Ex-Auditor CEOs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure: evidence from a voluntary period of sustainability report in Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between ex-auditor CEOs in companies and corporate social responsibility disclosure in the Indonesian setting, where the presence of ex-auditor CEOs is increasing every year. We use the sample of 581 firm-year observations from 106 firms that published sustainability reports on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2010–2020. The results show that CEOs with an auditor background are more likely to disclose CSR information. This suggests that the auditor background of the CEO can affect corporate decision making, specifically the decision of CSR disclosure, because their auditing experience is also related to a monitoring mechanism of voluntary information, such as CSR disclosure. Moreover, auditors are practically accustomed to being required to have professional judgment when carrying out their work, so they are more aware and careful in terms of running a sustainable business by disclosing the CSR. This study enhances the literature by providing insights into the disclosure practice of CSR among firms with ex-auditor CEOs that are robust to Heckman’s two-stage model and the Coarsened Exact Matching test. This study provides empirical evidence of a relationship between ex-auditor CEOs and CSR information disclosure and several additional analyses in the period of a voluntary sustainability report in Indonesia.