Lara Tarquinio

An analysis of sustainability report assurance statements: Evidence from Italian listed companies

Purpose This paper aims to achieve the following objectives. First, through a longitudinal study, the authors explore the trend of voluntary external assurance of sustainability reports among Italian listed companies from 2008 to 2012. Thus, the authors aim to analyse the content level of the assurance statements and to test whether it is affected by certain corporate variables and by the type of practitioner chosen. Design/methodology/approach A legitimacy theory framework is adopted to investigate the phenomenon of sustainability report assurance services in Italy. The authors developed an assurance statement disclosure index (ASDI) constructed on the basis of the standards ISAE 3000 and AA1000AS. Thus, the authors tested whether the ASDI is affected by certain corporate variables using an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model. To test how each specific item is related to the assurance provider, a contingency table was developed. Findings The results of this paper show many differences in the assurance statements content in particular with reference to the criteria used, conclusive comments and recommendations. The presence of a corporate social responsibility committee and an expert who serves on it is positively related to a higher rank on the ASDI. In contrast, Big4 firms seem to be associated with a lower disclosure rank. Finally, Big4 are positively associated with the indications of the provider’s characteristics and negatively with their conclusive comments and recommendations. Originality/value This paper presents some findings in an area where little evidence exists, that is, the effects of some variables on the quantity of information disclosed in the assurance statements.

Determinants of corporate social responsibility reporting and external assurance: evidence from Italian-listed companies

The purpose of this research is to explore the factors associated with the decision of Italian listed companies to produce a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report and to adopt assurance services. Furthermore, we intend to analyse whether an association exists between the type of assurance provider and the nature of the assurance services. Then we want to verify if there is an association between the provider and some key qualitative characteristics of assurance statements. We find that industrial affiliation and company size affect both the production of CSR reports and the adoption of assurance services. Companies that have social and environmental certification are more likely to produce CSR reports. There is a positive association between the GRI application level and the assurance of CSR reports. Our analysis emphasises that being a Big 4 provider is positively associated with the standard used and with the conclusions expressed in a negative form, and it is negatively associated with the recommendations provided.

Gli indicatori economici, ambientali e sociali nei rendiconti di sostenibilità delle società quotate alla Borsa italiana

Our paper aims to achieve two main objectives. First of all, in order to identify the most accounted economic, environmental and social indicators, we used the content analysis to examine the GRI-based sustainability report issued by companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. Secondly, we aimed to verify the extent some variables related to profitability, size and sector can explain the behavior of companies according to the number and type of indicators presented, as well as how it usually takes place. Moreover our research was motivated by the fact that in literature there are very few studies that have analyzed the adoption of GRI indicators in the sustainability reports. Unlike others, this study outlines, through the regression trees technique, what characteristics diversify companies in the use of GRI indicators. The results show the widespread use of those indicators, with relevant levels of disclosure. The most used category of indicators is the one related to the Working Practices, followed by Economic and Environmental ones. Finally, we can say that the ROE and the business sector of the companies played a significant role considering their classification related to the different number and type of accounted indicators