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This paper examines the relationship between tax avoidance and accounting comparability. The authors argue that aggressive tax behavior impairs the comparability of financial statements by altering the accounting function, which maps economic events into accounting data.

The empirical analysis is based on a large sample of United States (US) firms. The authors use raw and industry-adjusted effective tax rates (ETRs) to proxy tax avoidance. The authors use the measure of accounting comparability developed by De Franco et al. (2011), which aims to capture the similarity of the accounting function.

The authors find that firms with more aggressive tax avoidance strategies have substantially lower accounting comparability. The evidence also shows that the negative effect of tax avoidance on accounting comparability is driven by firms with aggressive tax planning strategies beyond the industry norm. Furthermore, using an alternative measure of accounting comparability as a function of pre-tax income, the authors continue to find evidence of the negative effect of tax avoidance behavior. Importantly, this provides evidence that the effect of aggressive tax planning is not limited to the reported tax expense, but affects the comparability of the overall financial reporting system.

The authors identify a new potential cost of tax aggressive activities, being the loss of accounting comparability as driven by tax aggressive activities. The results contribute to the literature on the costs of tax avoidance and on the determinants of accounting comparability.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between a firm’s use of aggressive tax planning and board of directors (independence and size) and audit committee characteristics (independence and expertise).

This study used archival data from 35 non-financial firms’ French firms listed on the CAC 40 over a period of 5 years (2013–2018).

This study shows that measures of board size are negatively related to tax aggressiveness. A broader board helps reduce tax aggressiveness, as having more members can improve board performance. Indeed, more members can contribute to a better assessment of tax risks and detect risky tax strategies.

The main limitation of this study is the small sample. The authors limited the observations to 2018 because the corporate tax rate in France changed in 2019. Such a time window casts homogeneity on the current study. Examining universal registration documents, it has been noted that companies have only recently become interested in disclosure of tax risk.

Knowing the characteristics of the board and audit committees can give a signal to stakeholders about the potential risk bearing on aggressive tax planning. This study provides evidence that could help the board governance committees integrate the right profiles and to raise awareness among the members of the board of directors and the audit committee to play their role (monitoring function or advisory function) about tax risk management.

According to the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the effect of the board of directors and audit committee characteristics on tax aggressiveness.

This study aims to analyze the tax compliance behavior of family firms by integrating social and psychological norms with legitimacy determinants, focusing specifically on the Moroccan context.

Employing a qualitative research design, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 chief executive officers (CEOs) of Moroccan family firms. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis to unravel the interplay between individual beliefs and societal norms.

The findings reveal a complex interplay between the personal norms of CEOs and chief financial officers (CFOs) and wider societal and cultural expectations, significantly influencing tax compliance behavior. The study identifies the multifaceted nature of tax compliance, which is shaped by personal ethics, family values and the dominant societal tax culture.

The research is limited by its qualitative approach and focus on Moroccan family businesses, which may not be generalizable to other contexts. Future studies could use a quantitative approach and expand to other geographical settings for a more comprehensive understanding.

Insights from the study can assist policymakers and tax authorities in developing culturally sensitive tax compliance strategies that resonate with family business values.

The research underscores the importance of considering sociocultural dimensions in tax compliance, fostering a more cooperative relationship between family businesses and tax authorities.

The study contributes a novel perspective by synthesizing social, psychological and legitimacy factors in understanding tax compliance in the unique context of family businesses.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the recently highly debated topics of the Tax avoidance–Corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance nexus and to further investigate the impacts of engaging in socially responsible activities on financial performance and bank debt financing constraints, at a disaggregate level (firm level).

The sample for this study includes all publicly listed companies headquartered in BRICS countries from 2014 to 2020. The study employs detailed financial accounting information and the Environmental, Social and Governance scores released by Thomas Reuters EIKON database, which is regarded as the most authoritative indicator of CSR performance. Both pooled and panel data regression models are employed, and robustness tests that use a wide range of model specifications, measures and estimators are performed.

The study finds robust evidence that corporate tax avoidance is negatively associated with CSR performance. The authors also find that firms with better CSR performance have healthier financial performance and lower costs of bank debt. Overall, the research findings are supportive of the corporate culture theory, which suggests that firms behave ethically consistent in both CSR practices and tax payment.

CSR performance and the engagement of tax avoidance activities have been documented in the literature to be vital elements investors care about. This study focuses specifically on the association between them and further elaborates their impacts in the financial markets. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study which investigates the nexus in a sample that includes the most powerful emerging markets in the world. The results of this study are generalisable in terms of the implications of CSR management to many other emerging markets.

Some researchers regard discretionary accrual (DA) as one of the factors that drive corporate managers to conduct tax planning (Scott, 2009; Basri and Buchari, 2017). Based on agency theory and positive accounting theory, corporate managers can transform accounting information and manipulate firm earnings to reduce tax liability. There is a lot of research concerning earnings management and tax planning in the developed economy. These studies include Wang and Chen (2012) and Pettersson and Wu (2015). In the emerging economies, it includes Jamei and Khedri (2016), Kurniasih and Sulardi Suranta (2017), Prastiwi (2017), Almashaqbeh et al. (2018), Bayunanda et al. (2018), Rani et al. (2018) and Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019). It is important to note that none of the research mentioned above has evaluated the impact of real earnings management (REM) on tax planning in Nigeria. While in the developed economy only Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019) used REM as an explanatory variable, while the majority of studies used DA. Consequently, no study has used REM to moderate the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning. Despite the widespread notion, as well as positive accounting theory, tax planning theory that financial attributes (profitability, leverage, liquidity and firm growth), REM and DA motivate tax planning, previous investigations have produced mixed results (Dwenger and Steiner, 2009; Wang and Chen, 2012; Chen and Zolotoy, 2014; Aghouei and Moradi, 2015; Pettersson and Wu, 2015; Ribeiro, 2015; Chen et al., 2016; Jamei and Khedri, 2016; Ogbeide, 2017; Yuniawati et al., 2017; Chen and Lin, 2017; Firmansyah and Febriyanto, 2018; Prastiwi, 2018; Rani et al., 2018; Kibiya and Aminu, 2019; Kałdoński and Jewartowski, 2019 and Siyanbonla, 2021). This study aims to use REM as a moderator to examine the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning whether it will strengthen or weaken the relationship.

The study examines the impact of financial attributes on the corporate tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. It also tests for the moderating effect of REM on the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning. Data for the study was sourced from the annual reports of sampled manufacturing firms. The study used the panel data methodology for analysis. The study used fixed effect estimation to interpret the parsimonious model and random effect was used to interpret the moderated model. The study documented that financial leverage has a positive significant influence on the tax planning of the sampled manufacturing firms. While firm growth has a negative significant impact on the tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. REM has a positive significant impact on tax planning. Also, REM moderate significantly the relationship between financial attributes on one hand and tax planning on the other. The study recommends that firms should go for more debt to take advantage of the tax shield of interest on the debt. Also, firm management should use non-current debt to finance non-current assets and use current debt to finance current assets to avoid the risk of taking over or liquidation. The study also recommends that firm management should engage in intercompany and intracompany transactions by selling their goods to affiliates in countries with low prices and low tax rates. A firm should also overproduce goods to have high production costs and high closing inventory since real earning management significantly reduces tax liabilities by deferring income into a later year.

The study documented that financial leverage has a positive and significant influence on the tax planning of the sampled manufacturing firms. While firm growth has a negative but significant impact on the tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. REM has a positive and significant impact on tax planning. Also, REM moderate significantly the relationship between financial attributes on one hand and tax planning on the other.

There is a lot of research concerning earnings management and tax planning in the developed economy. These studies include Wang and Chen (2012) and Pettersson and Wu (2015). In the emerging economies, it includes Jamei and Khedri (2016), Kurniasih and Sulardi Suranta (2017), Prastiwi (2017), Almashaqbeh et al. (2018), Bayunanda et al. (2018), Rani et al. (2018) and Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019). It is important to note that none of the research mentioned above has evaluated the impact of REM on tax planning in Nigeria. While in the developed economy only Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019) used REM as an explanatory variable, while the majority of studies used DA. Consequently, no study has used REM to moderate the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning.

The paper investigates whether political geography, as measured by the degree of alignment of state politicians with the party of the USA President, has an impact on corporate fraud convictions.

Prior research shows that the degree of alignment between state politicians and the president's political party is positively correlated with measures of earnings management for firms headquartered in the state. Political alignment is conducive to earnings management because it affects a firm's information and enforcement environment by increasing policy risk and promoting lenient regulatory oversight. The paper posits that this environment is also conducive to corporate fraud and tests this hypothesis using pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and panel regressions with annual state-level data for 2003–2018.

The paper documents a positive and statistically significant relationship between political alignment and corporate fraud conviction rates by state.

The conclusions are tempered by data limitations. First, the conviction data are available at the state level only. Second, the true level of fraud is inherently unobservable and the conviction data may not reflect the actual number of frauds that are committed.

Fraud examiners might benefit from considering the role of political connectedness in determining fraud risk. Although additional research is needed before making concrete recommendations, the initial indications clearly point to political connections as a potential concern.

The findings build on evidence that political connections influence earnings management. Rather than focusing on direct measures of connectedness, such as lobbying expenditures, the paper examines a plausibly exogenous measure: political geography.

The purpose of this study is to shed light on the relationships between the different types of ownership structure and tax avoidance activities and examine the moderating effect of audit quality.

This study used secondary data from the listed companies in Amman Stock Exchange (2009–2020). To obtain additional robust findings, this study used various proxies for measuring tax avoidance (effective tax rate [ETR] and cash flow effective tax rate [CFETR]).

Relying on various proxies for tax avoidance, the results reveal that family and managerial ownership lead to exacerbating tax avoidance activities. Although institutional and board ownership have a positive impact on ETR and CFETR, which indicate that these type of ownership have a negative impact on tax avoidance. Audit quality also has a significant role in moderating the ownership structure–tax avoidance relationships. Besides, the results reveal that audit firm size is not merely symbolic words, but it contributes to reducing and restricting tax aggressiveness.

This study has policy implications related to the policymakers in creating future tax policies to minimize and avoid tax avoidance activities. Results of this study can be used to improve awareness among the various owners and to reduce the tax avoidance practices in the developing countries. It also determines a good agenda for research in the relationships between ownership identities, audit quality and tax avoidance, which also can be used to encourage and guide future studies.

This research extends the existing literature by examining both the direct and indirect influence of ownership structure on tax avoidance in Jordanian firms by including audit quality as a moderating variable. This is a pioneering and unique study examining the joint influence of the different forms of ownership on tax avoidance. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that examines the interaction influences between the various identities of ownership and audit quality on the tax avoidance activities in the Jordanian context.

Profit shifting is a matter of great concern for governments internationally. It leads to the loss of tax revenues and puts multinational corporations (MNCs) in a disparate position. Lately, due to the aggressive stance of the Indian taxman, several Indian MNCs are planning to minimise their tax outflows. This paper aims to study profit-shifting drawing from the institutional theory for the Indian MNCs.

The sample comprises 679 MNCs listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange or the National Stock Exchange with either Indian parents with foreign subsidiaries (553) or Indian subsidiaries of a foreign parent (126) for FY 2013–14 to FY 2018–19. A fixed-effect panel regression technique was invoked to examine tax rate differential motivated profit-shifting undertaken by MNCs with the moderating effect of international presence and patents.

The results suggest that MNCs shift their profits to take advantage of differences in global tax rates when they have an international presence in at least five tax countries. Further, profit shifting is likely towards no-tax compared to low-tax countries, with the presence of patents in an MNC group having no significant impact.

Losses to the government revenue due to profit shifting by MNCs are rather severe in emerging economies. The study provides the first empirical evidence of the direction of profit shifting with the moderating effect of the extent of global presence and group patents, which would interest scholars in the field. The findings provide valuable insights to the policymakers, highlighting the urgent need to operationalise the general anti-avoidance taxation rules.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure has gained momentum in corporate reporting. Addressing a research gap on the subject, this paper aims to explore the theories involved in ESG disclosure studies, thereby shedding light on the dominant theoretical approaches and emerging perspectives that inform this type of disclosure.

A systematic review of 142 selected accounting studies published up to June 2023 devoted to ESG – and corporate social responsibility (CSR) – disclosure was conducted. The theories underlying these studies were examined through a descriptive performance analysis complemented by a systematic qualitative text analysis using RStudio and QDA Miner software tools.

The study reveals that five dominant theories stand out among the overall 32 found: stakeholder theory first, followed by legitimacy, institutional, agency and signaling theories. Theories are often combined into an integrated theoretical framework. The findings also show an array of minor constructs – many of them unconventional – that offer fresh perspectives for studying ESG disclosure, such as upper echelons, stakeholder salience, cognitive cost and reputation theories, among others.

This paper provides an original literature contribution by offering a comprehensive overview of the mainstream and niche theoretical perspectives underpinning accounting studies focused on ESG disclosure, with a nuanced scope of discussion on the use of ESG/CSR terms.

This study aims to investigate the effect of overconfident chief executive officers (CEOs) on corporate tax avoidance and whether this relationship is affected by institutional and family ownership.

Using a sample of French-listed firms from 2009 to 2021, the authors find that firms managed by overconfident CEOs engage in more tax avoidance practice.

The authors further find that institutions and families are likely to discourage tax avoidance practices, paying close attention to their long-term horizons and reputational concerns. Overall, the authors' findings shed light on the monitoring role of institutional and family shareholders in restraining the effect of CEO behavioral bias on companies' tax avoidance.

To the authors' knowledge, no study has investigated the impact of managerial overconfidence on the tax behavior of French firms. The authors also extend the growing literature regarding managerial effects by providing new evidence that French firms held by concentrated institutional and family ownership curtail CEO overconfidence behavior toward corporate tax avoidance practices.