Purpose

This article provides the first empirical study on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability reporting in US financial institutions using institutional, stakeholder and legitimacy theories.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used the independent sample t-test and Mann–Whitney U test throughout as well as OLS, random effects, fixed effects and heteroskedasticity corrected model to test the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability reporting in the US financial sector. A sample from all listed US financial firms was used after controlling for both the Refinitiv Eikon sector classification and the NAICS sector classification.

Findings

Using U Mann–Whitney test and independent sample t-test the study revealed that the average ESG score for the pre-COVID19 period is 53% compared with 62.3% for the COVID-19 period, indicating that the sustainability reporting during COVID-19 is much higher compared with the pre-pandemic period. The findings of regression analysis also confirm that the US financial companies increased their sustainability reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

This study is an early attempt to look at how the COVID-19 epidemic has affected financial reporting procedures, although it is focused only on one area and other entity-related factors like stock market implications, company governance, internal audit practice, etc could have been considered.

Practical implications

This research offers useful recommendations for policymakers to create standards for regulators on the significance of raising sustainability awareness. The findings are crucial for accounting regulators as they work to implement COVID-19 and enforce required integrated reporting rules and regulations.

Originality/value

The study provides the first empirical evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability reporting, by examining how US financial institutions approach the topic of sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic and assessing the pandemic's current consequences on sustainability.

中文翻译：

---

COVID-19 对可持续发展报告的影响：美国金融机构的视角

目的

本文利用制度、利益相关者和合法性理论，首次对 COVID-19 大流行对美国金融机构可持续发展报告的影响进行了实证研究。

设计/方法论/途径

该研究自始至终使用独立样本t检验和曼-惠特尼 U 检验以及 OLS、随机效应、固定效应和异方差校正模型来测试 COVID-19 大流行对美国金融业可持续发展报告的影响。在控制 Refinitiv Eikon 行业分类和 NAICS 行业分类后，使用了所有美国上市金融公司的样本。

发现

使用 U Mann–Whitney 检验和独立样本t检验，研究显示，COVID-19 之前时期的平均 ESG 得分为 53%，而 COVID-19 时期的平均 ESG 得分为 62.3%，这表明 COVID-19 期间的可持续发展报告是与大流行前相比要高得多。回归分析的结果还证实，美国金融公司在 COVID-19 大流行期间增加了可持续发展报告。

研究局限性/影响

这项研究是探讨 COVID-19 疫情如何影响财务报告程序的早期尝试，尽管它仅关注一个领域，而其他与实体相关的因素，如股市影响、公司治理、内部审计实践等可能会产生影响。已被考虑。

实际影响

这项研究为政策制定者提供了有用的建议，为监管机构制定关于提高可持续发展意识重要性的标准。这些发现对于会计监管机构来说至关重要，因为他们致力于实施 COVID-19 并执行所需的综合报告规则和法规。

原创性/价值

该研究通过研究美国金融机构在 COVID-19 大流行期间如何处理可持续发展主题并评估该流行病当前对可持续发展的影响，提供了关于 COVID-19 大流行对可持续发展报告影响的第一个实证证据。