FACTORS AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURE OF LISTED FOOD MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN VIETNAM

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the factors affecting the disclosure of environmental accounting information of the food manufacturing companies listed on the Vietnamese stock market. Theoretical framework including stakeholder and agency theories is used to explain the disclosure of corporate environmental accounting. Using the data collected from 100 listed food manufacturing firms in Vietnam during the period from 2019 to 2021, the six factors selected to study their influence on the environmental accounting disclosure are firm size, profitability, liquidity, financial leverage, time of listing, and reputation of the audit firm. The regression results show that the three factors including firm size, listing time, and reputation of the audit companies have positive impacts on the environmental accounting disclosure of listed firms, in which the audit firm’s reputation has the strongest influence. Based on content analysis of annual and sustainability reports, practices of environmental accounting disclosure of the chosen firms are assessed at a relatively low level, and there is a big gap between the highest and lowest disclosure levels. From the research results, several recommendations have been proposed for listed food manufacturing companies and other stakeholders to improve the level of corporate environmental accounting disclosure in Vietnam.