Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Assurance: Evidence from Italian Listed Companies

This study investigates the association between corporate governance (CG) variables and the production and assurance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports in Italian listed companies. We used two models to test our hypotheses. In the first model, we tested the decision to assure a CSR report estimating the influence of five CG variables regarding board structure. Then, in the second model, we tested the effect of these explanatory variables on the decision to assure CSR reports. We found evidence that board size and CEO duality are positively related to the CSR report. Board size and CSR committee are significantly and positively related to the decision to assure CSR reports. These findings indicate that larger boards may be able to direct management to produce and assure CSR reports to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders. From an agency theory viewpoint, the positive impact of CEO duality on CSR reporting could indicate that the CEO is pressured by stakeholders and may provide CSR disclosure to appease stakeholders’ concerns. The presence of a CSR committee might be considered a monitoring device that is useful to produce an impact on the decision to assure the CSR reports.