The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings quality, as proxied by accrual earnings management, in Egyptian firms. This research is conducted in a bidirectional fashion using simultaneous equations and considers two theoretical perspectives.,The study employs CSR annual scores from the Egyptian environmental, social and governance index (S&P/ESG index) for the 100 highest scoring firms from 2007 to 2015. It utilizes three earnings quality measures, in addition to considering reverse causality and endogeneity.,The results indicate that CSR has a positive association with earnings quality only in the top CSR scoring firms (top 30 ranked firms according to the index). Engaging in CSR in such firms enhances the quality of their earnings. This suggests that firms with relatively lower CSR scores (bottom 70 ranked firms according to the index) may use CSR to “greenwash” weaker earnings.,The findings suggest that researchers, analysts and policy makers should consider earnings quality when estimating the real value of a firm’s CSR score. In particular, the Egyptian S&P/ESG index committee could further develop the index by incorporating earnings quality measures.,The study contributes to the literature by exploring in-depth the causal relationship between CSR practices and accrual earnings management in an emerging market. The results provide a nuanced story of CSR practices, with accruals earnings management (earnings quality) acting as a mediator of CSR’s inherent value.

中文翻译：

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企业社会责任与收益质量之间的联系：来自埃及的证据

本文的目的是调查应计收益管理在埃及公司中的企业社会责任（CSR）与收益质量之间的关系。这项研究是使用联立方程双向进行的，并考虑了两个理论观点。该研究采用了埃及环境，社会和治理指数（S＆P / ESG指数）中的CSR年度评分，该评分是2007年至2015年评分最高的100家公司的评分。除考虑反向因果关系和内生性外，它还使用了三种收益质量度量。结果表明，只有在CSR得分最高的公司（根据该指数排名前30位的公司）中，CSR与收益质量具有正相关关系。在这类公司中开展企业社会责任可以提高其收益质量。这表明，企业社会责任得分相对较低的公司（根据该指数排在前70位的公司）可能会利用企业社会责任“洗刷”较弱的收益。研究结果表明，研究人员，分析人员和决策者在评估企业的真实价值时应考虑收益质量。公司的CSR分数。特别是，埃及S＆P / ESG指数委员会可以通过纳入收益质量衡量指标来进一步发展该指数。该研究通过深入探讨新兴市场中CSR做法与应计收益管理之间的因果关系，为文献做出了贡献。结果提供了一个微妙的CSR实践故事，应计收益管理（收益质量）充当了CSR内在价值的中介。