ESG Disclosure and the Timeliness of Earnings Announcements and Audit Reports

SUMMARY This study examines the relation between the extent of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure and the timeliness of earnings announcements and audit reports. Consistent with ESG disclosure providing timelier financial information, we find that firms that disclose more ESG metrics announce earnings in a timelier manner and experience shorter audit delays. We also find the relation between greater ESG disclosure and audit timeliness is stronger after Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards implementation, as well as for firms in industries with more SASB ESG disclosure items that are material to the income statement. Finally, firms with greater ESG disclosure are more likely to provide early warnings of ineffective internal controls, as well as issue management earnings forecasts. Overall, our results suggest that, by enhancing the internal information environment, reporting systems installed to provide more information on ESG metrics can have potential spillover effects for corporate financial reporting and auditing. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M40; M42.