Does Corporate Climate Risk Information Disclosure Increase Audit Fees? ——An Empirical Study Based on Chinese Listed Companies

Xiangnan Hou

doi:10.54097/r0c1nt89

Authors

Xiangnan Hou School of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Yunnan 650000, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/r0c1nt89

Keywords:

Climate Risk; Climate Risk Information Disclosure; Audit Fees.

Abstract

This paper takes A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2009 to 2024 as the research sample to empirically examine the impact of climate risk information disclosure on audit fees and its underlying mechanism. The results show that the level of corporate climate risk information disclosure is significantly and positively correlated with audit fees. Climate risk information disclosure drives up audit fees by raising media attention. The higher the degree of information asymmetry, the stronger the positive impact of climate risk information disclosure on audit fees. Compared with state-owned enterprises, the positive impact of climate risk information disclosure on audit fees is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises. The above relationship is more significant in non-heavy polluting industries and when the auditors are non-Big Four accounting firms. The conclusions of this paper enrich the relevant research on the economic consequences of climate risk information disclosure and the influencing factors of audit fees, and also provide empirical evidence for understanding the transmission path through which climate risk information disclosure affects audit fees.

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