Integrated reporting quality and corporate tax avoidance practices in South Africa’s listed companies

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationship between integrated reporting (IR) quality and corporate tax avoidance (CTA). IR is an emerging reporting mechanism, while CTA practices are considered a hindrance to inclusive and sustainable growth. The study also assesses the moderating role of firm complexity on the IR-CTA relationship. Additionally, this study also envisages that CTA practices are not static. Hence, it also analyses the IR-CTA relationship across different intensity levels of CTA practices. The study focusses on listed companies in South Africa, the only country that has mandated IR practice so far.Design/methodology/approachOrdinary least square and quantile regressions are used to analyse archival and content analysis data for firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2017.FindingsThis study finds that IR quality negatively associates firms CTA practices. It further concludes that although firms’ transparency level increases due to IR quality, firm complexity reduces the significant negative relationship between IR and CTA practices. The findings also indicate that the IR-CTA relationship is not constant but instead differs across the CTA quantiles. At aggressive levels of CTA, no relationship is established between IR quality and firms’ CTA practices.Practical implicationsThe findings provide a useful and more detailed description of the relationship between information quality and CTA practice, focussing on IR, an emerging reporting mechanism that is considered innovative and transparent.Social implicationsConsidering the IR-CTA relationship found in this study, IR quality implementation may indirectly contribute to attaining sustainable development goals by reducing CTA practices.Originality/valueThis study examines the relationship between reporting quality and firms’ CTA practices from the perspectives of an emerging reporting mechanism, with a focus on South Africa, the only country that has mandated IR practice. Furthermore, the distributional mean effects of IR quality on firms’ CTA practices explored in this study extend beyond the usual IR-CTA relationship.