ABSTRACT This study examines how linking executive compensation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) metrics affects audit fees. The findings reveal that CSR‐linked compensation increases audit fees, a result consistent with agency theory which suggests that such contracts can exacerbate managerial opportunism. This research identifies potential underlying channels through which CSR‐linked compensation affects audit pricing. Furthermore, the positive relationship is strengthened for auditors with longer tenure or industry expertise but weakened for firms with higher institutional ownership. Overall, this work highlights increased audit fees as a significant cost of CSR‐linked compensation, revealing its dark side from a risk assessment perspective.

ABSTRACT We investigate how firms’ performance feedback influences their biodiversity disclosure practices. Our empirical results offer robust evidence of a positive relationship between the performance gap and the extent of biodiversity disclosure. This association remains consistent across various robustness checks. We demonstrate that managers utilise the performance gap as a strategic tool to enhance corporate image and secure stakeholder resources, which in turn leads to higher levels of disclosure. Furthermore, the effect is particularly salient in firms with strong internal controls and lower exposure to climate risk, those operating in highly polluting industries, and those located in regions characterised by high carbon emissions. Our study enriches the literature by highlighting the significance of corporate performance feedback in shaping disclosure strategies, fostering biodiversity‐related transparency, and advancing the agenda of sustainable development.

Mobilising the work of Brighenti (2007), we assess the visibility of climate‐related disclosures across different reporting venues and sectors for the 2022 reporting period. We do so by analysing the content of the corporate reports of 28 ASX50 companies. This is supplemented by articles published in the Australian media and on prominent activist investor websites. We find that physical climate risks are often under‐reported or superficially addressed in company reports, whereas transition opportunities related to a low‐carbon economy are more frequently disclosed. This discrepancy suggests a pattern of selective disclosure emphasising more favourable outcomes and potentially obscuring the full spectrum of climate‐related risks and opportunities. In contrast, transition risks are supra‐visible because of the attention from media and activist investors—particularly in the energy and materials sectors. Our results reflect concerns raised by regulators with regard to greenhushing (the withholding of information) of physical and transition risks and greenwashing (exaggerated claims) of transition opportunities. We also find inconsistencies in reporting practice, with implications for comparability and the faithful representation of climate‐related information.

Abstract This research explores how managers implement integrated reporting (IR) in their organisations and its impact on practices. We use 25 semi‐structured interviews with top and middle managers of early adopters' private companies to examine the conditions under which managers initially made sense of IR long before its institutionalisation. Conceptually drawing from practice theory, we show how top and middle managers make sense of (practical intelligibility) IR and how this influences core operational practices. The analysis shows that IR practices can be more or less totalitarian, revealing the importance of the institutional pressures and teleo‐affective structures held and promoted by the managers in charge. This research offers a counterpoint to studies that suggest that accounting has a limited impact when practised in a less totalitarian form. It also highlights the importance of affective aspects and the crucial role of managers in these aspects. Given the rapid changes in the regulatory context, understanding how managers make sense of integrated tools is of utmost importance.

The Australian Accounting Review published a comprehensive environmental management accounting framework over20 years ago. By reviewing how this research field has developed, this article distinguishes five main developments in this period and suggests future directions for the framework and its implementation by different types of sustainability managers in the future.

Abstract This paper systematically reviews the body of literature on accounting firms that serve small and medium‐sized enterprises. It seeks to present the status quo, reflect on inconsistent views, uncover gaps and suggest avenues for future research. Following a database search and referral scan, 54 empirical studies published in peer‐reviewed journals are identified and used for the analysis. We group the sample studies into three clusters according to commonalities in the topics addressed. A further analysis of individual clusters enables us to conclude that the role of accounting firms as business advisors is yet to be substantiated due to the absence of high‐quality research in international settings. It also becomes evident that although organisational and institutional factors affect the demand for services from accounting firms, individual factors act as conditions that activate the demand. Our review also reveals deficiencies in the majority of previous studies to incorporate potential moderating variables and mediating mechanisms while examining the relationship between service acquisition and expected outcomes. This paper contributes to the ongoing knowledge debates regarding the changing nature of accounting firms, client–accountant relationships and service acquisition outcomes by specifically focusing on accounting firms at the lower end of the professional field.

Summary at a Glance: This paper considers if fair value measurement for inventories is value-relevant and finds that investors need both historical cost earnings and fair value movements to make decisions. By extension, fair value measurements complement, rather than replace, historical cost information.