Purpose

This study aims to contribute to the emerging debate about materiality with novel insights about the signaling effects related to the disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) information using the guidelines released by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical assessment using panel data analysis was built to evaluate the relationship between sustainability reporting standards and analysts’ forecast accuracy.

Findings

The analysis revealed that the proliferation of sustainability reports prepared on mandatory or voluntary basis mitigated the signaling effects related to the disclosure of ESG information by companies. Furthermore, the additional analysis conducted considering sustainability reporting quality and ESG performance revealed the existence of mixed effects on analysts’ forecasts accuracy. Therefore, the insights highlighted the need to consider a cautionary approach in evaluating the contribution of ESG data to financial evaluations.

Practical implications

The practical implications consist of identifying criticisms related to disclosing ESG information by listed companies. In detail, the analysis underlines the need to enhance reporting standards’ interoperability to support the development of more accurate analysis by investors and financial experts.

Social implications

The analysis reveals increasing attention investors pay to socially responsible initiatives, confirming that financial markets consider sustainability reporting as a strategic driver to engage with stakeholders and investors.

Originality/value

This research represents one of the first attempts to explore differences between GRI and SASB using an empirical approach.

中文翻译：

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可持续发展报告标准会影响分析师的预测准确性吗？

目的

本研究旨在利用全球报告倡议组织 (GRI) 和可持续发展会计准则委员会发布的指南，对与环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 信息披露相关的信号效应提出新颖的见解，为正在兴起的关于重要性的争论做出贡献（SASB）。

设计/方法论/途径

使用面板数据分析进行实证评估，以评估可持续发展报告标准与分析师预测准确性之间的关系。

发现

分析显示，强制或自愿编制的可持续发展报告的激增减轻了与公司披露 ESG 信息相关的信号效应。此外，考虑到可持续发展报告质量和 ESG 绩效进行的额外分析显示，分析师预测准确性存在混合影响。因此，这些见解强调在评估 ESG 数据对财务评估的贡献时需要考虑采取谨慎的方法。

实际影响

实际影响包括识别与上市公司披露 ESG 信息相关的批评。具体而言，分析强调需要增强报告标准的互操作性，以支持投资者和财务专家进行更准确的分析。

社会影响

分析显示，投资者越来越关注社会责任举措，证实金融市场将可持续发展报告视为与利益相关者和投资者互动的战略驱动力。

原创性/价值

这项研究是使用实证方法探索 GRI 和 SASB 之间差异的首次尝试之一。