Focusing on U.S. oil and gas companies following the SEC’s investigation of ExxonMobil’s climate risk issues, this study investigates the impact of climate change risk (CCR) disclosure on corporate accounting choices. After examining U.S. oil and gas firms’ 10-K filings, carbon disclosure project (CDP) reports, and multi-source corporate sustainability reports, we find a positive association between CCR disclosure and the full cost (FC) accounting choice, designating that oil and gas firms with greater CCR disclosures are more likely to adopt the FC method to record oil and gas exploration activities. Our study responds to the SEC’s2010 and 2022 Climate Change Disclosure Guidance and encourages more oil and gas companies to disclose CCR and its impact on financial reporting to facilitate transparent transitions towards a low-carbon economy.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the current trends and development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in emerging and developing economies and analyze 106 Chinese central enterprises (CEs) that disclose CSR reports from 2004 to 2015. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes all the CSR reports available to the public from CEs between 2004 and 2015 in China. This paper carefully examines the reporting patterns and standards in those CSR reports. CEs in China are focused on because state-owned companies account for a large proportion of the Chinese stock market because of their social and economic institutional characteristics. Findings The results in this paper confirm a growth trend in the numbers of CSR reports, as predicted. The results also suggest that the number of CSR reports from the CEs containing some assurance has dramatically increased. However, the findings indicate that the current content of the CSR reports may not fully meet the needs of users of information from different industries, regions and interests, as more than 20 CEs have formulated their own CSR framework. The lack of unified, sustainable reporting and assurance may reduce the comparability and effectiveness of CSR reporting. Social implications This study provides evidence of the trends and development of CSR reporting in China. Originality/value The findings extend the understanding of CSR reporting by analyzing Chinese CE data. The results also provide decision-useful information for the government and other policymakers when considering CSR reporting and assurance standards.

Increasing public attention to climate change has led to many studies to investigate the impact of climate change in various fields. However, the topic demands a further thorough examination of the impact of climate change on firms' accounting behavior, such as firm disclosure. There are currently no mandatory U.S. accounting standards issued by accounting standards-setting bodies such as the FASB or SEC on reporting the impact of climate change on firms' business. However, firms have started to report the impact of climate change on a voluntary basis. In order to help academia, professionals, and investors better understand voluntary climate change disclosure, this study surveys theories of corporate accounting disclosure related to corporate social responsibility and environmental reporting, particularly in the areas of voluntary climate change disclosure. This study integrates multi-dimensional corporate climate change disclosure theories to help future policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders provide appropriate corporate climate disclosure theoretical assistance and respond to the government and society's calls for a low-carbon economy.

This paper examines the influence of smog on firm earnings and information content using the data of Chinese A share listed firms and the air quality monitoring data released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center from 2013 to 2017. The empirical results show that smog will not only negatively influence the earnings of local firms, but also result in a decrease in the information content of their earnings for market valuations. This paper further tests the role of firm size in the influence mechanism of smog on earnings and information content. The results reveal the significant moderating effect of firm size in the influence mechanism, which is reflected by large-scale firms being more likely to suffer earnings decrease and less likely to suffer earnings information content decrease due to smog, while small-scale firms tend to experience the opposite.

Smog pollution in China has drawn worldwide attention. Using companies’ data from Chinese Securities Markets and Accounting Research database (CSMAR) and air quality monitoring data from China National Environmental Monitoring Centre(CNEMC), we employ the PM2.5 concentration as a proxy for smog pollution and examine the effect of smog pollution on company environmental uncertainty and operating investment in 74 key cities in China. The empirical results show that smog pollution causes an increase in company environmental uncertainty and a decrease in operating investment for Chinese listed companies, with environmental uncertainty as a mediating variable. Smog pollution can positively influence companies’ environmental uncertainty through their employees and high pressure from the public and government. According to the real-options-based investment approach, companies choose to “wait and see” and, correspondingly, reduce operating investment under high environmental uncertainty such as that caused by smog pollution. Additionally, we find that state-owned enterprises are more significantly influenced by smog pollution in terms of environmental uncertainty and operating investment because of their close relationships with the government and their responsibility to set an example among Chinese companies in the fight against smog pollution.

This study investigates whether firms are more active at corporate social responsibility when they are more connected to others. Based on social network theory, this paper hypothesizes that firms, which are centrally located in social networks, tend to be more active at corporate social responsibility. Empirical analyses show that firms’ social networks are positively related with corporate social responsibility activities. Our findings are consistent with the view that a firm needs to meet the demand of various stakeholders in order to survive within a society.