Does Mandatory Disclosure of CSR Reports Affect Accounting Conservatism? Evidence from China

Using China's mandatory CSR reporting program as a quasi-experiment, we examine the changes in accounting conservatism in an emerging market setting and find that the implementation of mandatory CSR policy significantly decreased accounting conservatism among firms that are required to release CSR reports. Further analyses reveal that this effect is driven by stakeholders' concern about information asymmetry and that CSR engagement helps improve a firm's information environment and lower the information gap. Moreover, we demonstrate that mandatory CSR reporting benefits more for firms with weaker corporate governance and greater information asymmetry. Our results hold after considering the entropy balance, a modified sample, an alternative sample period, and an alternative measure of accounting conservatism while controlling for the effect of confounding events. Overall, these findings provide evidence regarding the consequences of mandatory CSR reporting to financial reports, especially in emerging markets.