The Impact of Sustainability Reporting on Audit Quality

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Accounting, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Financial Mathematics, Faculty of Financial Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22103/jak.2025.24694.4138

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this research is to examine the impact of sustainability reporting on audit quality.
 
Method: Audit quality has been assessed from two perspectives: the quality of accounting information published by the company and the type of audit opinion given by the auditor. This research was conducted using an empirical and quantitative approach based on multivariate regression analysis. The screened statistical population includes 146 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2014 to 2023. The required data were collected from audited financial statements and annual financial reports available on the Codal website, and were analyzed using econometric techniques and Eviews software.
 
Results: The results indicate that sustainability reporting does not have a significant impact on the level of discretionary accruals, which is one of the measures of audit quality, but it does have a positive and significant effect on the auditor’s unqualified opinion.
 
Conclusion: From the findings, it can be concluded that audit quality, in terms of the accounting information published by the company, is not influenced by sustainability reporting. However, sustainability reporting increases the likelihood of receiving an unqualified opinion from the auditor, which can be a sign of improved audit quality. In other words, sustainability reporting is seen as an effort to clarify information and improve communication with stakeholders, which leads to an increased willingness of auditors to issue an unqualified opinion.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Accounting Knowledge

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 06 December 2025

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  • Receive Date: 18 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 03 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 03 November 2025

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