Purpose This study analyzes the association between capital structure and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance among companies in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the London Stock Exchange Group covering 24 emerging markets and 2,665 firms from 2016 to 2023 (12,738 company-year observations), we applied panel data regression analyses with year, industry, and country fixed effects. Robustness tests used alternative samples separately accounting for the institutional environment and the E, S, and G. Findings The results show a predominant reliance on equity financing and a high concentration of onerous short-term debt associated with higher ESG performance, suggesting expanded managerial discretion, which allows managers to prioritize financial visibility over sustainability commitments. By contrast, onerous debt can discipline and restrict discretionary spending and ESG-related activities under specific conditions, mainly in countries with principled legal systems and higher levels of transparency. Practical implications The findings offer guidance to lenders, financiers, managers, and policymakers. Lenders and financiers can align debt maturity with investment horizons of ESG projects, incorporate contractual clauses to monitor key indicators, and mandate reporting. Managers should align their financial flexibility decisions with their sustainability goals. Policymakers can also link ESG disclosure requirements to public credit or tax incentives to reduce information asymmetry and encourage responsible corporate conduct. Originality/value This study advances the literature on Agency Theory by showing that financing decisions must balance investor and creditor ESG expectations with firms’ strategic financial goals and managerial discretion.
Purpose This study examines how firm life-cycle stages shape sustainability disclosure behavior and investigates whether competing disclosure logics, signaling theory and legitimacy theory, operate differently across stages of corporate development. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of US listed firms from 2009 to 2019, we analyze sustainability-related language embedded in mandatory 10-K filings. Firm life-cycle stages are proxied using both retained earnings to total assets (RE/TA) and cash-flow–based classifications. Sustainability disclosure intensity is measured through textual analysis of 10-K reports, while sustainability performance is captured using ESG scores. We estimate baseline regressions with industry and year fixed effects and conduct robustness analyses, including alternative life-cycle proxies, propensity score matching, and heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors. Findings The results show that mature firms exhibit higher sustainability disclosure intensity, consistent with signaling theory: firms with stronger sustainability performance disclose more to credibly convey their quality. However, further analysis reveals meaningful heterogeneity across life-cycle stages. Growth-stage firms display relatively higher sustainability disclosure despite weaker sustainability performance, a pattern consistent with legitimacy-driven communication. Sensitivity analyses based on cash-flow life-cycle classifications further indicate that while legitimacy considerations dominate in specific stage contrasts, signaling incentives prevail at the aggregate level. Practical implications The findings suggest that sustainability disclosure should be interpreted considering firms' life-cycle positions. Similar disclosure levels may reflect different underlying motivations and economic fundamentals, which has implications for investors, regulators, and other stakeholders. Originality/value This study integrates firm life-cycle theory with disclosure theories and shows that signaling and legitimacy operate jointly but unevenly across stages of corporate development, offering a dynamic perspective on sustainability disclosure behavior.
Purpose This article conducts a systematic review of the literature on Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Developed, Emerging and Frontier Markets indices, categorising existing studies by theme and identifying gaps for future research. Design/methodology/approach Using keyword searches in the Web of Science database, relevant papers are identified, classified and analysed. We also apply Biblioshiny, a bibliometric analysis tool, to evaluate influential topics and identify research gaps. Findings The themes developed are: (1) predicting returns/volatility, (2) market performance, (3) information/volatility linkages, (4) market efficiency, (5) behaviour, (6) corporate finance and (7) the construction and operation of the indices. The study also identifies five research gaps that inform a future research agenda. These are: (1) the role of accounting information in mediating investor behaviour, (2) frontier markets as a financial periphery, (3) corporate finance in frontier markets, (4) MSCI classification criteria and consequences and (5) environmental finance in frontier markets. Developed markets are the most studied, while studies of emerging and frontier markets and investor behaviour are less prevalent. Research limitations/implications Sampling bias may be a limitation due to reliance on keyword searches in a single database. Practical implications The identification of research gaps informs a future research agenda. Originality/value By synthesising a fragmented, finance-centric body of literature, this review develops a new conceptual framework, positioning MSCI market classification as a critical, non-market institutional force shaping corporate information environments globally. In particular, by identifying that prior literature largely overlooks the role of accounting quality and governance mechanisms in explaining market-level phenomena, we highlight an agenda for future accounting research.
Purpose Audit teams are a fascinating area of research, and their relevance has been more and more widely recognised in both theory and practice. The objective of this paper is to analyse the papers that, over the last two decades, have investigated different aspects of audit teams and to draw some conclusions on the state of the art in this field. Design/methodology/approach Firstly, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the papers published on the topic and a bibliometric review of the literature using social network analysis (SNA). Secondly, we examined the specific contents of all the papers published on audit teams and critically assessed them. We adapted the framework by Georganta et al. (2024) and classified contributions in relation to dimensions that affect audit teams' outcomes. We then considered the impact that the evolution of technology has on audit teams. To do this, we relied on the existing evidence from studies that analysed the impact of new technology on audit activities. Finally, we summarised our conclusions, highlighting the avenues for future research, as well as policy implications. The authors declare that AI tools were used solely for checking the syntax and grammar of the text, with the aim of improving correctness and clarity. Findings Our analysis shows some fragmentation in the literature due to the rather limited focus on audit teams as the main unit of analysis. In addition, it reveals the potential characteristics of an “ideal” audit team and the profiles of its members, a number of features within the audit procedures that are beneficial to audit outcomes, and the impact of softer dimensions on the outcomes of the auditing process. It also reconsiders the conclusions achieved in the past research, in light of the advent of new technologies. Finally, we propose avenues for future research, as well as policy implications. Originality/value Audit teams play a pivotal role in determining audit outcomes. This is widely recognised nowadays in both theory and practice and is confirmed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which highlights that the specifics of audit teams are key to achieving audit quality (PCAOB, 2015). It is therefore crucially important to understand what we know about the characteristics and functioning of auditing teams, as well as their consequences. So far, no attempt has been made to systematically review the literature that explicitly focuses on audit teams. While there are studies that review various dimensions of auditing, such as audit fees and audit partners (Hay et al., 2006; Lennox and Wu, 2018; Simnett and Trotman, 2018), none has considered audit teams as the unit of analysis. Our objective is to fill this void.
Purpose This study reviews research on impression management (IM) in external corporate reporting to synthesise established findings and identify promising directions for future research. The scope includes IM in narratives and visual elements in financial, integrated, and sustainability reporting. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-methods research synthesis, the study reviews 92 articles published between 1981 and 2025, selected through a rigorous research protocol. The synthesis incorporates conceptual and empirical studies employing quantitative and qualitative approaches. Findings This study documents the pervasive use of IM practices across financial and sustainability reporting, including selective narratives, visual distortions, and obfuscation. It highlights a growing focus on sustainability reporting and identifies links between IM and other opportunistic practices such as earnings management. The effects of IM on stakeholders remain relatively underexplored. Research limitations/implications This review outlines the current state of IM studies and identifies promising avenues for future research related to the object of study, research methods, types of reporting, and data. It encourages greater attention to under-researched IM strategies, the effects of IM on stakeholders, cross-country analyses, and the use of methods such as ethnography and field studies. Practical implications Regulators, users, and firms may benefit from a consolidated synthesis of evidence on IM, enhancing understanding of opportunistic disclosures and their implications for transparency and credibility. Originality/value This study extends prior literature reviews by covering a broader scope of techniques, reporting domains, and a wider timeframe (1981–2025).
Purpose This paper examines fraud within charitable organisations, distinguishing it from broader non-profit fraud. It analyses charity fraud impact, the main types and methods of charity fraud, their underlying behavioural and organisational drivers, and existing prevention and detection strategies, while identifying key research gaps. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025 was conducted, following PRISMA guidelines to ensure transparency and replicability. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were thematically analysed to identify patterns in fraud typologies, drivers and countermeasures. Findings Research on charity fraud remains limited and fragmented. Most studies originate from the United Kingdom and the United States and focus primarily on opportunity factors, giving comparatively little attention to other fraud drivers – such as motives, rationalisation, integrity and capability. Empirical evidence is scarce, particularly concerning donor-targeted fraud and the sector-wide impacts of charity fraud. Countermeasures are largely conceptual and seldom empirically tested, while technological approaches receive minimal attention. Practical implications The study introduces an integrated conceptual framework linking charity fraud typologies, drivers and countermeasures across behavioural, organisational, regulatory and technological levels. This framework provides a diagnostic and planning tool for researchers, policymakers and practitioners, informing proportionate regulation, stronger internal governance and more effective prevention strategies across the charitable sector. Originality/value This study provides one of the first systematic reviews focused exclusively on charity fraud. By synthesising evidence across four dimensions – impacts, methods, drivers and countermeasures – it establishes a structured foundation for advancing academic understanding and developing evidence-based, integrated anti-fraud responses that strengthen accountability and public trust in the charitable sector.
Purpose This study examines whether board reforms implemented across countries influence firms' earnings management choices. While governance reforms are designed to strengthen monitoring and improve financial reporting quality, we argue that enhanced board oversight may unintentionally alter the form, rather than the existence, of earnings management. Specifically, reforms that constrain accrual-based manipulation may incentivise managers to substitute toward more costly, but less detectable, real earnings management activities.Design/methodology/approach We exploit the staggered implementation of major board reforms across 22 countries as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a difference-in-difference research design. Our sample comprises 53,515 firm-year observations from 7,569 listed firms over the period 1993-2012. We examine both accrual and real earnings management using established measures from the literature and further investigate how specific reform features and institutional environments shape the effectiveness and consequences of reforms.Findings We find that board reforms significantly reduce accrual earnings management, consistent with stronger monitoring and governance oversight. However, we simultaneously document a significant increase in real earnings management following reforms, suggesting that firms substitute away from accrual manipulation toward operational forms of earnings management. The substitution effect is stronger for reforms that enhance board independence, audit committee effectiveness, auditor independence, and rule-based compliance. We further show that the effects are more pronounced in countries with stronger institutional quality and investor protection.Practical implications Our findings suggest that governance reforms aimed at strengthening board oversight may not fully eliminate opportunistic reporting behaviour, but instead alter the mechanisms through which managers manage earnings. Regulators and policymakers should therefore complement board reforms with monitoring and enforcement mechanisms capable of detecting operational manipulation and real earnings management activities.Originality/value This study contributes to the international corporate governance and earnings management literature by providing large-sample cross-country evidence that governance reforms generate both intended and unintended consequences. Unlike prior studies that largely portray board reforms as uniformly beneficial, we show that stronger governance oversight can induce managers to shift toward more economically costly forms of earnings management. Our findings also extend evidence from the U.S. SOX setting by demonstrating that the substitution between accrual and real earnings management is a broader international phenomenon shaped by reform design and institutional context.
Purpose Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are widely used by investors, equity analysts and policymakers to assess the non-financial (sustainability) performance of firms. However, the proliferation of ESG ratings from multiple agencies has led to significant discrepancies, causing confusion and raising concerns about the comparability and utility of these ratings. This study aims to systematically review the literature on ESG rating disagreement to identify its underlying causes, consequences and research gaps, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of this emerging domain. Design/methodology/approach The article conducts a framework-based systematic review of 164 peer-reviewed articles sourced from the Scopus database. Bibliographic coupling is employed to identify key research clusters and map the intellectual structure of the field. Thematic maps are employed to identify the central and emerging themes in the area. Additionally, the theory–Context–Characteristics–Methods (TCCM) framework is used to analyze the dominant theories, contextual settings, variables (antecedents, consequences, mediators and moderators) and methodological approaches present in the existing literature. The study also outlines structured future research directions based on the TCCM framework and research clusters. Findings The analysis reveals six prominent research clusters. Four clusters emphasize the negative impact of ESG rating disagreement on stock performance, cost of capital, corporate innovation and audit fees. The remaining two clusters focus on the internal and external organizational factors that can potentially mitigate the adverse effects of ESG disagreement. The integrated conceptual framework maps the structural logic of ESG disagreement through ESG constructs to market- and firm-level outcomes. The findings highlight that ESG rating divergence has become a critical area of concern, gaining substantial scholarly attention, particularly in the last three years. Practical implications This review provides valuable insights for practitioners, policymakers and rating agencies by highlighting the consequences of ESG rating disagreement and the factors influencing it. It underscores the need for standardization, enhanced transparency in rating methodologies, and better communication among rating providers and stakeholders. The study also offers actionable guidance for firms to manage ESG-related risks and improve their sustainability reporting to reduce rating discrepancies. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the most comprehensive framework-based systematic literature reviews, a TCCM-based review of ESG rating disagreement literature. By integrating bibliographic coupling with the TCCM framework, the study presents a holistic understanding of the field, identifies critical research gaps and proposes future research directions. This work contributes to advancing both academic inquiry and practical solutions in the ESG rating domain.
Purpose This paper systematically reviews the existing litearture on sustainability assurance, integrating insights from firms’ motivations, theoretical frameworks, assurance standards, and influencing factors of sustainability assurance quality. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews and synthesises the literature on sustainability assurance within the accounting and finance domain. It systematically examines prior research to distill the core themes, theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, and key findings of sustainability assurance works. Findings Building on a systematic review of the sustainability assurance literature, this paper advances understanding of the field from multiple dimensions. Specifically, by synthesising and extending prior evidence on value creation, risk mitigation, legitimacy building, and the strengthening of internal control systems, it deepens insights into firms’ motivations for seeking sustainability assurance. Moreover, drawing on the perspectives of corporate social relations and the organisational environment, the study systematically integrates the main theoretical foundations of sustainability assurance and demonstrates how firms’ responses to institutional and stakeholder expectations shape the adoption, design, and implementation of assurance practices. At the same time, it critically identifies the limitations of current sustainability assurance standards—particularly regarding comparability, scope, and implementability—and reveals how these constraints affect assurance effectiveness and practical application. Finally, by incorporating the perspectives of assurance practitioners and sustainability report providers, the paper systematically identifies the key determinants of sustainability assurance quality. Meanwhile, this study highlights limitations in assurance quality measures and emphasises the need for more precise and multidimensional assessment approaches. Originality/value This paper highlights critical issues in sustainability assurance and proposes targeted improvements. Limited stakeholder engagement undermines assurance effectiveness, highlighting the need to better align managerial objectives with external stakeholder expectations. Moreover, ensuring credible sustainability assurance requires a clearer separation between financial audit and sustainability assurance functions, the strengthening of internal information systems, and the allocation of adequate organisational resources.
Purpose This study investigates the role of auditor IT expertise in achieving internal control objectives within Chinese firms. By leveraging resource dependence theory, it examines how auditor IT expertise enhances the functionality and reliability of internal controls and explores the moderating effects of financial constraints. Design/methodology/approach The research utilizes a dataset of 22,441 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2021, covering Chinese non-financial firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. A multivariate regression framework is employed to test the hypothesized relationships, with robustness checks using alternative measures and addressing endogeneity concerns. Findings Auditor IT expertise significantly improves the achievement of internal control objectives, particularly in areas such as operational efficiency, reliable reporting, and compliance. The effect is more pronounced in financially constrained firms and non-State-Owned Enterprises (non-SOEs). Additional analyses reveal that auditor IT expertise plays a critical role in addressing severe internal control weaknesses and enhancing the quality of internal control systems. Practical implications The findings emphasize the strategic importance of engaging IT-proficient auditors to enhance corporate governance, especially for firms facing financial constraints. Audit firms are encouraged to invest in IT training to improve service quality, while policymakers should consider incentives for integrating IT expertise into audit practices.Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by integrating resource dependence theory into the underexplored domain of auditor IT expertise, providing new insights into its critical role in achieving internal control objectives. Unlike prior research that primarily focuses on traditional auditor competencies, this study highlights how IT expertise not only enhances internal control effectiveness but also serves as a strategic resource for firms navigating complex technological and financial environments. By focusing on Chinese firms - a rapidly evolving regulatory and technological context - it offers a globally relevant perspective on the interplay between IT, auditing, and corporate governance, paving the way for future research and practical advancements in audit quality and sustainability.
Purpose Following a recent worldwide regulatory push to improve the identification, assessment and disclosure of climate and, more narrowly, biodiversity risks, this paper provides a timely review of the state-of-the-art of literature on biodiversity. Design/methodology/approach We employ a systematic literature review. The final corpus comprises 120 academic papers published in accounting, finance, economics and management journals ranked in the Academic Journal Guide (AJG) from 2021 to 2024. From this, we identify five thematic clusters and critically analyze how biodiversity is conceptualized, measured, disclosed and financialized in the literature. Findings Our review reveals that biodiversity accounting is still at an embryonic stage. Despite new regulations, an ongoing challenge is linked to the difficulty in establishing what constitutes biodiversity from a firm perspective and what data should be collected, how it should be reported, disclosed and verified. Research limitations/implications Further research is required to support the efforts of policymakers to ensure firms can better capture biodiversity-related risks and impacts, while also examining the assurance and reporting mechanisms that can support credible disclosure. Originality/value Our paper makes several contributions. First, we provide the most up-to-date synthesis of interdisciplinary research in the fields of accounting, finance, economics and management. Second, we identify tensions that arise when accounting logic of comparability, aggregation and periodic reporting faces the complexity and context-specific biodiversity information. Third, we develop a future research agenda that links biodiversity measurement choices to recognition, accountability and assurance debates in accounting research.
Purpose We provide a systematic literature review of the determinants and consequences of income smoothing in an international context. First, we offer a theoretical discussion of income smoothing, which is motivated either by opportunistic or by informative reasons, followed by an examination of its measurement. Next, we review the determinants of income smoothing, categorizing them into financial reporting standards, firm characteristics, corporate governance, managerial characteristics and macro environment determinants. We then review the empirical literature on the consequences of income smoothing from the perspective of capital market and credit market consequences. We also provide some suggestions for future research. Design/methodology/approach We perform a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review of Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to examine archival studies investigating the determinants and consequences of income smoothing. Using a Boolean search strategy on Scopus and PRISMA selection criteria, we review 111 published archival research articles from 2004 to the first quarter of 2025. Findings The implementation of reporting standards reduces income smoothing practices. Firm characteristics have varied effects on income smoothing, while governance reforms and internal corporate governance mechanisms are generally found to constrain smoothing behavior. Our review further reveals that managerial characteristics are associated with income smoothing practices. Furthermore, exogenous shocks also shape managerial incentives to engage in income smoothing. The capital market consequences of income smoothing reveal that income smoothing improves earnings informativeness, lowers both equity and credit investors' perceived risk, but increases future stock price crash risk. The credit market effect shows that income smoothing lowers the cost of debt capital. Originality/value Although there remains a high-quality review on earnings quality (e.g. Dechow et al., 2010), we lack a thorough coverage of the evolution of income smoothing research for the last two decades. We fill that void in the literature, highlight some research gaps, draw researchers' attention to measurement problems associated with existing smoothing measures, and offer some suggestions for future research.
Purpose The integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics into CEO compensation structures has become an increasingly prevalent topic in accounting and corporate governance discourse as contemporary stakeholders increasingly demand that managerial compensation contracts address sustainability challenges. However, this relationship has received limited focus in the academic literature, as most previous studies have concentrated on individual sustainability components linking executive pay. Design/methodology/approach The current study bridges the gap in the corporate governance literature by considering 299 Scopus-indexed articles in 160 journals from 1993 to 2024 that uncover the current research landscape, identify key research areas under each theme, and provide future research opportunities interlinking CEO compensation and different ESG dimensions. Findings The review shows a significant increase in articles on individual ESG dimensions and CEO compensation in the last decade. Further, most articles were inclined towards the study of the governance aspect of ESG and the CEO compensation relationship, with limited attention given to environmental and social factors. The role of CEO psychological traits, the use of qualitative methods, and conducting a cross-border analysis are a few aspects that can be further explored. Originality/value Using a bibliometric-systematic literature review approach, the work is the first to assess the current global research landscape, identify key research areas, predict emerging trends, provide future research directions and contribute to the growth of scholarly understanding in the domain concerning CEO compensation and ESG literature.
Purpose This study examines whether and how board co-option - the proportion of directors appointed after the incumbent CEO assumes office - affects corporate biodiversity risk. While prior research links co-opted boards to weaker environmental performance, evidence on biodiversity risk, a distinct and financially material environmental concern, remains scarce. We aim to fill this gap by analyzing the governance mechanisms through which board co-option shapes firms' exposure to biodiversity-related risks.Design/methodology/approach Using a large panel of publicly listed firms, we empirically investigate the relationship between board co-option and firm-level biodiversity risk. To address endogeneity and selection concerns, we employ multiple identification strategies, including propensity score matching, entropy balancing and Heckman two-stage models. We further conduct cross-sectional analyses to examine the moderating roles of CEO characteristics, internal controls, external monitoring, industry biodiversity exposure and litigation risk.Findings We document a robust positive association between board co-option and biodiversity risk. A one-standard-deviation increase in board co-option leads to a statistically and economically significant increase in biodiversity risk. The effect is stronger in firms with weak internal and external monitoring, in biodiversity-intensive industries and in low-litigation environments. Board co-option also neutralizes otherwise mitigating CEO characteristics, indicating that governance structure dominates individual managerial traits in shaping biodiversity outcomes.Originality/value This study provides the first systematic evidence linking board co-option to biodiversity risk. By integrating entrenchment and stakeholder agency theory, it extends the corporate governance and sustainability literature and identifies board appointment dynamics as an important determinant of nature-related risk.
Purpose-This study investigates how China's judicial independence reform curbs local protectionism, thereby enhancing the efficiency and rational allocation of governmental resources, particularly among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and local SOEs. Design/methodology/approach-Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China's 2014-2019 judicial management reform, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically examine the impact of judicial independence on the efficiency of government subsidies. To ensure robustness, a series of validation methods are applied, including alternative sample tests, cross-fixed effects estimation, controlling for confounding events (circuit courts), placebo tests and parallel trend tests. Findings-The reform curbs local protectionism and significantly reduces government subsidies to SOEs, especially local SOEs. Three mechanisms explain this outcome: (1) eliminating resource allocation barriers, (2) enhancing resource allocation efficiency and (3) intensifying regulatory scrutiny towards resource allocation. Although R&D subsidies and expenditures declined, innovation outputs increased, indicating improved efficiency of innovation resource allocation. Furthermore, the reform generates positive abnormal stock returns around subsidy announcements, reflecting enhanced investor confidence in judicial impartiality and improved fiscal transparency. Originality/value-This study makes three main contributions. First, it integrates judicial independence into the analytical framework of government subsidy allocation, emphasizing institutional quality as a determinant of fiscal efficiency. Second, it reveals a novel mechanism linking judicial reform to corporate innovation through subsidy restructuring, offering new insights into law-finance-innovation interactions. Third, it identifies the market announcement effect of judicial reforms, demonstrating how enhanced judicial impartiality fosters investor confidence and enterprise value.
Purpose This study examines how digital transformation capability influences financial performance through the mediating role of accounting information system (AIS) quality. Drawing largely on the resource orchestration theory, it explains how firms translate digital capabilities into financial outcomes by effectively structuring, bundling, and leveraging accounting and digital resources. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from senior managers of Iranian listed companies and complemented with financial statement indicators. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study examines the direct and indirect relationships among digital transformation capability, AIS quality and six financial metrics, namely return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), return on sales (ROS), profitability, inventory turnover and total asset turnover. Findings Digital transformation capability does not have a significant direct effect on any financial performance indicators. However, AIS quality demonstrates significant positive effects on profitability and ROA, while its relationships with other performance measures remain insignificant. Furthermore, digital transformation capability strongly improves AIS quality, which in turn mediates its relationship with financial performance; specifically, it significantly mediates the relationship between digital transformation capability and profitability, and marginally mediates the relationship with ROA. The findings show that the financial benefits of digital transformation arise primarily from orchestrating high-quality AIS rather than from digital investment alone. Originality/value This study extends resource orchestration theory to the AIS domain by revealing how AIS quality functions as the orchestration mechanism linking digital transformation capability to financial performance. By examining firms in an emerging market context, the study provides novel insights into how digital capabilities are translated into financial outcomes under conditions of resource constraints and regulatory complexity.
The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) within the business-related disciplines of finance, marketing, management, law, economics, accounting and entrepreneurship. Key research themes and directions for future research are identified. A mixed-methods synthesis is employed, combining bibliometric mapping with qualitative thematic analysis to trace the development of NFT research across business disciplines from 2021 to 2024. The most dominant theme across the disciplines is the underlying economic modeling and valuation explaining how NFTs grow and maintain value. Researchers question whether NFTs hold legitimacy as tradeable assets within traditional financial systems. The consumer behavior discipline covers another central idea that NFT adoption introduces additional complexity to established assumptions about digital ownership, identity expression and platform engagement. Other notable themes include hedging and safe haven roles, fraud and financial integrity, legal and intellectual property issues, blockchain infrastructure, innovation, arts and entertainment, taxation and fiscal policy, and review and conceptual work. These themes are covered across the disciplines with the highest number of papers in finance (57 papers), followed by marketing (42), management (17), law (14), accounting and economics (6 each) and entrepreneurship (5). NFT research has largely been fragmented within individual disciplines. This study adds value by offering an integrated review across business domains using bibliometric mapping and thematic analysis.
This study reviews the economic consequences of firms' Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Unlike previous reviews that treat ESG as a monolithic concept, this paper employs the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) framework to systematically examine how different ESG topics generate distinct economic impacts. A three-stage systematic review was conducted using Scopus database searches combined with manual screening of top accounting journals. The search strategy incorporated topic-specific terms for nine ESRS categories (five environmental and four social topics) combined with economic consequence indicators. Quality screening based on the ABDC journal list yielded a final sample of 90 papers from 25 accounting journals spanning 2005–2025. The review reveals substantial disparities in research attention across ESG topics. Climate change, consumers, and the own workforce dominate the literature, with these three dimensions accounting for the vast majority of studies examined. Critically, biodiversity and circular economy have received no empirical examination of economic consequences in accounting literature, while water, affected communities, and workforce in the value chain remain severely under-researched. The geographic concentration in U.S. studies and methodological limitations constrain generalizability. The mechanisms translating ESG practices into economic value remain largely unexplored. This is the first systematic review to disaggregate ESG economic consequences using the ESRS framework, revealing differential impacts across specific sustainability topics. The study identifies critical research gaps, particularly in neglected topics, and provides a roadmap for future research as mandatory ESG disclosure expands globally.
This paper provides a comprehensive and conceptually grounded review of how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are transforming professional judgement in accounting. It clarifies the epistemic foundations of AI and ML, synthesises the expanding accounting literature employing these techniques and provides an agenda for future research. This study reviews AI and ML applications across auditing and assurance, financial reporting, management accounting, taxation, ESG measurement, financial distress and earnings prediction, and public-sector analytics. Applying Abbott's (1988) system-of-professions framework, it connects methodological developments to broader institutional questions about expertise, authority and governance in an AI-enabled accounting environment. Three insights emerge. First, ML models consistently outperform traditional statistical approaches across prediction-intensive accounting domains by capturing nonlinearities, interactions and high-dimensional structures that conventional methods overlook. Second, ML expands the evidentiary boundaries of accounting by incorporating unstructured, textual, behavioural and alternative data, reshaping what counts as relevant and credible evidence. Third, as ML systems increasingly rival or exceed human predictive judgement, particularly in areas such as fraud detection, accounting estimates and going-concern prediction, they challenge the profession's epistemic authority, necessitating new expertise in model interpretation, governance and error evaluation. AI and ML fundamentally reshape the evidentiary basis of accounting, creating new forms of machine-generated knowledge that challenge traditional professional judgement. As predictive models increasingly surpass human experts, research must investigate how authority, responsibility and trust shift within hybrid human–AI decision systems. Future research should examine how algorithmic evidence is validated, governed and integrated into audit and reporting frameworks, and how professional identities, skill sets and jurisdiction evolve as accountants transition from primary judgement-makers to interpreters and overseers of AI-driven inference. AI can enhance audit quality through automated anomaly detection, continuous monitoring and ML-driven risk assessment. Firms can use ML to improve accounting estimates, fraud detection, misstatement prediction and ESG analytics. Management accountants can deploy AI for forecasting, planning and real-time cost optimisation. Regulators and tax authorities can apply ML to detect non-compliance and prioritise audits. Across all settings, accountants increasingly focus on interpreting, validating and governing AI outputs rather than generating predictions themselves. This paper demystifies AI and ML concepts, mapping empirical developments across the field and offering a theoretically grounded account of how AI reshapes professional judgement and epistemic authority. It also identifies opportunities for future research.
This study investigates how national culture influences non-financial reporting (NFR) by reviewing existing studies on the topic and proposing a research agenda. The review addresses two research questions: (1) What are the main characteristics of studies examining the influence of national culture on NFR? (2) Which themes and cultural factors have received attention and can be systematised to guide future research and address regulatory and implementation challenges? We conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) of 60 academic articles indexed in Scopus from 1999 to 2024 to identify conceptually relevant themes, from which we derive a conceptual framework and avenues for future research. The review reveals a fragmented yet growing body of literature and organises its insights into a conceptual framework based on three key stages of NFR: adoption, content and assurance. Five themes and six subthemes emerge, highlighting the recurring influence of some cultural dimensions. The review also reveals notable research gaps, including an overreliance on Hofstede's cultural framework, a lack of methodological diversity, a limited focus on strategic and governance-related disclosures and language use, and the underexplored interplay between NFR, national culture and regulatory contexts. Future research is encouraged to examine how cultural traits interact with regulation in the adoption of NFR, influence reporting quality and narratives, and affect the credibility and effectiveness of assurance practices. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first SLR to focus specifically on the role of national culture in NFR. The study advances prior work on cultural influences in accounting by narrowing the focus to the NFR domain. In addition, it enriches the literature on NFR determinants by isolating national culture as a key factor. In doing so, the study lays the groundwork for future research on how cultural traits may support or challenge the effectiveness of mandatory NFR frameworks across countries.
