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The aim of this study is to investigate whether and how Spanish listed companies adopt formalized and integrated models of risk management during the period 2016–2018 and disclose them inside annual reports. Such investigation rebuilds the international regulatory and self-regulatory framework about risk management and examines the pressures and constraints influencing the adoption and implementation of ERM model in Spain. Indeed, the instability and uncertainty of the global macroeconomic context and the new threats to the corporate profitability and survival are now contributing to the development of a new dimension of risk management system more updated, dynamic and integrated. The results of the content analysis on ERM disclosure in annual reports show that Spanish listed companies are not equipped with structured and integrated risk management systems and their risk management approach is not aligned with any ERM framework. Notwithstanding, the Spanish companies are taking remarkable steps to strengthen the risk management systems towards a higher level of integration and systematization.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the corporate governance information disclosed by Spanish listed companies on the internet, with the objective of assessing the extent and the influence of several corporate characteristics on the level of information voluntarily disclosed.

The study took as its reference the existing literature on the examination of the quality of web sites and the importance of content as a key variable in determining web site quality. To quantify the corporate governance information disclosed by Spanish listed companies, three transparency indexes were designed. To contrast which variables determine the information provided online, the investigation based itself on studies about voluntary disclosure in companies, and three lineal regressions models and an ANOVA analysis were performed.

The empirical evidence obtained reveals that the firms that score highest for transparency are also those that are most likely to use the internet as a channel for the disclosure of corporate governance information. The results show that disclosure levels depend on the degree to which firms are followed by analysts, their listing age, their “visibility” and the fact of belonging to the communications and information services industry.

The need for this study was clear in view of the increasing interest shown by supervisory authorities for the oversight of the European and US capital markets in regulating not only the content but also the manner in which corporate governance information is disclosed over the internet. During the coming years, regulatory stock market agencies will have to strive to take advantage of the opportunities that the internet offers to increase both the relational and informational capacity of company web sites.

Corporate governance research has focused mainly on the analysis of the information that firms ought to disclose and the effects of disclosure generally, without considering the media involved. This paper suggests a new approach that examines the relevance of technology, particularly the internet, and orients supervisory authorities in the direction to follow for improving corporate governance transparency in listed companies.

The purpose of this paper is to verify if the characteristics of the board of directors (BD) affects the disclosure practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Two different population samples were used from the period 2008-2011: Brazilian listed companies and Spanish companies. It is observed that the size of the board positively affects CSR disclosure practices of the two groups of companies. The percentage of independent directors of the board members positively affects the disclosure practices of CSR in Spanish companies. The percentage of participants of the board women positively impacts the disclosure practices of CSR in Brazilian companies.

The authors worked with two different population samples: one, composed by the Brazilian listed companies in BM&FBOVESPA and other by Spanish companies listed on Madrid Stock Exchange. The selection of this period was due to the increase in the adoption of GRI guidelines from 2008 (Prado-Lorenzo et al., 2012). In addition, as Spanish companies disclose more CSR reports according to the GRI guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative, 2012), this is a suitable environment for the analysis.

Regarding the research question of this study, it was found that the profile of the board affects the disclosure practices of CSR of Brazilian and Spanish companies. The size of the board positively affects CSR disclosure practices of the two groups of companies. The percentage of independent directors of the board members positively affects the disclosure practices of CSR in Spanish companies. The percentage of participants of the board women positively impacts the disclosure practices of CSR in Brazilian companies.

Both the BD of Spanish companies as the Brazilian still requires the participation of a greater number of women. It is important to remember that the variable that represents women in the board presented a positive impact on the dependent variables, and it is statistically significant, so it is possible to affirm that when a large number of women are on the Board, the company tends to disclose more standardized information about CSR practices. These results are in line to other empirical analysis that defend that women usually introduce more philanthropic worries (Ibrahim and Angelidis, 1991) and tend to provide higher information transparency, especially about sustainability issues (Barako and Brown, 2008; Prado-Lorenzo and García-Sánchez, 2010; Frías-Aceituno et al., 2012).

This research should benefit, in this sense, investors, managers and policymakers, civil society representatives and corporate managers themselves active in the two economies investigated.

It should be noticed that both Brazil and Spain use to encourage joint research between researchers of Brazilian and Spanish universities, funding projects developed in partnership as Cooperation Programme signed in 2001 by the Ministries of Education in both countries. Thus, it is justified the choice of Spain for its comparative analysis due to the need for more field studies on this topic in both countries, and also that it has been promoted by their governments.

It is expected that the results of this research contribute to the identification of relevant factors in disclosure of corporate environmental policies and actions that may be useful in the decision-making process of various stakeholders. Such identification will also allow us to identify possible relationships between environmental initiatives, the profile of BD.

This paper aims to examine the influence of the gender diversity in the corporate board on the decision of announcing a firm acquisition on Friday. Prior evidence found the phenomenon of investor inattention.

A sample of 252 cash-financed acquisitions conducted by listed Spanish firms from 2004 to 2018 is analysed. Probit regressions are used.

Firms with greater gender diversity on the board are less likely to make acquisition announcements of listed targets on Friday, thus avoiding investor inattention. Women directors seem to provide higher quality information and are more concerned about investors.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyses the role of women directors in the publication of information on Friday, so it complements studies on the disclosure of quality information by listed companies. The Spanish market is an adequate scenario to analyse the impact of women's participation in business decision-making because Spain was one of the first countries to legislate on gender diversity.

Este trabajo analiza si la participación de mujeres en el consejo de administración puede influir en el anuncio de adquisición empresarial en un memento de poca atención (viernes) o en otro día de la semana.

Se analiza una muestra de 252 anuncios de adquisiciones en efectivo realizados por empresas españolas cotizadas en el periodo de 2004 a 2018. Se utiliza el análisis probit.

Las empresas con mayor porcentaje de mujeres consejeras tienen menos probabilidad de anunciar la adquisición de una empresa cotizada en viernes, evitando así la inatención del inversor. Los resultados sugieren que las mujeres consejeras comunican información de mayor calidad y tienen una mayor preocupación por los inversores.

Hasta donde sabemos este trabajo es el primero que analiza la influencia de las mujeres consejeras en la publicación de información en viernes y refuerza los estudios sobre la calidad de la información publicada por las empresas cotizadas. El mercado español es el contexto ideal para el estudio de la participación femenina en la toma de decisiones empresariales pues España fue uno de los primeros países en establecer cuotas de género en los consejos de administración.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting of Spanish companies listed in the IBEX‐35 stock index and the main drivers of the differences among reporters.

A benchmark tool was built based on GRIv3, and the ESG information issued by Spanish companies listed in the IBEX‐35 index was analyzed.

The authors conclude that GRI has resulted in some standardization of corporate social and environmental reporting, particularly in terms of format, but their approach to indicators is unlikely to produce high quality information that is relevant, comparable, complete and accessible to all stakeholders. Regulation and reputation seem to be the main drivers for improving the quality of ESG reporting. Global companies operating in industries with higher reputation risks had the highest levels of disclosure. Furthermore, reporting seems to be oriented to satisfying the demands of shareholders and investors rather than those of other stakeholders.

This paper proposes a structured definition of ESG quality reporting. Secondly, it makes an empirical contribution, by developing a reliable and valid instrument of research based on GRIv3.

In this paper, the authors aim to analyze the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards' (IFRS) mandatory adoption on the financial statements of Spanish listed companies.

The authors estimate a panel data model by generalized least squares' within-between in order to contrast the possible structural breaks in the relations between income statement items and balance sheet items, using data from the 35 largest listed companies.

The results show significant changes on these relations, but with different signs and degrees of intensity depending on the balance sheet item analyzed.

The data choice introduces a size bias that could be taken into account in the generalization of the results to other listed companies.

This work is developed using a mandatory, local, accounting and panel data framework for first time using Spanish listed companies in order to measure the impact of the IFRS adoption.

Accounting regulation is a highly topical issue for listed companies in Europe. From 1 January 2005 all companies listed in the EU member states have been required to produce financial reports compliant with international accounting standards. Financial reports will be comparable with each other only if full compliance with the international standards can be ensured. Historically, however, an enduring weakness of the international standard‐setting regime has been its inability to enforce compliance with its standards. There is a danger that implementation and compliance will be variable across the adopting countries, and that deeply ingrained national reporting practices will persist. Where such practices include a high incidence of earnings management techniques and behaviours, any improvement in the quality of reported financial information may be slow to materialise.

The main purpose of this conceptual paper is drawing up a framework to assess the company responsibility regarding culture and fine arts. Since a rich cultural life requires variety and commitment to innovative and bold forms of cultural activity, the model should measure the corporate commitment to fostering axiological pluralism in the cultural sphere. A subordinate purpose is testing that model using primary data on the biggest Spanish listed companies. First, we define the corporate cultural responsibility (CCR) as a specific field of the corporate social responsibility. Second, we defend that corporate citizenship involves accepting some risks to be in line with the public expectations on arts and culture. Third, it is proposed an assessment model that takes into account the kind of cultural activities promoted by the firms, from conventional and uncommitted to innovative and provoking. The model makes possible to rank the companies according to the quality of their CCR and take into account the influence of size and sector. The model reveals whether firms support conventional versus challenging cultural activities. This should be taken into consideration both by CSR managers and policy makers. In spite of the mounting economic significance of symbols and creativity, there is still little literature that specifically addresses the role of firms regarding arts and culture as another facet of their responsibility as corporate citizens.

This study aims to analyse the effect of related party transactions (RPTs) on earnings quality in a sample of Spanish listed firms, as well as the moderating role played by female directors in the relationship between RPTs and earnings quality.

The sample includes non-financial Spanish listed firms from 2005 to 2019. The authors use panel data analysis based on the firm fixed-effect estimator. Additionally, the authors use the two-step system generalized method of moments estimator to test the robustness of the results.

The results show a negative effect of RPTs on earnings quality. Further analysis reveals that the negative effect is mainly driven by transactions between the firm and its directors and major shareholders, as well as by RPTs that are more likely to reflect insiders’ self-interest. Moreover, the authors show that the presence of female directors reduces the negative impact of RPTs on earnings quality.

The study provides practical implications for investors, auditors and policymakers, who should be aware that RPTs might harm earnings quality and adversely affect the flow of financial capital to promising investment opportunities. Additionally, the study evidences the key governance role played by female directors regarding financial reporting policies as RPTs increase.

The findings promote the need for a higher representation of women in leadership positions since the authors reveal the key governance role played by female directors regarding financial reporting policies as RPTs increase.

The results to emerge from the study complement available evidence concerning the effect of RPTs on earnings quality in a continental European country. The authors also provide novel evidence vis-à-vis the role of female directors in the relationship between RPTs and earnings quality.