Sustainability accounting and its impact on the quality of financial reports: Evidence from Industrial Firms

This article demonstrates the impact of sustainability accounting with its dimensions: environmental, economic, and social on the quality of financial reports of ASE-listed pharmaceutical and chemical firms. To achieve the research objectives, the applied approach based on the financial reports and statements of the research sample firms is used as the main source of research data between (2016) and (2021). A sample of (27) firms is selected from the number of firms in the field of various industries that represent the research population of (53) firms, i.e. (51%) of the research population that meets the criteria for selecting the research sample. Statistical methods are also used to test the hypotheses and attain the results. The findings indicate that the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability accounting activities partially or completely affect the financial reports’ quality through simple and multiple regression models. The results of the statistical analysis also show that increasing the reporting of sustainability dimensions leads to an increase in the financial reports’ quality of the firms under research. From the research perspective, it is a logical result as the firms’ departments and regulatory institutions tend to provide appropriate and complete information to the beneficiaries and stakeholders. The research recommends supporting the ASE-listed firms that adopt initiatives related to reporting on sustainability accounting, including the Fourth Generation Global Reporting Initiative (GRIG4), and reviewing the listing and disclosure instructions on the ASE by including reporting on sustainability accounting as one of the main requirements for disclosure and listing on the stock exchange.