ESG Practices and the Relevance of Accounting Information: The Moderating Effect of Corruption Levels in G20 Countries

Abstract

Objective: this study is based on the assumption that the level of corruption in a country’s context can influence how stakeholders perceive the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices disclosed by companies. The objective is to analyze the moderating effect of corruption on the relationship between ESG performance and the relevance of accounting information for companies in G20 countries. Methods: the study considered 171,693 firm/year observations from organizations in G20 countries that had all the necessary data to measure the relevance of accounting information from 2013 to 2021. Descriptive analysis, correlation, and multiple linear regression were conducted. Results: based on the findings, it can be inferred that unified ESG performance, as well as its individual pillars, is positively associated with the market value of the analyzed organizations. However, when observing the moderating effect of corruption levels, no significant results were obtained. Conclusions: this study contributes to the literature and to users of accounting information by identifying that the ESG performance of G20 companies helps increase the relevance of accounting information, and that external factors, such as corruption, affect the level of ESG disclosure, but not to the extent of being significant for the market.

Keywords

• relevance of accounting information
• esg
• corruption
• g20