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Views of corporate managers on assurance of sustainability reporting: evidence from Japan

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Abstract

The demand for assurance in sustainability reporting has increased significantly in recent years. The objective of this study is to examine the views of corporate managers on the current state of, and future prospects for, this emerging assurance practice in Japan. The research is based on a small program of six semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey of the top 500 companies listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Nikkei 500 companies). The findings show that respondents are still reluctant to adopt assurance on sustainability reporting. In contrast, they prefer third-party comment, a unique practice in Japan to enhance the credibility of the reported information. The study also identifies the determinants, stakeholders’ influence for the adoption of assurance and third-party comment on sustainability reporting. It shows that main impediments to adopting assurance service include high assurance fees, less demand for sustainability assurance from stakeholders, and a lengthy assurance process. The findings are explained through the lens of legitimacy theory. While the extant literature concentrated on European practice, this is the first known study that informs the adoption of assurance and third-party comment on sustainability reporting in Japan, the leading country in the world to publish such non-financial reports.

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Notes

  1. In the sample, average assurance fee paid to the accounting assuror was 4.85 million yen (approx.) and to NGO/NPO was 0.70 million. In contrast, annual honorarium paid to the third party comment was 0.25 million yen (approx.).

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Acknowledgement

This study forms part of the results of the research supported by Grant-in-Aids for Scientific Research (B) 19H01549 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Business and Accounting, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1-155 Uegahara Ichiban-Cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 662-8501, Japan

    Mohammad Badrul Haider

  2. Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, 2-1 Rokkodai Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Kimitaka Nishitani

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Correspondence to Mohammad Badrul Haider.

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Appendix

Appendix

Profile of the companies and interviewees.

Interviewee (code)

Interviewee position

Industry

Current assurance and TPC practice

Assets (million yen)

Date and time of interview

M1

GM/CSR division

Electric machinery

Both assurance (C.F) and TPC (Academics)

5,451,173

May 7, 2010.

1 h

M2

GM/CSR division

Electric machinery

TPC (Academics)

532,254

May 13, 2010.

1 h

M3

GM/CSR planning

Machinery

Both assurance (A.F) and TPC (Academics)

1,405,402

Nov. 5, 2010

2 h

M4

Senior coordinator, Env. planning Div.

Electric machinery

Both assurance (A.F) and TPC (NGO)

8,358,057

Feb. 3, 2011

1 h

A1

Manager

Assurance practitioner

–

–

Aug. 5, 2010.

2 h

A2

CEO

Assurance provider

–

–

April 4, 2011

1.5 h

  1. GM general manager, C.F. certification firm, AF accounting firm, TPC third-party comment

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Haider, M.B., Nishitani, K. Views of corporate managers on assurance of sustainability reporting: evidence from Japan. Int J Discl Gov 17, 1–19 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41310-019-00070-0

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