The Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

This study aims to examine the complex interactions between audit committee characteristics and the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures, with an emphasis on organizational sustainability challenges. This research suggests to examine the effects of the audit committee's important characteristics, including its size and the proportion of its members who have financial knowledge, in an effort to shed light on this link. The present research suggests launching an analytical journey using the Ordinary Least Squares methodology, drawing its empirical foundation from secondary data gathered from the annual and sustainability reports of industrial enterprises listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange for the fiscal year 2020. In order to better understand these intricate linkages, the study suggest rigorously statistically analyzes the data to uncover the complicated relationships between audit committee activities and the volume of CSR reports. The study adds to both the theoretical as well as the practical spheres in the continuously changing environment of business activities. The association between audit committee traits and CSR filings is theoretically more understood thanks to this development. It also fills a significant vacuum in the existing literature by addressing this link in the context of sustainability challenges, adding to the body of research currently available. In a practical manner, the research's results could provide useful information for corporate governance and CSR activities in Bahrain and elsewhere. This study can direct firms toward establishing a more all-encompassing strategy to CSR in the Bahraini environment by arguing for the strategic importance of audit committee attributes— specifically, size and the expertise composition—influence over CSR disclosures. The results of this study might therefore operate as a catalyst for more CSR integration within enterprises, ultimately promoting those companies' sustainable growth and beneficial social effects. By establishing a comprehensive structure that captures the relationship between audit committee features and CSR disclosures relevant to matters of sustainability, the current investigation essentially goes beyond the bounds of standard research. By doing thus, it contributes to the scholarly conversation and provides useful information for practitioners attempting to navigate the complex world of corporate social responsibility in an increasingly ethical business climate