INFLUENCE OF ESG PRACTICES ON GAINING THE RELEVANCE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION
Name: MICHELE MONTEIRO LIRIO MARIA
Publication date: 18/12/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| ALVIM BORGES DA SILVA FILHO | Examinador Interno |
| DIANE ROSSI MAXIMIANO REINA | Examinador Interno |
| PAULO HENRIQUE ASSIS FEITOSA | Examinador Externo |
| VALCEMIRO NOSSA | Examinador Externo |
| VINÍCIUS COSTA DA SILVA ZONATTO | Presidente |
Summary: This thesis is part of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) theme and aims
to verify whether there is a gain in relevance in accounting information from the
disclosure of ESG practices in publicly traded companies. The study aims to analyze
whether the disclosure of these practices impacts Market Value, Earnings Persistence and
Sustainable Growth Rate, in a temporal perspective (reflecting in a gain in relevance of
the information disclosed over time). The research stands out by exploring the direct
relationship between the disclosure of ESG practices (overall score and by factors E, S
and G) and the gain in relevance of accounting information, through two perspectives of
analysis of companies: internal and external. The internal perspective that portrays the
operational result of organizational activities and the external perspective portrays the
perception of investors in relation to companies. Institutional Theory is used as the central
axis of the theoretical foundation, since it observes elements that support the reasons why
companies practice and disclose their sustainability actions. The sample consists of 2,546
companies located in 23 countries, analyzed from 2013 to 2023, with data collected from
the Refinitiv Eikon ® database. The results show that the ESG score did not show any
gain in relevance in the long term with Market Value and Earnings Persistence, but
showed a positive relationship when analyzed in the short and medium term with the
Sustainable Growth Rate, both from an internal and external perspective. These findings
reveal that, although the disclosure of ESG practices has the potential to generate a
positive impact on organizational sustainability, the effect of these practices on
accounting information and financial indicators depends on the maturity of the integration
of ESG practices in companies and their capacity for institutionalization in the long term.
In the analysis by factors, the E score showed a loss of relevance in accounting
information when analyzed with Market Value and Earnings Persistence. The S score did
not show statistical significance. The G score showed a gain in relevance in accounting
information when analyzed with Earnings Persistence. These results suggest that,
individually, the factors have distinct relationships with the variables analyzed in relation
to the gain in relevance of accounting information. The analysis by factors with the
Sustainable Growth Rate was positively related to the E score, but showed distinct
relationships with the S and G scores. The results revealed that the disclosure of
environmental practices has a greater impact in the short and medium term for
stakeholders. Given the results, it can be inferred that the disclosure of ESG practices has
a positive relationship with the variables, but without evidencing the existence of a
gradual growth in this relationship over time indicating a gain in relevance of accounting
information, where only the G score showed a positive relationship. These findings reveal
important implications for the field of studies indicating that the adoption, relevance and
disclosure of ESG practices depend not only on the implementation of the practices
themselves, but on the way in which they are institutionalized and integrated into the
culture and strategic management of organizations.
