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This study examines the effect of gender board characteristics on the choice of sustainability report format in India. A sustainability report covers the environmental and social impacts of firms. It is presented either as an integrated report with the rest of the financial reporting to stakeholders or a separate document (stand-alone) with the advantage of communicating better information.

The study uses an inclusive sample of 800 firm-year observations between 2010 and 2019. The study applies the binary probit and the instrumental variable probit regressions to analyse the data from the Indian Stock Exchange.

The authors find that female chief executive officers (CEOs) are more likely to choose stand-alone reports over integrated reporting. The authors also find that female CEOs with a duality role are insignificant in choosing between integrated reporting and stand-alone sustainability reporting. Furthermore, the study shows that gender board diversity (percentage of women over total board size) and females of two or less are insignificant. However, three or more females on the board significantly and positively affect stand-alone sustainability reporting. Similarly, independent female directors are more likely to choose stand-alone reporting over integrated reporting. Policymakers must encourage sensitive environmental firms to employ more female CEOs over male CEOs because female CEOs are more likely to adopt stand-alone sustainability reporting.

The authors’ study adds novelty to research because previous studies have only examined a female CEO and sustainability. However, this study is the first to investigate female CEOs' and female board members' choice of sustainability report format.

eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is an internet-based interactive form of reporting language that is expected to enhance the usefulness of financial reporting (Yuan and Wang, 2009). In the UK and the USA, XBRL is mandatory, and in Australia, it is voluntarily adopted. It has been reported that in the not too distant future, XBRL will be the standard format for the preparation and exchange of business reports (Gettler, 2015). Using an experimental approach, this study assesses the usefulness of financial reports with XBRL tagged information compared to PDF format information for non-professional investors. The authors investigate participants’ perceptions of usefulness in relation to the qualitative characteristics of relevance, understandability and comparability.

This paper uses an experimental approach featuring a profit-forecasting task to determine if participants perceive XBRL-tagged information to be more useful compared to PDF-formatted information.

Results reveal that financial information presented with XBRL tagging is significantly more relevant, understandable and comparable to non-professional investors.

The authors address a gap in the literature by examining XBRL usefulness in Australia where XBRL adoption will be mandated within the not too distant future. Currently, the voluntary adoption of XBRL by preparers and users is low, possibly, because of a lack of awareness about XBRL and its potential benefits. This study yields significant implications for the accounting regulators in creating more awareness on the benefits of using XBRL and to create an impetus for XBRL adoption.

This paper aims to examine the influence of sustainability assurance report format (separate versus combined with financial information assurance) and level (limited versus reasonable) on nonprofessional investors’ judgments.

This study uses a 2 × 2 between-participants experiment with 436 US nonprofessional investors. The authors manipulate sustainability assurance report format and level to identify differences in judgments of information credibility, investment desirability and investment amount.

This study finds that sustainability assurance level influences participants’ judgments only when the financial and sustainability assurance reports are presented separately. Specifically, participants assess sustainability performance information as more credible and make higher investment judgments when presented with a separate limited, as opposed to reasonable, assurance sustainability report.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board expressed concerns regarding whether assurance reports accompanying emerging forms of extended external reporting (EER) effectively communicate the level of assurance provided by the independent practitioner. The result that assurance level does not influence investor judgments in the combined reporting format appears contrary to the idea that integrated reporting should provide connectivity between financial and sustainability information. The finding that investors make higher investment and credibility judgments with limited assurance is inconsistent with the intent of sustainability assurance professional guidance and recent research results. Together, the findings suggest that investors may not be able to distinguish between differing levels of sustainability assurance when this information is presented in a combined report format.

Standard setters should consider how sustainability assurance report format and assurance level impact nonprofessional investor judgments.

Research on the effects of EER assurance report format is sparse. The results indicate that even slight changes in assurance report wording may cause investors to perceive that a limited assurance report conveys a higher assurance level than a reasonable assurance report.

This paper aims to investigate whether the stock market reacts to presentation options available to auditors under AS 2 (providing separate financial statement audit and internal control over financial reporting [ICOFR] audit reports, or presenting a combined report with both audit opinions).

Drawing on psychology theory, the authors hypothesize that presenting material weaknesses in ICOFR with an unqualified financial statement audit in a combined report effectively dilutes the weight placed on the material weaknesses perceived by investors. The authors further hypothesize the presentation format effect to vary by type of material weaknesses since some material weaknesses are considered more serious than others. The authors examine ICOFR and audit reporting and cumulative abnormal return data from 2007 to 2017 using two-stage least squares regression analysis.

The results show that a combined report of ineffective ICOFR and unqualified financial statement audit reduces the negative impact of material weakness disclosures on stock price reactions, but only when the weaknesses involve more serious entity-wide controls, as opposed to controls over specific accounts.

The findings help inform preparers, auditors, regulators and investors about the potentially unintended consequences of reporting format choice.

The findings contribute to the literature on internal control disclosures by demonstrating that market reactions to these disclosures depend not only on the types of material weaknesses disclosed but also on their presentation format.

This paper aims to understand the effects of different presentation formats on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. Both International Financial Reporting Standards and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles require an entity to present items of net income and other comprehensive income (OCI) either in one continuous or in two separate, but consecutive, statements but limited understanding exists about their differential effects on evaluation of company performance.

To investigate this research question, we used a two (Financial Position) x two (Format) randomized between-subjects experiment. Ninety-four graduate students assumed the role of investor and participated in this study.

Results of the experiment suggest that participants are more likely to incorporate OCI information presented in the one-statement format than in the two-statement format. Further analysis suggests that participants both assign more weight to OCI and perceive OCI to be relatively more important in the one-statement format than in the two-statement format, especially when the entity suffers an economic loss.

Results from this study provide evidence to the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board that should be useful in evaluating the effectiveness of alternative comprehensive income reporting formats and should be of interest to accounting rule-making bodies, investors, publicly traded entities and financial analysts, among others.

The digital transformation of economic processes in the Russian Federation has necessitated the use of digitalization tools for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) reporting, which is reflected in this research. To more effectively apply IFRS reporting, businesses need to digitize financial and nonfinancial indicators contained in the reporting. The authors identified the pros and cons of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) standard when preparing financial statements under IFRS. The XBRL standard makes it possible to calculate the financial and nonfinancial indicators of the reporting company in various sections. Preparation of IFRS reporting using the XBRL standard changes the transparency and openness of accounting data according to international traditions and brings them closer to world standards for the language of digitalization. The use of the XBRL standard significantly reduces the time it takes to prepare financial statements and eliminates the inconsistency of metadata. However, it cannot replace the professional judgment of a qualified accountant in the near future. To fully implement the XBRL format when preparing financial statements under IFRS, it is necessary to certify domestic software developers who can ensure a secure process for collecting, processing, and transmitting company data through digital channels.

This paper aims to examine the effect of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) adoption on financial reporting quality at the country-level (developing and developed countries).

This study uses data from 98 developed and developing countries between 2005 and 2018. This study collected data from various sources such as the World Economic Forum, World Development Indicators, World Governance Indicators and XBRL website.

The results show that XBRL is associated with an increased financial reporting quality. However, the relationship is stronger in developing countries than in developed countries. This study also finds that the results remain the same after accounting for years of XBRL experience and the effect of accounting globalisation. The results are consistent with the assumption that XBRL-formatted financial statements improve information efficiency through increased searching efficiency, quality of display and comparability. The results are robust to alternative econometric modifications such as controlling for country, year effects and endogeneity.

The results can potentially assist the XBRL promoters and regulators in expeditiously assessing the benefits of XBRL and advocating its adoption by many countries. The findings offer more motivations for regulators around the world to mandate this new filing standard format.

This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the consequences of XBRL at the country level. This study provides evidence on an important question of whether the XBRL, new information technology in the accounting field, can play a useful role in improving financial reporting.

This paper aims to investigate the supply and demand side of sustainability assurance in Bangladesh.

Drawing on signalling theory, a logistic regression model is used for a sample of 100 of the largest Bangladeshi companies to study the relationships between assurance, sustainability disclosure, industry membership and reporting format.

Authors’ results show that companies which produce more sustainability information are more likely to get their sustainability assured, to be from non-carbon intensive industries, and are more likely to integrate their sustainability information with the financial annual reports. Authors’ results support the argument that organisations based in weaker legal environments are more likely to secure assurance as this adds to the credibility and reliability of sustainability reports.

This paper has limitations which raise some issues for future research. First, the authors have covered only large companies; therefore, future research could examine the differences between small and large companies in relation to assurance. Secondly, the authors’ data consist of company sustainability disclosure information in the fiscal year 2015. Longitudinal studies are recommended to extend this research. Finally, future research could examine the moderating effects of geographical location on the relationship between assurance (and its providers) and other variables.

The findings of this paper will prove valuable to practitioners and researchers. Practitioners, including assurance providers and sustainability reporting managers will benefit from authors’ study as it covers both the demand and supply side characteristics of assurance. Researchers will benefit from the study as it investigates assurance practices in the developing country of Bangladesh.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine both the supply and demand sides of sustainability assurance in Bangladesh. Authors also introduce reporting format when measuring the relationship between assurance and its determinant factors at micro level. The study also links assurance to signalling theory.

Governmental financial reporting is prepared for accountability and decision-making purposes and is directed to a wide range of users, including citizens. However, this may sound easier than it actually is as citizens without specific accounting knowledge may find it difficult to understand the financial information prepared by governments. The study analyzes citizens' perceptions toward infographics as well as their ability to improve accounting understandability by nonaccounting experts compared to the traditional financial statements.

The paper presents the results of an exploratory analysis conducted with the participation of a group of citizens in three European countries through a questionnaire.

The results show that infographics improve accounting understandability by nonaccounting experts compared to the traditional financial statements. However, infographics alone are not enough to succeed in making nonaccounting literate citizens experts in fully understanding accounting information.

The novelty of the research consists in its ability to give voice to citizens' preferences regarding the way the financial information is presented, which has been largely neglected by previous studies. In parallel, it analyzes the effect of accounting knowledge on accounting understandability. Moreover, it is the first study that analyzes the use of infographics in public sector financial reporting.

The purpose of this study is to assess how higher education anchor institutions (HEIs) voluntarily report their non-economic impacts. Its goals are to quantify the ease of public access to this information; strengthen the conceptual foundation for HEI impact reporting; and provide guidance for making HEI voluntary disclosures more accessible, comparable and systematic.

Using an exploratory mixed methods design and purposeful sampling, this study analyzed voluntary public disclosures of 41 anchor institution universities in the USA to assess how they communicate their public value creation to stakeholders. Data sources included impact reports, donor reports, annual reports and sustainability reports. The study also analyzed the accessibility of this information by timing how long it took to locate.

The sampled US anchor institutions communicate their non-economic impact to stakeholders in myriad ways using a variety of formats. Time required to find the reports ranged from 37 to 50 min, with an average of 42.30 min. Disparate reporting formats inhibit comparability.

Only 41 anchor institutions were examined. The small sample may not be representative of the broader landscape of higher education institutions.

Findings offer guidance for improving voluntary nonfinancial disclosures to increase public confidence in higher education institutions while advancing community and global resilience. To strengthen voluntary disclosure practices, the study recommends using a standardized reporting format, framing HEI impact through socio-ecological resilience indicators, integrating reports and obtaining some form of assurance. These changes would enhance the credibility and comparability of the disclosures.

This research provides some of the first empirical insight into how US higher education anchor institutions report their value creation to the public. Its application of socio-ecological systems theory outlines an actionable conceptual foundation for HEI reporting by linking organizational, community and global resilience.