Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan

Even though audit committee (AC) characteristics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) relationship has long been well investigated, scarce research on committee leadership is observed in the literature. Considering the growing emphasis on the potential role of the audit committee chair (ACC) on...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi, Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb, Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed, Turki Raji Alhmoud, Hasnah Kamardin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-08-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231182593
_version_ 1797733316157243392
author Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi
Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb
Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed
Turki Raji Alhmoud
Hasnah Kamardin
author_facet Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi
Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb
Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed
Turki Raji Alhmoud
Hasnah Kamardin
author_sort Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi
collection DOAJ
description Even though audit committee (AC) characteristics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) relationship has long been well investigated, scarce research on committee leadership is observed in the literature. Considering the growing emphasis on the potential role of the audit committee chair (ACC) on financial and non-financial reporting, the current study aims to fill this literature gap by analyzing the influence of ACC characteristics on the level of CSR. Using a Jordanian sample of 475 firm-year observations over the period 2014 to 2018, this study employs content analysis to quantify CSR disclosure and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test the proposed hypotheses. The study findings show that ACC independence, legal expertise, and education level are positively and significantly associated with CSR reporting. However, ACC age has a significant inverse relationship with CSR reporting, suggesting that older ACC perform more poorly in a committee function. Importantly, ACC tenure and financial expertise have an insignificant relationship with CSR reporting. These findings are robust under a battery of sensitive tests such as employing OLS with robust standard errors and using alternative measurements of ACC features. The sub-sample analysis results also show that ACC characteristics predominantly enhance CSR reporting in large firms but not in small firms, implying that firm size strengthens the relationship between ACC characteristics and CSR reporting. The current study provides new evidence of the significant role of ACC on non-financial reporting in an emerging economy, Jordan. Policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders may benefit from these results in recognizing the potential role of ACC in advancing CSR reporting.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T12:27:24Z
format Article
id doaj.art-138b9af9746f40cdaf9458678d8dab5d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2158-2440
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T12:27:24Z
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series SAGE Open
spelling doaj.art-138b9af9746f40cdaf9458678d8dab5d2023-08-29T19:36:41ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402023-08-011310.1177/21582440231182593Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from JordanSumaia Ayesh Qaderi0Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb1Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed2Turki Raji Alhmoud3Hasnah Kamardin4Department of Accounting, College of Commerce and Economics, Hodeidah University, Hodeidah, YemenTunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA), College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, MalaysiaDepartment of Accounting, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, JordanTunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA), College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, MalaysiaEven though audit committee (AC) characteristics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) relationship has long been well investigated, scarce research on committee leadership is observed in the literature. Considering the growing emphasis on the potential role of the audit committee chair (ACC) on financial and non-financial reporting, the current study aims to fill this literature gap by analyzing the influence of ACC characteristics on the level of CSR. Using a Jordanian sample of 475 firm-year observations over the period 2014 to 2018, this study employs content analysis to quantify CSR disclosure and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test the proposed hypotheses. The study findings show that ACC independence, legal expertise, and education level are positively and significantly associated with CSR reporting. However, ACC age has a significant inverse relationship with CSR reporting, suggesting that older ACC perform more poorly in a committee function. Importantly, ACC tenure and financial expertise have an insignificant relationship with CSR reporting. These findings are robust under a battery of sensitive tests such as employing OLS with robust standard errors and using alternative measurements of ACC features. The sub-sample analysis results also show that ACC characteristics predominantly enhance CSR reporting in large firms but not in small firms, implying that firm size strengthens the relationship between ACC characteristics and CSR reporting. The current study provides new evidence of the significant role of ACC on non-financial reporting in an emerging economy, Jordan. Policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders may benefit from these results in recognizing the potential role of ACC in advancing CSR reporting.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231182593
spellingShingle Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi
Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb
Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed
Turki Raji Alhmoud
Hasnah Kamardin
Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
SAGE Open
title Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
title_full Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
title_fullStr Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
title_full_unstemmed Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
title_short Audit Committee Leadership Attributes and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan
title_sort audit committee leadership attributes and csr reporting evidence from jordan
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231182593
work_keys_str_mv AT sumaiaayeshqaderi auditcommitteeleadershipattributesandcsrreportingevidencefromjordan
AT belalaliabdulraheemghaleb auditcommitteeleadershipattributesandcsrreportingevidencefromjordan
AT abdulwahidahmedhashed auditcommitteeleadershipattributesandcsrreportingevidencefromjordan
AT turkirajialhmoud auditcommitteeleadershipattributesandcsrreportingevidencefromjordan
AT hasnahkamardin auditcommitteeleadershipattributesandcsrreportingevidencefromjordan