ABSTRACT

We investigate firms’ disclosures related to environmental liabilities (EL), how these vary with media exposure, and whether they have information content. Using a sample of European-listed firms reporting under IFRS from 2005 to 2016, we observe diversity in disclosure practices across industries and regions. Although there is an increasing disclosure trend, the level of disclosure of key inputs used to estimate EL (i.e. discount rates and horizons) remains low, with only 35% of firm-years with material EL containing disclosures of both inputs. Furthermore, we test and find that firms facing more media exposure related to environmental matters provide disclosures that are more specific and are more likely to disclose discount rates. Finally, we show that EL disclosure specificity is associated with lower bid-ask spreads following the filing of the annual report and reduced analyst forecast error and dispersion, suggesting specific disclosure reduces information asymmetry.

摘要

我们调查与环境负债（EL）有关的公司披露，这些披露如何随媒体曝光而变化以及它们是否具有信息内容。我们使用了2005年至2016年根据IFRS报告的欧洲上市公司样本，我们观察到了跨行业和跨地区的披露实践的多样性。尽管披露趋势呈上升趋势，但用于估计有效期的关键输入（即折现率和范围）的披露水平仍然很低，只有35％的公司年包含两个输入项的实质性披露。此外，我们测试发现，与环境问题相关的媒体曝光率更高的公司提供的披露更加具体，更有可能披露折现率。最后，