paper provides a contemporary literature review of identified issues within the extractive industries highlighting potential areas for future research. The eight papers that make up the special issue are located within a conceptual framework is employed to illustrate each paper’s contribution to the field.

While accounting has a rich literature covering some of the issues detailed in this paper, this has not necessarily translated to the extractive industries. Few studies in accounting have got “down and dirty” so to speak and engaged directly with those impacted by companies operating in the extractive industries. Those that have, have focused on specific areas such as the Niger Delta. Although prior studies in the social governance literature have tended to focus on disclosure issues, it is questionable whether this work, while informative, has resulted in any meaningful environmental, social or governance (ESG) changes on the part of the extractive industries.

The extensive extractive industries literature both from within and outside the accounting discipline makes a comprehensive review impractical. Drawing on both the accounting literature and other disciplines, this paper identifies areas that warrant further investigation through alternative accounts.

This paper and other contributions to this special issue provide a basis and an agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake interdisciplinary research into the extractive industries.

In this paper, the authors examine the relation between cross-listing and the noncompliance with the mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure regulation in India, the first country to legally mandate the CSR expenditure.

The authors apply panel logit and ordinary least square (OLS) regression models to examine the impact of cross-listing on the noncompliance with the mandatory CSR expenditure regulation because panel regression has lesser multicollinearity problems and has the benefit of controlling for individual or time heterogeneity mostly present in cross-section or time series data.

Using a sample of 1,027 listed Indian firms, the authors show that the cross-listed firms are more likely to comply with the mandatory CSR expenditure than non-cross-listed firms. The authors further show that this relation holds only for those firms which are exposed to higher agency problems, for firms affiliated to business groups and for firms operating in high litigation risk industries. Finally, the authors show that cross-listed firms complying with the mandatory CSR expenditure command more valuation premiums.

This study’s results suggest that the noncompliance of the Indian firms with the mandatory CSR expenditure regulation comes down once they cross-list their shares in the US or the UK since such firms have to bond to the stronger corporate governance standards of the listed country. Hence, the authors recommend that merely making the investment in CSR activities mandatory may not serve the purpose and the convergence in corporate governance as well as compliance with the CSR expenditure can be achieved through cross-listing in US and UK markets.

One, the authors analyze the effect of cross-listing on the likelihood and magnitude of noncompliance with the CSR mandate. Two, this study is based in India where CSR expenditure has been made mandatory under the Companies Act, 2013. Using CSR mandate as a natural experiment, the authors have access to a richer data set on CSR in terms of the actual expenditure made by the company on CSR activities and the mandatory amount to be spent in a particular year.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of cross-listing in overcoming liability of origin (LOO) facing emerging economy corporations (EECs).

This paper takes Chinese firms' cross-listing in Hong Kong and the firms' establishment of international joint ventures (IJVs) with foreign partners as the research setting. This is an empirical study using Heckman's self-selection model as the primary econometric technique and two-stage least square (2SLS) regressions as the supplementary estimation procedure.

Cross-listing in developed economies can serve as a signal for EECs to overcome the LOO. In addition, the regional institutional voids of emerging economies (EEs) and state ownership are prominent boundary conditions shaping this effect.

Only Chinese firms and the firms' cross-listing in Hong Kong are considered for the empirical context as a result of data availability.

This paper provides a practical solution for EECs whose internationalisation tends to be hindered by the LOO.

This study is of high importance in that it centres on a distinctive and challenging problem faced with EECs—the LOO. Besides, it ascribes this liability to a matter of information asymmetries and explores how cross-listing can serve as a signal to cope with this challenge.

This paper examines how firms respond to local government’s environment initiatives through textual analysis of government work reports (GWRs). This study aims to provide insights into how firms strategically respond to government’s environmental initiatives through their disclosure and investment practices.

This study uses a textual analysis of GWRs from China’s provinces. The frequency and change rate of environmental keywords in these reports are used as a measure of the government’s environmental initiatives.

This study finds that environmental disclosure scores in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports increase with the frequency or change rate of environmental keywords in provincial GWRs. This effect is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, firms in highly marketized provinces or those listed in a single capital market. However, there is no significant relationship between firms’ environmental investments and government initiatives, except for cross-listed firms in provinces with consistently high frequency of environmental keywords in their GWRs.

The findings indicate that government environmental initiatives can shape firms’ disclosure behaviors, yet have limited influence on investment decisions, suggesting that environmental disclosure could potentially be opportunistic. This underscores the need for more effective strategies to stimulate firms’ environmental investments.

This study provides valuable insights into the differential impacts of government environmental initiatives on firms’ disclosure and investment behaviors, contributing to the understanding of corporate environmental responsibility in the context of government initiatives.

Foreign directors from developed nations are significant brain gains for Chinese firms because they improve board competency and board diversity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between foreign directors from developed countries on Chinese listed firms and firms’ green commitment.

For the empirical analysis, first, this study applies ordinary least square regression and firm fixed model to explore the relationship between foreign directors and green commitment. For the endogeneity concerns, this study first added more control variable in the main model, then applied instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching technique.

This study predicts and finds that percentage of foreign directors from developed countries on Chinese listed firms’ board positively enhances the firms’ green commitment. Furthermore, this study also finds that the positive relationship between foreign directors and firms’ green commitment is more significant when firms are in a low competitive industry, have no financial constraints and are overseas-listed. This study’s findings are robust after controlling for endogeneity concerns.

This is new research on the impact of foreign directors on corporate green commitment.

The study examines the changes in audit market concentration, auditor choice and audit quality in Russia following International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Scholars have called for further examination of the effects of IFRS adoption on auditors, with an emphasis on the importance of analyzing emerging markets that are characterized by enforcement challenges and lack of proper infrastructure. It focuses on a unique feature of Russian companies – dual audits under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) and IFRS – and investigates changes in audit concentration and audit quality for the two audit markets.

The authors rely on the audited financial statements of Russian public companies and perform pre-/post-IFRS adoption estimation using a logit regression to ascertain whether public firms change auditors from local firms with limited IFRS expertise to those with global reputation, namely Big 4 audit firms. Further, they examine whether the change in audit market concentration post-2012 affects audit quality as proxied by companies' propensity to receive a modified audit opinion and discretionary accruals. Auditor attributes were hand-collected from audited financial statements and matched with financial variables from Datastream.

The IFRS audit market was dominated by the Big 4 audit firms prior to 2012, and there is strong evidence that audit market share (concentration) increases for IFRS reports but not for RAS reports. In addition, companies are more likely to choose a Big 4 audit firm for an RAS audit, conditional upon a Big 4 firm conducting the IFRS audit. The authors do not find evidence of decrease in the probability of audit firms issuing a modified audit opinion under either RAS or IFRS, indicating that, in the Russian setting, increased auditor concentration post-IFRS adoption does not lead to enhanced risk or decline in audit quality. Moreover, they find that discretionary accruals decline post-2012. Overall, the findings indicate that the concern of global regulators regarding audit market concentration is not justified.

The Russian reporting environment is unique and generally characterized by significant agency problems, and the study’s estimation sample is not large, compared to prior studies conducted predominantly in Western jurisdictions. Nevertheless, the authors shed light on the audit concentration phenomenon within emerging markets, for which empirical evidence is scarce. Future research could explore the impact of other capital market events and exogenous shocks, not limited to IFRS adoption, on the characteristics of Russia's audit market.

The IFRS reporting regime is commonly associated with enhanced reporting quality and improved information transparency among public companies. Yet, impairment of audit quality as a result of IFRS-driven increase in audit market share of Big 4 can potentially negate these capital market effects. This study shows that the concerns of global regulators are not valid and that audit quality does not change with increased share of Big 4 post-IFRS adoption.

Dual audits, whereby companies must prepare two sets of financial statements per the IFRS mandate, are not unique to Russia, and the evidence of IFRS reporting on the structural changes in the audit market and implications for audit quality under a dual regime is scarce. Accordingly, the study's findings are important and timely and are expected to aid regulators of countries that have announced or are contemplating the adoption of IFRS for public reporting purposes.

The purpose of this study is to examine within a unified framework the timeliness and conservatism of accounting disclosure accommodating the transmission of news among the Scandinavian stock markets.

To this end the authors have used an augmented ordinary least squares (OLS) approach and univariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic and vector autoregressive (VAR) modeling. The sample covers the period from 1987 to 2020, totaling 1452 observations. The sample was collected from the datastream database.

The empirical results of this study are consistent with previous findings and provide evidence that accounting reporting is timely and conservative while news is transmitted amongst the Scandinavian stock markets.

The findings could be important for investors, firms and regulators since failure of considering information that is derived from more advanced approaches could result in lower quality of annual reports of companies.

The authors examined the relationship between earnings yield and conditional risk using an augmented OLS model and the transmission of news among Scandinavian stock markets using a VAR model.