Does CFO accounting expertise matter to corporate social responsibility disclosure in 10-Ks?

Jun Guo, Sungsoo Kim, Yang Yu and Jung Yeun (June) Kim

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 2021, vol. 22, issue 5, 800-822

Abstract: Purpose - The study aims to understand the role of accountant in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice. Design/methodology/approach - In this study, the authors examine whether and how chief financial officer (CFO) accounting expertise and previous work experience influence voluntary CSR disclosure, using textual analysis and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. The authors find that firms' CFOs with accounting expertise disclose more CSR issues in their 10-K reports. Overall, this study provides evidence of the impact of CFOs' professional and personal attributes on voluntary CSR disclosure in corporate annual reports. This study has important implications to investors and policy makers in the context of CSR disclosure regulations in annual reports. Findings - Overall, this study provides evidence of the impact of CFOs' professional and personal attributes on voluntary CSR disclosure in corporate annual reports. This study has important implications to practitioners and policy makers in the context of CSR disclosure regulations in annual reports. Research limitations/implications - There is an inherent limitation of textual analysis as the tool tries to read key words from the text. Practical implications - This finding is useful for policy maker and investors as CSR is known to have impact on the share price. Originality/value - This paper is the first attempt to find out accountants' role in CSR activities, which has not been examined in the prior literature.

Keywords: CFO accounting Expertise; Corporate social responsibility disclosure; Textual analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jaarpp:jaar-07-2020-0137

DOI: 10.1108/JAAR-07-2020-0137

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